Interesting question about Roy Jones Jr....

[McFearless]

So last night I was playing fight night with Roy jones (decided to give CoD a break) and while I was handing James Toney his fatass to him on silver platter Joe Tessatore raised an interesting question.

How good could Roy Jones have been if he took his talent and athleticism and added the fundamentals of boxing to his skills???

[Ivansmamma]

Roy can box orthodox he just dosen't want to. He want's to be superman Roy Jones and i think the style he uses is the one that best utilizes the abilities he had in his prime. His style is much more unpredictable then an orthodox style. That combined with amazing speed and reflexes made his success. An orthodox Roy would't be as good but would maybe have more longevity.

[THE REED]

And I agree with what Teddy Atlas's answer was in the game... He might not of been that good... part of what made Roy as great as he was.. was his awkward and elusive style to deal with.

[Spacey1991]

And I agree with what Teddy Atlas's answer was in the game... He might not of been that good... part of what made Roy as great as he was.. was his awkward and elusive style to deal with.

True, and it was very exciting to watch. His style was what made him the Roy Jones Jr. we know him as today.

However, with more fundamentals there is a posibility that he would have been more competitive when out of his peak to be fair, like Hopkins is very sound fundamentally so he is still able to compete for example.

[cameronpaul]

he used his natural ability to the best of his advantage. his unorthadox style ment he never had to really soak up puishment, he just moved away. also because he was never a power puncher, his low arms and foot movment helped to deliver punches with some real force behind them. and james toney is the better fighter anyway, if he had taken the fight seriously he would have ko'd jones.

[Brooklyn Rican]

I think Roy would've been stopped by someone eventually. His chin doesn't look too strong. Could be age or could be that his chin has always been like that and was never touched like the people who shook him caught him.

[McFearless]

Yeah I pretty much agree with the general thoughts on it..
His style was pretty much suited for his specific talents which by the way are amazing
definitely exciting. One second hands are down next you got leather in your mouth.
And I definitely agree with the longevity of his career, probably wouldn't have been knocked out like he has been =\
I'm sure it's been said but it sure would be nice for boxing if father time was as merciful with him as with bhop

[Mr. Philadel]

And I agree with what Teddy Atlas's answer was in the game... He might not of been that good... part of what made Roy as great as he was.. was his awkward and elusive style to deal with.

true....I never thought about it like that....but it's so dam true!!

[The_Demon]

roy wouldnt be roy if he was content with boxing his way too a boring 12 round decision like hopkins did way too often

he was exciting and incredible

kind of similar to why hamed and steward were a bad match

[blaze778]

I think being unorthodox is what made Roy special and an atg. However, if he utilized more fundamentals, he would be more competitive than he is now. Look at guys like Hopkins and Mosley- guys who are more fundamental, maybe not as dynamic as Roy, but aren't as far from their primes as he is. If Roy found a balance, he probably would never been knocked out while still being the Roy we love.

One good example is Pacquiao. He was an unorthodox, quick power puncher with only one hand. Roach taught him a lot of fundamentals, but hasn't really changed the Pac that we loved from 4 years ago, just added more dimensions to his repertoire.

Tyson on the other hand probably wouldn't have been so great if he was more fundamental and "orthodox", because of his size, style, and physical gifts, as well dealing with guys who were way bigger, but that's another topic on its own.

Hopkins was right about Jones. Your athleticism and natural gifts fade with age, but the basics and fundamentals stay with you forever.