:good Roy just got caught at a weight he no longer could use his extraordinary reflexes at. That is the price you pay for moving up in weight. Jones used his jab, he just never relied on it.
It happens with age sooner than others but it happens ..Imagine if there were mesage boards during the time of the Holmes Ali fight ..Im sure there would be this many threads ..Hey at least For Jones he went out on his sheild in his last fight .He should just retire he has nothing left to prove .
If there was one thing I wish Roy was better at, it was infighting. Most of the time he tired you out with his turtle defense and then threw the left hook to the body and head. That was beautiful to see. Jones wanted to stay far away from guys. He wanted to land bombs, cover up and then try to catch you while laxing. The Merqui Sosa fight showed us that Jones was indeed a good inside fighter when he had to be. Maybe he didn't like that all too much, but who could blame him lol.
I've said this before, and maintain it is true: Roy Jones was broken MENTALLY after Tarver knocked him out. He stopped trying to win fights after that point because he was afraid to take risks inside the ring. He did NOT try to win against Tarver III or Calzaghe. He was still good enough to beat inferior foes, but no longer had the heart to take the necessary chances against better opponents. His skills did surely deteriorate as well, in particular, his legs, but his main fall from grace was of the mental variety. A man who practically never lost rounds and now rarely wins them against top-level foes isn't as sudden a fall physically as many indicate. To be sure, dropping weight after the Ruiz fight did probably take something away from Roy. He probably should have just remained there, when all is said and done. But he looked pretty darn good in the first Tarver fight--the only fight where I ever saw Jones really DIG DOWN DEEP and fight his heart out to win. I have never been a Roy fan, but that was one night where I was truly impressed and admired Roy's efforts.
When did I insist he had a chance? I clearly stated that Calzaghe would pummel him by the 10th round and stop him. I was amazed that Jones even lasted the distance. Hopkins is even older than Jones and is a far better fighter at this stage, and Jones beat him easily at a younger stage in both fighter's career. What does that tell you? Age is only a number, it has no bearing on where a fighter stands in his career. A guy like Wilfred Benitez was shot at age 24, same with Tyson. Guys like Hopkins are still going strong at age 44. This doesn't make sense to someone as dim-witted and inbred as yourself, but one day when your pea-brain has expanded beyond that of a ******ed ******'s, you may understand. Until then, go back to spreading peanut butter on your balls and having your dog lick it off.
Good post. I just have a problem with the heart comment. Maybe "skills, anticipation or timing" are better words I don't know. I don't believe it was mental with Roy. I believe that physically he couldn't deal with naturally bigger men once his skills faded. Going to heavy ruined him and his body. Good post though.
It was a clear win but Jones was very gunshy against Hopkins. Was not a crowd-pleasing fight. Anyway, Jones did beat Hopkins at a younger stage, but if you're going to talk about fighters who go downhill (and become shot) quickly, it's only fair to also mention that some are late bloomers, and I think Hopkins certainly matured and improved tremendously after his bout with Jones. Would have been very interesting to see a rematch between Jones & Hopkins after Hopkins beat Trinidad. At the time, I always assumed Jones would be too big for him, but now I wonder...
One thing that convinces me Roy's fall from grace was mental is round 5 of the Taver rubber match. Jones totally owned him that round. After that, he simply STOPPED TRYING. Why did he not continue trying to do what worked SO WELL in that 5th round? I was disappointed that night. It could have been a good fight, perhaps, if Jones gave a winning effort.
He no longer has the stamina to keep that kind of effort up. That was simply a glimpe of his former self. He's shown them since then in spurts, but never for extended periods. Just doesn't have it anymore. If it was all mental he'd have never had the confidence to go all out like that in the first place.
I'm convinced the commies slipped some **** into his Muscle Milk. Never trust those ****in' guy, they're sneaky.
:rofl you made a joke! I am impressed. Problem with mental midgets like yourself is your inability to abosrb new information, process it, and produce a perspective different than the one you ardently adhere to. :bart
Are you actually going to tell me Roy TRIED TO WIN THAT FIGHT? Seriously? Because it was clear to me that he did NOT give his best effort (not even close) and that he was afraid to take risks. He never dared to be great, period. He coasted through that fight with the sole intention of surviving until the final bell. He had NO INTENTIONS of winning that fight.
Rums, look at what you just said. Check out the underlined. If he was not getting caught and was doing well up until round 5, then why would he stop trying? Wouldn't that make a fighter keep on going? Considering Tarver ko'd Roy, Roy should've tried to hurt Tarver badly or embarrass him like he did Jones in the minds of many. If I were to side with you that it was mental, I could only agree that Roy did not think that mentally he could go 12 strong rounds punching the way he used to.