Roy Jones wasn't in his prime excuse debunked

[Vasyl’s dad]

Tarver didn't turn pro until his late 20s though, so his body had way less wear and tear than Jones and Jones was having trouble with his weight.

I'm not talking strictly of wear and tear. Seeing as how Roy Jones took very, very little punishment up to that point, something that his fans love to brag about, (he never lost rounds, never lost so much as a minute of a fight) wear and tear on Roy Jones isn't really an issue.

The body will age in its natural form and reflexes will decline whether one is a pro athlete or not. Antonio Tarver isn't immune to this. If Roy Jones at 34 had some noticeable slippage in reflexes, how come Antonio Tarver who is older, can't? The funny thing is, not many if any at all were even saying he was slipping. Most were on the high off the Ruiz fight still and ready to proclaim him the best ever.

[Silencers]

I'm not talking strictly of wear and tear. Seeing as how Roy Jones took very, very little punishment up to that point, something that his fans love to brag about, (he never lost rounds, never lost so much as a minute of a fight) wear and tear on Roy Jones isn't really an issue.

The body will age in its natural form and reflexes will decline whether one is a pro athlete or not. Antonio Tarver isn't immune to this. If Roy Jones at 34 had some noticeable slippage in reflexes, how come Antonio Tarver who is older, can't? The funny thing is, not many if any at all were even saying he was slipping. Most were on the high off the Ruiz fight still and ready to proclaim him the best ever.

It's like Nate Campbell now, he is an older guy but why was he able to beat Juan Diaz? And not only beat Juan Diaz but beat him at his own game? Because his body is still fresh, he turned pro late in his life, like Tarver, so that he doesn't have as much wear and tear on his body.

Those 12 round fights, even if you don't lose a round, take a lot out of a fighter as his career goes on, especially in the legs. Not to mention the weight problems.

We're seeing signs of Tarver slipping now, in fact he was slipping a few fights ago.

But Tarver was closer to his prime than Jones was at that time, also different people peak at different points in their lives, not all people necessarily peak at 28 or 29, Tarver could have just been a late bloomer.

[billionaire]

This is my all time favorite Roy Jones Jr excuse as to why he lost.


"He wasn't in his prime anymore"


Well, geez, guess what?

Neither was Tarver.

So Tarver was in less fights, big deal, he had a crack addiction which takes just as much out of the body.

This is the funny part though. People love to say how many more fights Roy was in but choose to use selective memory of those fights regarding the situation. In many "lets praise Roy" threads, you'll see many fans post about how Jones was untouchable, rarely if ever lost rounds and couldn't be touched. Here is the funny part. If Roy was all that in those praise threads, how did his body all of a sudden become damaged? I can guarantee someone will come in and say "it was all of his running and training". There, I said it for you guys already.

Running and training and fighting as an untouchable don't make you lose reflexes, the natural aging process does.

Heres the kicker,

Tarver is older by a few months. Is anyone, somebody going to explain how Tarver was somehow magically as fast in his mid to late 30s as he was in his 20s? At 34 to 37, Antonio Tarver was just as much out of his prime as Roy Jones Jr.

Tarver would beat Jones at any stage of their careers. Jones knew it, thats why he made Antonio literally call him out.

Then Tarver just proceeded to kick his ass.

this is 100% fact....especially the last fight jones said he lost on purpose cuz he didnt want his dad getting the credit yeah right

[Vasyl’s dad]

Forget about it, you are clearly just a massive hater so there really isn't any point.

I give Tarver credit, hell, its still ROy Jones out there. But what you are not realising is that it isn't a case of Roy being out of his prime. Forget this line. The issue is how much dropping all that muscular weight in a short period of time affected the dynamics of Roy's body. Based on the evidence that is available - which is a comparison of his performances prior to the Ruiz fight to those after it - I would say that it had a hugely detrimental impact on several aspects of his fight game that made him so effective. He was clearly not the same in so many ways. If you cannot see this and think that Roy fought just as well against Tarver and Johnson as he would have prior to his trip to HW and back then wow, just wow.

Lol, the dude won the first fight. How was he so weight drained and damaged that he was able to win in the first go round? To hear you tell it, Roy had to be carried into the ring on a stretcher hooked up to an iv breathing oxygen from a tank.


On the real deal, you can't even justify that garbage excuse. All I have to do is bring up the third fight which is practically a year later which would have been plenty of time for him to get acclimated to 175 again.


Don't tell me, he wasn't fully restored until he fought Prince ali baba and Anthony Hanshaw right?

[Left Hook Tua]

Joking aside, he should've made Tarver come up to HW.

no ****.

tarver moved up for rocky but he was too chicken **** to do it against roy.

[IMDAZED]

Good post Pelon. No offense I like RJJ but I always felt he was gonna get beat at one point. He used his speed and reflexes to avoid getting hit. Ofcourse that would all deteriate over time. Recently he started putting his hands up. Something he isn't accustom to. I hope it isn't to late.

Agreed.

As I pointed out in another thread, if you looked closely you could see him slipping. He was taking more and more punches and he was far more flat-footed in the ring. He was certainly aging and for a fighter who hadn't adjusted to that age, he was gonna end up on his back. That's the way it goes.

What's amazing about Roy is how long it took for that moment to happen. From the time he beat Hopkins for his first title he never looked back; a ten year run - not at the top of his division but of the sport. I've yet to see someone better since.

[Vasyl’s dad]

It's like Nate Campbell now, he is an older guy but why was he able to beat Juan Diaz?

He wanted it more, just as he said in the many interviews leading up to the fight. Just like Tarver, he said what he was going to do beforehand.

Older doesn't mean less of a fighter. What age takes away in physical abilities it makes up for in mental capabilities.

Ask Bernard Hopkins. Not nearly as fast as he was in his 20s, but probably ten times as much knowledge.

[Silencers]

He wanted it more, just as he said in the many interviews leading up to the fight. Just like Tarver, he said what he was going to do beforehand.

Older doesn't mean less of a fighter. What age takes away in physical abilities it makes up for in mental capabilities.

Ask Bernard Hopkins. Not nearly as fast as he was in his 20s, but probably ten times as much knowledge.

But he wouldn't have been able to fight the fight he did if his body wasn't fresh, he was closer to his physical prime than say a fighter in his late 30s who had been fighting professionally since his early 20s.

[Darkstar]

Okay so after going 1-2 at best and being knocked out cold. Jones is still better than Taver and would beat him no matter what?
If Jones was weight drained for Tarver and thats the reason he lost, what about James Toney?

Roys best win was over James Toney who had to lose 50 pounds and be on a IV before the fight. Yet he wasnt knocked out cold.

So we can take away 1 of the 2 (maybe 3) losses to Taver, and the win over James Toney?

[El Jesus]

You know i could make a long drawn out argument, but i will just say this, in his prime, jones wouldnt have been hit by that left hand, he would have seen it and moved out of the way, the fact that he didint tells me he lost something and wasnt in his prime. Tarver would have likely always given jones a tough fight, but tarver as many have said before, started late, he was one of the oldest guys on the olympic team in 96 and if i remember, his loss to Jirov was so devastating he had a long layoff because of it. I think Tarver was definately coming into his own by the time he got to jones in 03 and gave him that close fight. There was no way i am going to say that Tarver wasnt in his prime, considering he was still an amatuer in 96, while jones participated in the 88 olympics and turned pro shortly afterwards, nobody can tell me Roys Body at that point wasnt aged and at least had slowed down a bit. Tarver had the fresher body as well as the vendetta against jones for so long from living in his shadow.

Tarver was in his prime, jones wasnt. The fact that he didint move from that left hand tells me that.