By Tom Donelson
This fight is not about Roy Jones' legacy. That chapter has been written and to state, “Hey, we are going to judge Roy Jones' legacy badly if he loses and make him the greatest if he wins,” is nonsense.
As for me, it is obvious that Roy Jones is going to the boxing hall of fame and was one of boxing's best pound for pound over the past three decades. This is a fighter who dominated the light heavyweights, rarely losing a round. In fairness, this was one of the weakest light heavyweight divisions in boxing history. As boxing historian Frank Lotierzo noted in the past pieces, most of the great light heavyweights would have been as dominant as Jones.
Jones combined speed and power and his chin was rarely tested. Was Jones one of the best light heavyweights ever? That is a more debatable question and I’ve attempted to answer those questions in past articles. My own opinion is that you could make the case that Jones was in the top ten as a light heavyweight historically, but there is no way you can make the case that he was a top five. You can even make the case that maybe he was ranked between 11 and 20, but being in the top 20 of any division historically still means you were great.
When Jones beat Ruiz, everyone declared Jones as one of the greatest and yet, after he lost to Tarver- he was treated as club fighter. Jones lost to two good fighters at the end of his career when he was no longer at his best, physically or mentally.
Jones’ speed and power was his bread and butter when he was young, but as he became older, it became his curse. Jones’ speed allowed him to break the rules of boxing and like Muhammad Ali before him; he was not the most technically sound fighter. He often leaped in with left hooks and threw lead right hands while in some fights eschewing the jab. It wasn’t that his jab wasn’t any good; it was just that his speed allowed him to throw power shots from all angles and hit his target before the other guy could react.
He fought a measured pace, using his speed to escape. In one fight, he nailed an opponent with one hand behind his back. When he slowed down, he suddenly became mortal and hittable. Tarver nailed Jones with the perfect shot, a once in a lifetime shot. Jones’ chin may not have matched other great champions of the past and that is why we have judged him more harshly over the past two years or since the Ruiz fight.
Tarver seem to have Jones' number and caught Jones at the end of his career. So what if Tarver beat Jones again? Simple, Tarver will start cementing his own place in boxing history and we, as the boxing public, may have to look at Tarver more seriously. It doesn’t or shouldn’t change Jones' place in boxing history. After 50 plus fights, his place has been cemented. And if Jones wins, then the same thing goes. He will not became an elite top five light heavyweight historically for beating Tarver.
And I don’t see Jones winning this fight for the simple reason that his skill level dropped enormously from his apex in the Ruiz fight. He was never the same fighter when he dropped back down to light heavyweight. On a recent telecast, Larry Merchant observed that Shane Mosley is doing something that has not been done or rarely done; winning a title in a lower weight class after campaigning in a higher weight class past the age of 30. So, wouldn’t Jones beating Tarver be as amazing in Larry Merchant’s eye?
Jones has not fought in over 16 months and Tarver has engaged in two excellent bouts with Glen Johnson. Jones looked terrible in his last fight against Glen Johnson; like a man who aged over night.
Waiting 16 months between fights is not something recommended for fighters over 30 years, in particular a fighter who depends upon mobility and speed. So Jones will be the decided underdog for that reason and not many of us are giving Jones much of a chance to win. So we are prepared to judge a fighter on a fight that most of us don’t expect him to win. If Jones were five or ten years younger, then I would have no problems with judging him more harshly from a historic point of view. I am not going to change my judgement on Jones based on this fight whether he wins or loses.
Do we hold it against a 36 year old Ali for losing to Leon Spinks in Spinks' 8th fight as a pro? No, we still consider him the greatest or one of the geratest and losing to Spinks was even more unforgivable than Jones losing to either Glen Johnson or Antonio Tarver. Nor do we consider the featherweight great Willie Pep any less great despite losing three out of four to Sandy Sadler.
If Jones wins, then he showed that he is still a great fighter. If he loses, then it shows that he is past his prime. We should be asking the question, does Tarver beating Roy Jones make Tarver an all time great? While Tarver is the same age as Jones, he has only fought half as many fights and his body has more mileage left. Tarver is a fighter with much more to prove. Over the past two years, he has fought and beaten two of the best light heavyweight in the world. For Tarver, this is a battle for his legacy, not the other way around. If Tarver wins and then continues to win over the next couple of years; then he could write his own chapters in the annals of boxing history.