Was Roy Jones a great defensive fighter?

Yes ofcourse, broke technical rules, but his punch slipping, lateral movement, and when he went to the ropes rope a dope, were all excellent, very hard to hit clean. When he lost his legs/reactions his defense was largely gone, but it was at 35

 

I think you answered your own question to some degree, he relied heavily on his great reflexes & once he started to slow down he started to get hit & knocked down.

 

I'd say yes based on the fact he rarely got hit a clean shot, o.k it was all reflexes, but it's still defence

 

He was a great defensive fighter in the same mold as Ali. He'd be a nightmare for some trainer's because he does everything you're not supposed to do, he'll leave his hands down, his chin up, he'll drop his hands and lean back from punches. But he had the reactions, reflexes and speed to get away from it, like Ali had the foot speed and the upper body movement.

The only problem is, once that agility and speed went, he hasn't got the chin to back it up. Obviously Ali had a terrific chin and absorbed shots to the body better than probably any heavyweight ever, and that carried him through, I mean for instance in Zaire there's obviously no way he would of survived without great punch resistance.

Jones doesn't have that punch resistance to back him up when his reflexes became shot. Maybe he had a good chin in his prime but it was still untested, especially against punchers, because he was barely ever tagged flush. But now at least, he's susceptible to getting hurt and/or dropped from single punches.

 

When talking about the greatest defensive fighters, Mayweather, Locche etc, their defenses are based on a strong skillset. Good technique, upper body and head movement, footwork, blocking and parrying and raising the shoulder. I never really saw that Jones had mastered these kinds of skills, I see him as more like that other great frustrater Whitaker, who relied more on his athletic ability and his reflexes than somebody like Mayweather.

Personally, I wouldnt have Jones in the top tier of defensive fighters but I suppose he could certainly find a place a couple of tiers down. As you say, he shipped a lot of punishment when he got older, a truly great defender woul have picked up some new tricks as his reflexes started to ebb.

 

Having a great defence means that you're great at preventing from getting hit. Whether that's due to reflexes or skills is irrelevant. So, yes, Jones was great on the defensive.

Some "purists" will say that he didn't have a great defence because he didn't stay in the pocket, using upper body movement, blocking, etc, to prevent from getting hit. But they mistake technical ability and to a degree, guts, for "defence".

 

He also used upper body movement.

 

I think there is only one fighter in history at 160-168 that can break prime Roys defence.

 

We judge everyone else on their skill-set during their prime, we should do the same for Jones. During his prime, yes, he was a great defensive fighter on the basis that he simply didn't get hit,

 

He had to be, he was often times the smaller guy in fights. He couldnt afford to get hit. He wasnt a defensive wizard in close like a Mayweather or James Toney who could roll punches and block shots, but he was great on the outside and staying out of his opponents range. I never liked that ear muff defense against the ropes he used because there was always the chance of making a mistake where a punch would get through.