Did Roy Jones start losing at LHW when his competition stepped up?

[SergioMaravilla]

Did Roy Jones start losing at LHW when his competition stepped up?
Looking at Jones big LHW names and match ups (only LHW)

McCallum - had recently been beaten by Tiozzo
Griffin - was a novice with no great LHW wins. Dont say Toney who had a terrible SMW and LHW resume and did nothing at LHW
Hill - was coming off a loss to Michalczewski

Tarver - was on a good run and pushed Jones then beat him in the rematch
Johnson - Was on a good run and beat Jones
Tarver - beats Jones again
But Jones then has a run of 3 convincing wins against similar opposition to the Fraziers, Kellys etc and looks just as good.
Calzaghe - On a good run schools Jones
Then Jones has 2 fights at his old level and looked as good as before
Hopkins - now LHW champ beats Jones when he stepped up again

So was Jones a great LHW and just got old, or was he never a great LHW and just exposed when he stepped up

Discuss

[therealpugilist]

Dude never lost a legitimate fight til he was 35 and older...if you keep fighting past you best you are gonna lose especially if you a fighter that depends on speed and reflexes coordination....moving from heavyweight back down to lightheavyweight...after that Ruiz fight...he didnt look the same stamina wise, health wise, and his confidence was shot to hell...he was never the same after that kayo loss to Tarver at age 36....by that point in his career Jones had already defeated like 14 world champions....Calzaghe and Hopkins didnt wanna fight the guy til he got kayoed 2 times already and was on a losing streak...no conincidence

[Bushbaby]

Maybe the near 30lb's between lightheavy & heavy had something to do with his loss to Tarver, maybe??

[SergioMaravilla]

Interesting post, however it's important to note that Tarver was a serious step up in class from the opposition Jones had been facing previously, and Jones was able to win a close decision, I don't think he was past it at that point. Then Tarver got to him in the rematch. Jones was ranked P4P number 1 when Tarver beat him. Also Jones was on winning streaks when he fought Calzaghe and Hopkins

[SergioMaravilla]

Maybe the near 30lb's between lightheavy & heavy had something to do with his loss to Tarver, maybe??

I think as someone else pointed out before, Jones weighed between 193-199 when he faced Ruiz, he weighed 186 on fight night as a LHW. Archie Moore often fought between 190 pounds at HW, and LHW at 175 in the 50's, and he was always strong. Thomas Hearns went from LHW back to MW and was able to win a title there. The advances in technology and nutrition were greater when Jones was fighting, than when Archie Moore and Thomas Hearns were fighting

[therealpugilist]

I think as someone else pointed out before, Jones weighed between 193-199 when he faced Ruiz, he weighed 186 on fight night as a LHW. Archie Moore often fought between 190 pounds at HW, and LHW at 175 in the 50's, and he was always strong. Thomas Hearns went from LHW back to MW and was able to win a title there. The advances in technology and nutrition were greater when Jones was fighting, than when Archie Moore and Thomas Hearns were fighting

Hearns was a tall lanky guy and Moore was a solid lightheavyweight for a longtime...Jones was always a smallish lightheavyweight often coming pounds below the limit....when he fought Trinidad it was at a catchweight at 170...Jones was more heavily muscled than both guys...

not taking anything away from Tarver, but Jones in that fight didnt have a very high energy level, his complexion looked very pale like he was dehydrated, legs look shot to hell and took alot of good solid shots and didnt budge while on the ropes IMO that fight took what ever was left out of him....No fighter is in their prime past at 35, whether they are winning or not, no fighter is the same fighter athletically as they were at 25..

.Tarver couldve won that fight...he gave it away in the last 2 rounds and Jones dug down and showed alot of heart to pull out that win...I do agree though that Tarver was his best opponent at 175 up til that point, either he or Virgil Hill who after losing to Jones won titles at cruiserweight and stayed world class past his 40's

[Larry the boss]

I think as someone else pointed out before, Jones weighed between 193-199 when he faced Ruiz, he weighed 186 on fight night as a LHW. Archie Moore often fought between 190 pounds at HW, and LHW at 175 in the 50's, and he was always strong. Thomas Hearns went from LHW back to MW and was able to win a title there. The advances in technology and nutrition were greater when Jones was fighting, than when Archie Moore and Thomas Hearns were fighting

dropping 24 pounds of muscle at 35 within a few months will take something form you man..he was 199 with Ruiz and had to drop down to make 175......huge mistake

[Bushbaby]

I think as someone else pointed out before, Jones weighed between 193-199 when he faced Ruiz, he weighed 186 on fight night as a LHW. Archie Moore often fought between 190 pounds at HW, and LHW at 175 in the 50's, and he was always strong. Thomas Hearns went from LHW back to MW and was able to win a title there. The advances in technology and nutrition were greater when Jones was fighting, than when Archie Moore and Thomas Hearns were fighting

He weighted less at the weight in.

[Larry the boss]

Roy was on the down slide before he moved up to heavyweight and when he moved down he lost a step and he got hit and hit hard and lost.it happens

[SergioMaravilla]

Hearns was a tall lanky guy and Moore was a solid lightheavyweight for a longtime...Jones was always a smallish lightheavyweight often coming pounds below the limit....when he fought Trinidad it was at a catchweight at 170...Jones was more heavily muscled than both guys...

not taking anything away from Tarver, but Jones in that fight didnt have a very high energy level, his complexion looked very pale like he was dehydrated, legs look shot to hell and took alot of good solid shots and didnt budge while on the ropes IMO that fight took what ever was left out of him....No fighter is in their prime past at 35, whether they are winning or not, no fighter is the same fighter athletically as they were at 25..

.Tarver couldve won that fight...he gave it away in the last 2 rounds and Jones dug down and showed alot of heart to pull out that win...I do agree though that Tarver was his best opponent at 175 up til that point, either he or Virgil Hill who after losing to Jones won titles at cruiserweight and stayed world class past his 40's

Good post!

Hearns was tall and lanky, but he started at WW, and was able to go from LHW to MW and win a title. Moore did it regularly. You could argue that as he weighed 186 on fight night as a LHW, that Jones had grown into a legit LHW. I think he weighed about 193 for the fight with Ruiz, so it was a matter of 7 pounds, hardly extreme.

Jones was still strong enough to beat Tarver in the first fight. Then in the rematch, he had plenty of time to re-adjust to the weight. I think Tarver pushed Jones harder than any opponent he'd faced at LHW and it showed. Good point about Trinidad, Jones had easily become accustomed to making LHW, he was still able to make 170. I think the weight loss figures are grossly exaggerated.

Once again, I'm just asking the question in debate. Jones was obviously older, however he was still ranked P4P number 1, and was a huge favourite going into the fights with Tarver and Johnson. They were arguably better opposition than Jones had previously faced, as they were confident and on winning runs. As opposed to Virgil Hill, who was coming off a gruelling 12 round loss to DM