Those of you who are old enough to have watched Roy Jones Jr in his prime, just how good was he?

[elfag]

Saw some mentions of his ring IQ vs athleticism and wanted to point out I used to think he was pure athleticism and didnt have as high skills / ring IQ but watched some fight break downs of him and he had very high ring IQ, he set traps ect, he was a smart boxer, just his style used his athleticism and he did a lot of unconventional things so when his timing started to suffer in his early to mid 30s he fell off hard because he was getting caught now when he used to get away with doing things "wrong".

[Gary Coleman]

I know the quality that the boxer I'm going to mention is not comparable to Hearns, but he fought a bigger guy and a difficult one in Ruiz for the HW belt, and he didn't have any problems.

Yeah, Ruiz might as well be a literal sloth compared to Tommy.

[garfios]

Yeah, Ruiz might as well be a literal sloth compared to Tommy.

You mentioned size and I gave you an example, and I mentioned the gap in skills, but Ruiz was very difficult to handle do to his grappling ways. You have your opinion, and mine prime4prime is Jones every time.

[NC Uppercut]

I know a lot of fans weren't born yet or too young to remember him in his prime, but how good was he exactly?

He was unreal! He just had athletic qualities coupled with a very high boxing IQ! Wish he had of hung em up a bit earlier!

[BoxingParadigm]

I didn't see a lot of his prime while it was happening but I do remember him just being amazing. I think an issue for him back then was that there weren't any big names to fight at 175lbs, which is why he went up to heavyweight to fight Ruiz.

I always thought coming back down to 175lbs took away his prime prematurely. He didn't look the same against Tarver the first time around, and then when it looked like he was going to go back to his best self in the rematch he gets brutally stopped. I don't think he was drained in the Tarver rematch, but I think his body and mind was better accustomed to fighting bigger guys and getting clocked by a quick left cross from a lanky power punch was a recipe for disaster.

[GhostofDempsey]

Watching Roy in real time was something special. I was in awe of his reflexes, hand speed, and how he carried or toyed with several of his opponents. He and MAB were two of my favorite fighters of the 90’s and early 2000’s. Only Manny and Loma have provided that level of excitement and awe in a fighter’s overall abilities and entertainment value.

[billeau2]

Saw some mentions of his ring IQ vs athleticism and wanted to point out I used to think he was pure athleticism and didnt have as high skills / ring IQ but watched some fight break downs of him and he had very high ring IQ, he set traps ect, he was a smart boxer, just his style used his athleticism and he did a lot of unconventional things so when his timing started to suffer in his early to mid 30s he fell off hard because he was getting caught now when he used to get away with doing things "wrong".

It is in the history of his Florida youth... While his dad was ultimately deemed a destructive force regarding Roy, his father knew boxing. Similar to Tyson Fury, Roy was groomed, taught professional level strategy, body mechanics, as a very young guy. If you watch his balance, his head position, his legs, he maximizes what the Chinese martial artists call "Fa Jing," this circular, explosive coil one can assume. His body mechanics were off the chart, he never wasted energy. And because of his body positioning when he used a feint he could follow up immediately.

If you watch him carefully? He utilized Jack Johnson's approach to picking off shots with the front hand glove (both gloves but the front is the first to catch). This made it so he really never had to use head movements... he could stay in position for that hook. Johnson was the same... No head movement necessary, catch the punch, stay tight in the feet, transfer weight with the counter. This allows one to virtually take a 30 pound weight (the head), keep it steady and use it as added force on the punch. Again, watch Jones when he attacks, his head is usually breaking the plane of his body being slightly forward.