What do people mean when they say "Roy never learned the fundamentals"?

defensive fundamentals like "don't pull straight back" and "keep your hands up"

 

he was unorthodox. he relied on his insane reflexes for his defense. when that slowed down he doesnt have the basic proper defense to be competitive anymore.

His handspeed is still there he just cant avoid punches like he used to and leaving his hands low keeps getting him knocked out

 

RJJ knows the fundamentals he just choices to ignore them and fight in an unconventional way.

 

He did a ton of things wrong as a boxer like he kept his hands low and backed up straight back, he never really did the basics correctly which actually helped him in his prime as guys would be having nightmares to prepare for him but once he slowed down all of those flaws caught up and hurt him.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is someone who like Jones had the physical gifts but he was much more developed and that helped him when he began to slow down.

 

nO... Jones Jabbed all the time in his amateur fights and in the beginning as a professional. But when he came into position for a title he was so quick that he could just get his left hook off without the need of a jab. At times he used a jab through his career when he couldn't get the right positioning for his left hook, or the person was a tad bit tougher.

 

He relied way too much on his athleticism, which was enough to carry the front part of his career, but came back to bite him in the butt towards the end of it.

 

They say that because they don't know ****, the reason Roy is getting his ass kicked is because he stuck around too long. Boxing is a young man's game plain and simple, even a lot of what Mayweather does is made possible with his speed and athletic ability. Now there is that rare exceptional athlete that looks good in old age, Bernard is a guy who up til his 38th or 39th birth date looked great BUT for the most part boxing will expose age more often than not.

 

Just wondering if you boxed before? If not, you may not get it.

When you learn to box everyone, unless they have some freakish physical trait (Mike Tyson's or George Foreman style) learns the same crap. As you progress your "personality" starts to shine through your style.

And just like a personality your style develops "quirks". This is the weird crap you see like a guy banging his gloves together before/after an exchange. Excessive bouncing. Being taunted into recklessness. Leaning back and away from punches because you are naturally fast as lightning. (Sound like someone you know?) Now 99% of the human population those quirks will get you KTFO because you don't have the "offsets" to compensate. Namely speed and reflexes. Especially so at the elite levels of competition.

Your coach is supposed to drill you to the point that he can suppress your quirks. Even better if you are disciplined enough to fight them yourself. RJJ kept them, but had the offsets (speed, strength, reflexes) to the Nth degree. He became an addict to his quirks. Leaning back with his hands down. Lead hand down. Not developing a mental plan for getting swarmed because who could swarm RJJ? He would knock you spark out mid combo with his hands down doing the damn chicken dance!!!!!

When the offsets were diminished by weight draining? Wow. Then further diminished by punch damage? Double wow. Then even further by time? I get tears in my eyes. You can see that he is still physically able to compete. His lack of fundamentals make his exposed "quirks" so easily exploitable that he just shouldn't be in there.

 

Roy knew the fundamentals but he did a lot of things "technically" wrong, which for him wasn't wrong at all. Guys like him , Muhammed Ali, and Pacquiao are examples of very special fighters who could do things the wrong way yet make them work. That's what makes them so hard to beat.

 

Roy knew them, and he showed them in the trinidad fight.

 

Lack of fundamentals has nothing to do with Roy losing, he is losing because:

A. He is shot.
B. Mentally he is damaged.

Since getting KO'd Jones has jabbed and used the High Guard, However he has zero confidense and is gunshy, his legs, reflexes and stamina are also gone. There comes a certin age fighters reach where they just shouldn't be fighting anymore, Roy reached that age long ago.

 

Not to mention the leaping left hook. They don't teach you to do that.

 

What came first? The chicken or the egg? The weight draining slowed him. The butt kicking he took against Tarver "scared" him. He hasn't been the same since.

Saying "since getting..." is like trying to change the menu when half of the food is in the oven. It doesn't work. Had RJJ focused on those things FROM THE BEGINNING he would be more proficient at them.

I agree with you completely about the age thing, but boxing is one of those sports that keep a guy coming back for more. IMHO, it was his reckless style and its complete disregard for opponent's abilities in combination with his age that got him taxed. Not just his age.

"You can't hit me! I am RJJ! Let me lean straight back with my chin out in space."

"Um, yes I can and actually hit you very hard."

"Zzzzz..."