It shouldn't be! Jones has one win above 175, admittedly a rather impressive win over John Ruiz. Johnson has one of the deepest resumes in heavyweight history. Johnson should unequivocally be the favorite going into the fight!
Remind me again if Johnson beat a guy over 200 pound in his prime who was better than Roy Jones? Fact remains, Johnson lost to several men under 200 pounds. Hart, Griffin, and Choynski come to mind. Johnson has a news drew with O'Brien, and was floored and hurt by his own admission too Ketchel. Yeah, Jones was sparked by Tarver, but how old was he when this happened? 35. Jones skill is levels above Johnson. IMO Johnson needs a knockout here, and as I've said above he had issues with fast fighters.
Watch again, Jones landed a hard right and Ruiz was gun-shy about coming in after that. It was an easy night for Jones. Ruiz for his part was a decent boxer with clinch and grab tactics.
Johnson beet a few guys over 200lbs, who would have to be ranked above Roy Jones at Heavyweight. Would anybody seriously put Roy Jones above Sam McVea on their all time heavyweight list for example? OK so when we factor in context, we are left with Hart. I would make Hart a favorite over Jones as well. This was very close to his only win at heavyweight! Yes there is context here, but we have to doubt Jones's ability to take a shot! Jones has better reflexes, but Johnson has better skill. Johnson is bigger, and has much more credible results.
A few things, Sam MCvey was a teenager when Johnson beat him. I said wins over 200 pound men in their prime, not teenagers. You didn't list any other names because there are none that qualify. Maybe you could say Frank Moran, but his record isn't great and film shows modest skills. Hart beat Johnson, and he wasn't very skilled, he did it with activity. I think Jones beats Hart in 15 rounds or under, quite a few other men did. IMO Ruiz is as good as anyone Johnson beat when he meet them. And Roy had an easy night vs Ruiz.
Oh yeah Roy for sure, I mean nobody knew how to fight back then with what amounted to wearing work gloves in the ring. Sure Roy would take that plaster chin in with Jack Johnson and.....get stretched out like a hotel carpet.
He thought it was possible that McVey was possibly ill or on a vacation. He made another thread dedicated to it even lol
The man who molded Joe Louis aged like a normal person. Maybe he learned more as time passed. You're assuming that Jack Blackburn knew the same amount in the 30s as he did in the 1910s when he was a fighter.
Show me a heavyweight from that era that feinted the way Roy did. Who feinted a jab and threw a left hook instead? Who feinted to the body with their lead but went up top with the rear instead? Who counter-punched using feints? Roy was incredible at feinting. He was a lot better than anyone that fought in the 1910s. He had much superior hand speed, reflexes, counter-punching, and mobility compared to Johnson. Why do you think head movement became more common over time? Glove blocking is easier to manipulate. Head movement is much harder to time since it's both reactive and proactive. No one goes around parrying thin air in case there's an incoming jab. It's all reactive. Jack Johnson was great at glove blocking and he was a great defensive fighter for his time. You don't think boxers improved at all over a hundred years? You'll say the same thing everyone says here "the more things change, the more they stay the same". Roy Jones was a much better fighter than anyone Jack Johnson fought.
