Watching roy in the 90's, all the way up to his heavyweight bout, he was unbelievable. I think he may have been unbeatable, whats your opinion?
I also think he was exciting to watch.
What do you think caused his downfall? Was it trying to lose all the weight again and move back down weight divisions?
If Roy was really that skilled and age slowed him down he should've still beat a journeyman like Glen Johnson.I think Johnson was an IBF LH champ and also beat Tarver once? Not sure I'd classify him as a journeyman.
Floyd and Manny showed that even with old age and better testing they could still be great, the career roiders proved that journeyman beat them off the juice.Yes, or the other reality is that Floyd and Manny had access to PED programs that were better than the testing protocols of the day.
There was crappy testing during Roy's Ripped Fuel roided prime. And the commissions did a piss poor job at penalizing those that popped dirty during that time. Once testing and penalties got better, Roy was getting knocked out by journeyman. With full random Olympic style drug testing during his prime, Roy Jones would've been an average fighter. Look up Roy Jones vs Richard Hall. Both popped dirty. Swept under the rug.I was a big fan of Roy but it would be silly to discount the possibility of PED use during his career. Actually, most of my favorite fighters were probably doped, e.g. Pacquiao, Holyfield, Mosely (for sure), etc.
But I still contend that Roy would not have been just an average fighter, VADA testing or not. He definitely was a special fighter. He did look vulnerable towards the last few years of his competitive career, but I think age, not better testing, was the main factor.
Roy was a beast whose athleticism and natural talent carried him for years despite his unorthodox technique. He out-classed Toney, a fighter with impeccable ring IQ and timing. Unbeatable Roy was, IMO, during that part of his career.
By the time he had beaten Ruiz and returned to LHW to fight Tarver, his reflexes were slipping. He was getting caught more often than usual, sometimes ending in disaster.
Agree with original post. And I strongly believe that if Jones fights Tarver before Ruiz, he wins fairly easy. Benn also does not have many chances - he'll not be able to react to the speed of RJJ.
Should have fought Benn, Eubank, Collins and Darius. Would have been 90/10 favourite over all too.
Maybe Benn would have given him some trouble cos he was such a destroyer when the mood took him.
Roy was an insane fighter. What a beast. I think he would have been even money against Mike Tyson if he went on to fight him after Ruiz.
No not against Tyson. Thyson was very fast and had a top class defence, extremely hard to hit and a concete chin.. All wrong for Roy. I'd never allow him to fight Tyson, if I were his manager.
Watching roy in the 90's, all the way up to his heavyweight bout, he was unbelievable. I think he may have been unbeatable, whats your opinion?
I also think he was exciting to watch.
What do you think caused his downfall? Was it trying to lose all the weight again and move back down weight divisions?
I agree 100% with everythingnyou've said. For ten years literally unbeatable. I think his downfall was multiple. First getting back down from 193 of solidmuscle to 175 was not timed well to lose actualy muscle takes literally starvation , or famine ..anyway someyhing drastciic.
H eshould have taken longer over it , But he was conatantly being taunted by tarver unmercifully.
When he had such a tough time eking out a win over Tarver, he should have had a long rest before fighting him again, In fact he didn't need to fight him again.
However, he walked through the first round in the rematch, and was doing the same whne his forward move met Tarver's punch, which gave it double power. It was just one of those things. And he fouhgt Glen Kohnson much to soon, and with the wrong tactics. He always had a love for fighting off the ropes with sudden unexpectd moves and punches whihc oftn won the fight right there. Byt it was the wrong thing to do with Johnson.
I don't know why he founght him al all. He wasn't elite. Anyway, just my opinions.
Should have fought Benn, Eubank, Collins and Darius. Would have been 90/10 favourite over all too.
Maybe Benn would have given him some trouble cos he was such a destroyer when the mood took him.
Roy was an insane fighter. What a beast. I think he would have been even money against Mike Tyson if he went on to fight him after Ruiz.
5y ago
Prime roy jones as one of the greatest p4p | BoxingScene Community