ROY JONES' biggest problem right after TARVER II was his psyche, not his reflexes !!

I think the double standard of a lot of people when it comes to jones is unfair, we forgive ali,whitaker and duran for their losses after their prime but jones drops 20 places for it, doesnt seem fair to me. He accomplished a lot going up the ranks like that, his skills and physic were incredible, his resume is a little weaker but it doesnt matter, I rate him and pac about the same, I think pacquiao is still adding to his legacy if he can keep this up he will surely be above jones. im interested how people will view him in 10 years, I hope good.

 

I thought that physically, he looked better in the third Tarver fight than in the Johnson fight. There was probably some psychological effects of getting KO'd like he did against Tarver, but his legs just looked awful against Johnson. He still had fast hands, but his reflexes didn't look good, and of course there was his punch resistance. It looked as if Roy actually saw the punch coming, tried to roll with it, and still got knocked half-conscious. It obviously didn't help that it hit him high on the head, but you still wouldn't expect a guy to see a punch coming and try to roll with it and then get knocked out that brutally.

A year later in the third Tarver fight, Jones looked sharper physically. His legs and reflexes looked better than than in the Johnson fight, and so did the way he took Tarver's best punch. He again took a shot high on the head, the temple area, and this one I doubt Roy saw coming. It was that southpaw right hook that's hard to see. Roy was definitely hurt, but sure took it better than he took that temple shot against Johnson a year earlier. But his mindset was just so bad after having suffered two straight KO losses. He seemed happy to just last the distance.

 

Agreed but in my case i think its ME and I can't forgive Jones for not retiring after Tarver I!

I'm going to have to have a look at my top 100 again

Jones is my all time favourite fighter and despite his age and massive decline i keep tuning in to see his fights! It's people like me who are making Jones carry on!! AAAAARRRRGH!!!

:huh

 

Yep as soon as Jones was knocked out he became gunshy and couldn't pull the trigger anymore.

 

Damn that round was awesome for Roy. Still remember it clearly... it gave me so much hope that he would go on to win the fight.

 

As Jones' career evolved, he depended more and more on his almost super human reflexes. His head was exposed, his chin in the air. Didn't matter, no one was fast enough to take advantage. He knocked out the Austrailian Kelly with punches that came from behind his back . Even though Kelly was just a clubfighter, it is still very impressive to be able to handle a professional fighter with such ease.
But then, Roy reflexes slowed a fraction of a second , and what happened? We found out his skills were a bit lacking (on the championship level) and that he coulnd't take a head shot too well. Glen Johnson isn't known for a huge punch, yet he knocked Roy STIFF.
Ever since Roy's just been average at best. He did have a big moment against Calzaghe when he floored Joe , and Joe was hurt. But before the round ended , and for the rest of the fight , Roy was just standing there getting pummeled.
Then he got knocked by club fighter Green, and outclassed by Hopkins.
Of course, even with his incredible ego, he must have had self doubts after getting leveled by Tarver, and really smashed and destroyed by Johnson . He started working on his defense and showed improvement.
But ultimatly , legendary reflexes aside , Roy showed relatively average skills, and a rather poor jaw. As Ali began to slow down , he was able to compensate by having an iron jaw, and much versitility. Roy had none of this to fall back on .

 

Yeah watching this fight I knew Jones couldn't pull the trigger anymore. He was too afraid of getting KO'd.

Not just the mentality though. You can see even in that clip when Tarver throws shots, Roy's reaction time is a little late even though they don't land. Signs of deterioration, especially in a sport where .1 seconds could be the difference between a clean hit and a miss.

 

Nah. Jones showed no significant physical decline when he tooled Clinton Woods in '02, but he looked utterly exhausted after fighting like his old self for 1 solitary round in the third Tarver fight. Jones's problems were both mental and physical IMO.

 

Very good post.
Prime is a word thar ESB users use after a fighter gets beaten most of the time.
Consider after Jones lost to Calzaghe he beat Sheika in 5 rounds. Sheika just recently gave world rated LHW and former WBC LHW champ Diaconu a tough fight.