Roland Lastarza vs Roy Jones, Jr

Labeling Jones a "very light puncher" is real hot take. What does that make Lastarza?

The gulf in talent here can not be exaggerated. One is an all-time great. The other is a footnote to a footnote if not for the fact he troubled a good little fighter in Marciano.

 

Jones was a very light puncher at 175 and above. Who did Jones knockout that was any good at 175?

Also, If Jones was half as talented as you say and had any kind of punch he would've defended that WBA title he lifted from Ruiz against Lennox or Vitali instead vacating and going back down to 175 and fighting Tarver for considerably less money. LaStarza would've gladly fought either Vitali, who is big, but one dimensional and very beatable or Lennox, who was an excellent talent, but avoided talented little men after a shot Holyfield gave him all he can handle. Lennox wanted nothing to do with Byrd and vacated his title and in my opinion LaStarza was every bit as good as Byrd.

Jones was an excellent fighter at 160 and 168 and proved it, but at 175 he couldn't punch, so he was matched very carefully at 175 and was gifted a title shot at heavyweight despite not beating any contenders at heavyweight. The only good fighters Jones fought at 175 were Antonio Tarver and Glenn Johnson, who both knocked him senseless and neither would rank in the heavyweight or light heavyweight division in the 50's.

 

I don't know much about LaStarza, but at 175 and above Roy started getting ko'd very badly and yes, schooled. But he lost to big punchers....he dealt with Ruiz well enough because he had little power. So unless LaStarza was a fearful puncher and a helluva boxer he (LaStarza)would lose.

 

In the 15 fights Jones fought at light heavy before Ruiz, he went 14-1 (9) with the one defeat being a dubious DQ against Griffin which he avenged in emphatic fashion. Of the 5 who went the distance, we have the Reggie Johnson, Mike McCallum (two of the great defensive fighters of that generation), Lou del Valle and Julio Gonzalez. Between the 4 of them, they were KO'd ONCE IN THEIR CAREERS, a KO Gonzalez suffered at the very end of his extremely hard fought run.

Meanwhile, guys like oft-KO'd, mediocre punching 178 pound Rocky Jones was not only going the distance with Lastarza but beating and KD'ing him.

It's called context, people. And it's apparently a hard thing to find when you stare all day into the Sun of your existence that is Rocky Marciano.

 

Exactly.