Roy Jones Jr's 'prime' coincidently ended the second he faced Antonio Tarver?

I'm not some diehard fanboy of fighters. I like watching good fighters fight each other and exciting fights. Generally I don't care if Usyk wins or Joshua or Fury or Beterbiev or Bivol, though I do like making predictions even if they are horribly wrong at times.

With that out of the way I've never seen anything like Jones. He was a mix of boxing smarts, unbelievable speed and reflexes like I've never seen before. Watching him in real time up until the Tarver fights you could see it. So for about 15-16 years and 50 fights at 49-1 he was like this. Then came the next 15 years and 17-9 career on the slide, getting brutally KOd by guys Jones would of humiliated in his prime.

Anyway, I find it ludicrous Jones "hid" his glass chin for 50 fights fighting ranked guys and champions and Hall of famers through multiple weight classes. I just don't buy it. His chin got cracked after 50 fights as his physical prime and crazy athletic gifts were leaving and it gave out, it happens.

Anyway, Jones even after going to heavy, being 50 fights in a 15 year career with a lot of miles, his athletic gifts leaving him, he still beat Tarver once. So if Jones was 26 I would think he would beat him Tarver, still might have trouble, but then again, maybe not

As an aside, HBO should of pushed harder to make Jones take more chances and/or get Michalczewski or go up to cruiser after there was nothing really left for him at 175.

 

Never against Lewis. But Toney, Byrd, Holyfield, Tyson who knows.

 

Jones's entire system was built around incredible reflexes and speed. So his style was never going to age well (So there is no way he was in his peak in 2003\04).
I also really dislike this lazy argument that he somehow 'hid' a glass jaw... as a top level professional fighter, for 15 years and 49 fights. There is no real evidence to support that claim, prior to him getting old.
You've got to remember how dominant he was, so he was obviously declining in Woods, Ruiz etc. But was so far from the pack it didn't really register. Tarver did make it clear in the first fight - and punctuated it in the second - but, to his credit, had to have the talent and belief to capitalise on it.
I also think the fact that Jones fought on for SO long made it worse. Had he retired after Johnson, for example, he would have had 2 KO losses after 50 plus fights, aged 34\35. That is an obvious decline and an obvious end - and a perfectly understandable time for a fighter of his skills to decline. But carrying on really fed into this trope of him having a bad chin all along and, for some, being overrated. I've read posts, for example, saying he would always have lost to Danny Green - Jones was 40 and hadnt beaten a top level fighter in years at this point. So it's a ridiculous argument. Yet it was Jones's choice not to call it quits, and give extra ammunition to his doubters.
You have to remember that, in the end, Jones effectively had 2 careers, one good and one bad, and tried to use a young man's style as an old fighter. Never going to work. And he actually did well in his 'first' career (compared to similar speed and reflexes fighters) to reach his mid 30s without sharper decline, considering that underpinned everything. David Haye, for example, always talked of retiring at 30 before his style aged. I feel we should celebrate Roy for what he was at his best ... a unique and phenomenal talent. I saw an interview with him recently where he said he felt his body never recovered from the weight cuts and he wished he had retired after Tarver 1. Imagine that?

 

He probably quit cold-turki from doing steroids instead of doing PCT and it wrecked him tbh

 

I agree. We've got to have some limitations on the "he was washed" card.

On the other hand Jones beat Tarver and I feel no one cares and act as if that series is 0-1. Why do RJJ fans go into the age thing when they can just point to the first Tarver fight? I dunno.

 

It's irrefutable.

 

Yeah, RJJ literally had to drop 18 lbs of muscle mass after the Ruiz fight to get back to Light Heavy to fight Tarver which will ravage your body, and he still beat Tarver this is a dumb take by the OP.

 

Exactly.

 

This troll didn’t even last 24 hours lmao.

 

Jones was clearly past his prime, but that doesn't mean he was totally shot as a fighter, either. I don't believe that. Tarver should still get some solid credit for the victory. Beating a passed prime all-time great can still be a hell of an accomplishment for a fighter's resume.

 

I think RJ jr had a steady decline after the back to back KOs from Tarver and Glen Johnson. I think the notion that he built a style purely on reflexes and not around skills is over stated. Him uses his reflexes was more for show to get fans excited, but he still knew how to fight in the inside, cover up, and set up counters. I think once a fighter goes up in weight rarely do they ever come back down and look good again. I was surprised he even considered it in the first place. He should have retired after the Ruiz fight and maybe after the first Tarver fight. I think what happened was that he was already declining in speed, a bit dehydrated, and issues with muscle ratio which affected his performance and punch resistance. I think after he got cracked back to back, he went 7 years before he got KO’d again by Danny Green. After the two KO losses he just didn’t look as confident and was just too gunshy. I also think when a boxer is undefeated and rated p4p number 1 his opponents are intimidated. After seeing him get KO’d twice, well top rated opponents like Hopkins and Calzaghe aren’t going to feel intimidated and feel more confident in beating him. A mix of factors that led to a steady decline.

 

There’s always excuses for Roy from the Olympic Games robbery to the weight cut excuse and his fans totally ignore his obvious PED use.

 

I think stylistically he was problematic for RJJ, with his height, reach, southpaw style and that he was a patient counter puncher who was defensively responsible and wouldn't fall for his hands down style and open up and lead, giving RJJ chances to counter. His height and guard meant Roy couldn't just lead and beat him to the punch as he had to cover so much distance and Tarver's reluctance to fall for Roy's traps when in the centre of the ring and only open up when he had backed Roy to the ropes was just exactly the style to give RJJ problems.

But having said that you can't ignore three facts, one RJJ coming down from heavyweight likely did effect his performance in the first fight, he had been caught using PED's in 2000 and was being more rigorously tested, so likely wasn't the same fighter due to not being enhanced and his record after the Tarver fights showed he was a fighter in decline.

So I think it was a combination of factors. I think Tarver would have always given RJJ problems, even prime RJJ but he was also not likely prime and on the slide.

 

Do you have a link of the interview ?