Roy Jones's prime competition... exactly how good was it?

[Guest]

He's a really nice guy. He was just chilling laying low and I went up to him and just said that he was a good fighter. One of the articles I'm researching is the NYC top 10 P4P, and in it I'm listing him as number 1. He's a really good fighter, I picked him to beat Hatton and still think he won. Collazo is some kind of tough.

When I first saw the fight I had him winning. He certainly won the FIGHT, but whether he won the boxing match is another matter. I guess with the KD all Hatton had to do was take half the rounds to net the win, but it was a close fight, no question.

[GEOFFHAYES]

I really wanted to see Jones fight Reggie Johnson or Lamar Parks at 160, Johnson was as slick as a greaseball back then and Parks was an excellent little fighter (better than Hopkins IMO) who punch for punch had Very heavy hands. And, the one guy you can say Jones 'ducked' was Michael Nunn - mandatory at both 168 and 175.

I'd love to see Benn and Jones in about '89 and Eubank and Jones in about '92 - but Benn lost to Watson and Jones Sr cancelled the NBC contract (influenced by Benn having too much too soon..), and Eubank kept turning him down.

[Mr. Ryan]

When I first saw the fight I had him winning. He certainly won the FIGHT, but whether he won the boxing match is another matter. I guess with the KD all Hatton had to do was take half the rounds to net the win, but it was a close fight, no question.

That was a tough fight to score, but really Hatton didn't look good against the style. I saw Collazo's previous loss, and that was a dubious stoppage. He got tagged with one shot, dipped and slipped the rest, and the ref jumped in. Terrible, terrible stoppage. That fight made me question Hatton's out of the ring behavior because he doesn't seem to stay in shape between fights. He was gassed really quickly. Maybe the success from the Tszyu fight has him slipping.

[GEOFFHAYES]

I know Jones turned down a shot at Julian Jackson in early '93 because he fell out with King.

Obviously, the Jones Jr/G-Man proposed future super-fight was the one that really wetted my appetite in '94.

[Guest]

That was a tough fight to score, but really Hatton didn't look good against the style. I saw Collazo's previous loss, and that was a dubious stoppage. He got tagged with one shot, dipped and slipped the rest, and the ref jumped in. Terrible, terrible stoppage. That fight made me question Hatton's out of the ring behavior because he doesn't seem to stay in shape between fights. He was gassed really quickly. Maybe the success from the Tszyu fight has him slipping.

Yeah, when I watched it again I was left with the impression of the ending, so I'd forgotten how long it took Collazo to get involved... I don't think he really had a foothold in the fight until about the fifth round, so he's entering the fifth already five points down. (IMO).

Hatton's definitely slipping, I wonder how much longer he can last with that idea of ballooning?

[GEOFFHAYES]

That was a tough fight to score, but really Hatton didn't look good against the style. I saw Collazo's previous loss, and that was a dubious stoppage. He got tagged with one shot, dipped and slipped the rest, and the ref jumped in. Terrible, terrible stoppage. That fight made me question Hatton's out of the ring behavior because he doesn't seem to stay in shape between fights. He was gassed really quickly. Maybe the success from the Tszyu fight has him slipping.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that they had just five or six weeks to pack 7lbs of muscle onto his frame, and that he could barely move on the night!

[GEOFFHAYES]

(158 at 5ft6 is hideous)

[Mr. Ryan]

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that they had just five or six weeks to pack 7lbs of muscle onto his frame, and that he could barely move on the night!

That's alot of time to add weight on. I don't think he put it on properly though.

[Mr. Ryan]

Yeah, when I watched it again I was left with the impression of the ending, so I'd forgotten how long it took Collazo to get involved... I don't think he really had a foothold in the fight until about the fifth round, so he's entering the fifth already five points down. (IMO).

Hatton's definitely slipping, I wonder how much longer he can last with that idea of ballooning?

Yeah, Collazo wasn't in the fight until later when Hatton stopped throwing 1000 punches and just started following him around. In reality, I'd have to say that Hatton is a better fighter because he was dictating the pace. When he wanted to fight, Collazo had nothing to offer back. But I didn't like seeing Collazo complaining to the ref. This is a fight, that man isn't going to help you.

[GEOFFHAYES]

That's alot of time to add weight on. I don't think he put it on properly though.

Most people couldn't put 7lbs of muscle on in a lifetime, let alone five or six weeks!

At the end of the day, Collazo had free hits for 12 rounds and still lost. No offense to the guy, I expect he's a nice guy and all that, but he was fighting a guy who had zero speed and zero sharpness on the night..