Just My Opinion: Today's Boxing Scene

[Jim Trunzo]

Roy Jones: A Snapshot Evaluation

In a nutshell, Roy Jones is an brilliant athlete, an excellent boxer, and a good fighter. Numerically, that would break down (on a 10-point scale) to 10 - 10, 9-10, and 8-10. That's the best I can do for him.

The truth is that Jones possessed cat-like reflexes, mind-boggling hand-eye coordination, and an intelligence that magnified the other two qualities. He could box exceptionally well because of his physical superiority, because he was, for the most part, not a fundamentalist in the same sense that Muhammad Ali wasn't. However, he was only a slightly above average "fighter".

Now before you Roy Jones fans take umbrage, understand what I mean by fighter. Jones wasn't a blood and guts kind of guy. He didn't want to have anything to do with a brawl. He loathed to mix it up with anyone even remotely near his ability level (and few were!). Jones killer instinct seldom revealed itself. In most cases it didn't have to because his other skills made it so easy for him to outclass 97% of his opponents.

I'm not going to bash Jones, even though I believe that as a "fighter", he's always been a bit overrated. His last two humbling losses simply indicate that Jones has aged, lost just that tiny little extra edge in speed that separated him from the pack. It happens to all of them: Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Roberto Duran . . . you name a fighter and chances are that if you look at his last few fights, you find "L"s beside the entries.

When Ali slowed up, he was still able to show his greatness because he had a chin and an inner strength to win tough, gruelling contests against top of the line competition. He also has the heartbreaking after-effects to show for it.

Jones has slowed up and he doesn't have the chin to be great any longer; just as important, he doesn't have the desire, the inner strength to do it. I am not in anyway insulting Jones. The truth is that Jones was such a wonderful physical anomaly that his chin was never tested. Add that to the fact that Jones never wanted to trade if he didn't absolutely have to and it erases the "amazing" fact that he has been stopped in his last two outings. It isn't a matter of Jones' chin suddenly going - it was never really there to begin with . . . but to his credit, it never had to be, until recently.

As far as Jones' inner fire, this in no way translates into a lack of courage. Jones has never convinced me that he really wanted to be a fighter. I truly believe that Roy Jones would have been happier playing basketball. His pure athleticism probably would have translated into a great baseball player or wide receiver or even tennis great! Jones never feared an opponent but, especially after seeing what happened to Gerald McClelland, Jones truly feared what could happen to him in the ring if he took too many punches.

Jones has no desire to win at any cost, no matter what he might say. Then again, he'll leave the ring without a speech impediment, with his brain in tact, and with the ability to be an announcer, rapper or movie star!

Roy Jones will probably end up in the Boxing Hall of Fame. If some of the recent entries belong, Jones certainly does. I'm not sure if I'd put him there, but I'll certainly admit that he deserves consideration, that he at least deserves to knock on the door to see if it will open. Of course, that's . . .

Just My Opinion!

[jofre]

Jim, I agree wholeheartily with your assessment. Nice writeup!

[wildhawke11]

Jim and Jofre
I could not resist re-posting this previous post i did a couple of days back. You both know the fight game, and are true historians
Spot on Gentlemen Great Post James



Roy looked to me to be totally drained in that fight, in fact he has not been the same man since the Ruiz fight.I think the constant change in weight and the affects it had on him were starting to show even in the first Tarver fight. The right that Johnson hit him with was not even on a recognised knockout point, and yet he was out before he hit the floor. At times he even looked disinterested as if his heart and mind were elsewhere. In my humble opinion he should have a brain scan and i really am not being sarcastic.

Added to the above is the fact Jones has lost his wheels, reflexes and speed, and just like Ali the things that kept him going in his prime. The big difference being though, as both there athletic ability eroded Ali could still survive because of his great chin and heart, Jones we now know just does not have that chin, and to be honest i often wondered what would happen if taken to the trenches by someone.

History tells me nearly all of the All Time Great's had pretty good chins, and most when put down or beaten by a Tarver type fighter, would have dusted them selves off, picked up the sword and demanded another fight. Jones is first and foremost a business man, gain v risk, and that's not the hallmark of a True All Time Great. *Smart oh yes i will give him that*

The middleweight division which throughout history has always been the elite division and produced such great fighters in our past, over the last decade or so has become bar a few fighters, a very mediocre division.
Jones always did look classy in the ring but when the opposition mostly consists of 2nd division fighters, in all honesty that's not hard to do.

Ask yourself in fact how would Ray Robinson, Monzon. Hagler, Cerdan, Walker or Greb or many of the well known fighters have done against Roy's opposition.Then take the lesser known fighters like the great Gibbons, or Charley Burley or any of the feared so called *Black Murderers Row*

To quote Archie Moore himself
"You know people ask me who was the best fighter i ever met and i tell them Rocky Marciano, because that's what they want to hear. Hell Marciano beat me when i was 42. Eddie Booker and Charley Burley were the best, they beat me in my prime. Booker broke my ribs and Burley gave me a boxing lesson"

Burley fought against guys who outweighed him by 40 lb, even HWs and knocked them out. He had a disputed loss to perhaps the greatest Light-Heavy of all time Ezzard Charles. Its a bit much anyway for me to regard Roy Jones as An All Time P4P fighter even at his prime, with the lack of real talent that has been around.

Good Fighter - Yes Great Fighter - ? All Time Great - Not in My Book
But Each To His Own

On a last note the knockout worried me and i sincerely hope Roy is OK,
and decides to call it a day, because i would hate to see him become just a springboard for any young up and coming fighters to beat up on.
Good Night Boxing Lovers
Danny

[LeeSkye]

Appreciate your comments and insight Jim.

I said it before and I'll say it again. I didn't think Roy was prepared mentally for a tough fight. Whether that is his true nature or not, I can't say but I feel it was true for this fight. I even felt that Roy was a little embarrassed by the whole knock out thing and then suddenly he is swamped in the opening round. I just had the impression that Roy wanted to be Roy-that great athlete we all saw and cheered and it wasn't happening. You hear a lot of great atheletes say that one thing they never wanted to have happen was to embarrass themselves at the end of their careers. And for Roy the fall [for whatever reason] was so quick.

On pure talent -I still think Roy is one of the best ever. But for anyone past 30-time is a fighter that none of us can beat forever -and fast or slow-it will win!

[jofre]

Danny, I think your assessment is very valid. A few friends of mine were discussing the very same points you so eloquently stated. Roy, physically and mentally hasn't been the same since he dropped back down to LHW.

[erickdamac]

Amazing a great fighter lose in his mid thirties and is post prime, and now his victories over Hopkins, Toney and Ruiz are no good? No he cant erven make it to the HOf? Now he is exposed? Roy is a a hall a famer and all time great, he is just like all the other greats who lost at the end. This is how are sport works look at sugar ray lenard, ali, holyfield, Just a few to be named out of alot of greats who just lost at the end of there careers! His accomplishments are amazing jumping to Hw and then coming back to Lhw to win the title and holding both at one time, And beating a all time great MW, and A HOF, a HW contender now in James toney who was PFP king when he beat him, and beating a title-holder who beat holyfield when he was just turning post prime, Roy is just a fighter with no skills but ALOT of talent, When your talent slips, and you have no skills, the stuff you got away with, the things you do that trainers, train there fighters not to do, he did! And in both of his loses its those things he normally do that he got knocked out trying to do now. But to say he might not even be a HOF, is.....just lol unthinkable.