Originally posted by Sid-Knee
View Post
Yes, a few fighters thought that Roy would win. But just as many also believed that Joe would win.
Do you think that Joe would have been the favourite if Roy had been anywhere near his best?
Do you think that Joe would have gotten anywhere near a 50/50 split if Roy had been anywhere near his best?
Yes, there were fans who picked Roy to win. But I've spoken to many of them across 3 forums, and many have admitted since that it was through nostalgia and the fact that they just wanted him to win. There were also many other fans who knew that Roy was shot.
The fight was a joke.
It was meaningless, just like the Hopkins rematch.
It was a huge flop on PPV.
Roy was coming into the ring off of the back of a U/D win over a 172 pound Tito who'd been inactive for 3 years. He was 3-3 in his previous 6, he'd been knocked out by Johnson over 4 years earlier, and he was 9 weeks from his 40th birthday.
Here's what Joe had to say about Roy:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...6AEwAXoECAAQAQ
https://youtu.be/AWDtzdAYTOA
(6 mins, 30 secs)
Joe took the fight because he desperately wanted a legend on his resume before he retired.
The Pavlik fight was bigger and much more relevant.
Comment