Without much speed or reactions, Jones is a pretty mediocre fighter

I am not sure about the "not being world class" bit but you are right, I think...actually he still have very good speed and very good power (B+ at least)...but...he doesn't have the speed he once had...that we can all agree on...

A great fighter who still has B+ speed and power should have done better than that, even without much stamina. A great fighter doesn't come into the ring with low confidence. He comes to win and does his best to do so. That is what great fighters do. When they stop believing in themselves, they are no longer great and should retire.

I remember McGrain starting this thread in which he said he really, really wanted Jones to win...it turned out he backed the wrong kind of guy, who didn't really, really want to win himself! Out of Bika, Kessler and Hopkins, who gave Calzaghe his closest fights recently, Bika came closest to giving 100% of what he had to try and win. Kessler gave almost everything he had, and certainly more than Hopkins. Hopkins gave a hell of a lot too. Jones gave much less than what Hopkins gave, much less. They all had much more confidence than he had. Jones showed as much confidence against Calzaghe as Pavlik showed against Hopkins...poor Kelly!

You can maybe read my anger in these posts. It's because I'm disappointed. I expected much more from Jones...and not the impossible either, just much more.