Question about Roy Jones

[Resendiz]

I never really got into boxing much but of course heard of Roy Jones Jr.

Question is what the hell happened to him? I heard he was unbeatable then lost, and started losing. I understand one loss, but kinda weird a guy this great would start losing all of a sudden.
Thought id as in this forum

Thanks

 

[Guards]

RJJ is an all-time-great in boxing. One of the 'Best Ever', so to speak.

More than anything, I think people started to figure him out. He was SO unorthodox that it became something that technical and by-the-book fighters began to edge past.

His style was built around absurd levels of athleticism; raw speed, agility, etc.

Those things begin to fall away with Age. He's still very, very good. His style does not age well, though. He's not as fast, not as explosive or dynamic. That little slip has returned him to 'the mix' of A-level fighters.

 

[Curtis Gibbs]

I pretty much 100% agree with Guards -

Pretty whole fight relied on aspects of speed (eg. Agility, Foot speed, Hand speed.) So as he aged all of his speed attributes went along with his age. So he is left with pretty much nothing because his whole game depended on what has diminished

 

[5acrossYOeye]

i believe it had a lot to do with his move from Light Heavyweight up to Heavyweight and then back down.

 

[Curtis Gibbs]

That could be very true as well. Maybe he switched up his style from weight classes

 

[Resendiz]

ahh i see, thanks for clearing this up.

would you say that he was as great of a boxer as Mayweather Jr? Both seem unorthodox and fast as hell, but i dont know much about boxing

 

[5acrossYOeye]

That could be very true as well. Maybe he switched up his style from weight classes

well... i didn't notice that as much as his speed and quickness disappeared. (maybe lost muscle?)

BUT...fighters can lose it (speed+legs) overnight without moving from weight class to weight class and maybe he's an example of that.

Regardless...take away Roy's best asset and he was beatable. That isn't so true with other greats of the game. He was a great but I always go back and forth with myself about how great. ya know?

 

[5acrossYOeye]

ahh i see, thanks for clearing this up.

would you say that he was as great of a boxer as Mayweather Jr? Both seem unorthodox and fast as hell, but i dont know much about boxing

The thing about Floyd is he can fight on the inside or the outside.

Also...Floyd is a master of mid-fight adjustments. Watch the Zab Judah fight if you get a chance. Zab was staying with Floyd but Floyd found the key to the lock and it was a wrap after that.

With Floyd moving up in weight classes his style has changed. He's a one or two punch guy now. He puts the combos together once he figures his opponent out. Before moving up so quickly he put his combos together more often and it was a thing of beauty.

In his days in the lighter weights he was nasty. speed+power+ring generalship. I think he could hang with the majority of the greats from 130-135 but not the best.

 

[Rinksterk**]

The thing about Floyd is he can fight on the inside or the outside.

Also...Floyd is a master of mid-fight adjustments. Watch the Zab Judah fight if you get a chance. Zab was staying with Floyd but Floyd found the key to the lock and it was a wrap after that.

With Floyd moving up in weight classes his style has changed. He's a one or two punch guy now. He puts the combos together once he figures his opponent out. Before moving up so quickly he put his combos together more often and it was a thing of beauty.

In his days in the lighter weights he was nasty. speed+power+ring generalship. I think he could hang with the majority of the greats from 130-135 but not the best.

Yeah, the only thing unorthodox about Floyd is that he doesn't stay behind a jab and put together combos a lot. But he used to a lot more in the lower weight classes.

 

[mschatz]

Yeah, the only thing unorthodox about Floyd is that he doesn't stay behind a jab and put together combos a lot.

Well, that and the shell he uses most of the time.

 

[5acrossYOeye]

Well, that and the shell he uses most of the time.

as you know...the shell is nothing easy to pull off.

 

[Yanoush]

Roy Jones was an absolute freak. Watching his HLs makes me cower under the sheer ferocity of his speed and power.

 

[elbowsmash]

floyd at the lighter weights was a monster

dude used to string 4-7 punch combos in succession, hitting them in the ears, forehead until the chin gets exposed. his body shot is the only shot that has kinda stayed with him at the higher weight.

his jab was nasty at 130, it seems like its alot more powerful than right now soundwise, made a nasty noise when it hit an opponent.

 

[elbowsmash]

i actually thought zab was kicking floyds ass for the first 4 rounds.

floyd couldn't use his shell, and had to turtle up (when's the last time you seen floyd put earmuffs on?). rd 5 it was over, floyd started landing body shots, that slowed zab down and exposed his head, and stopped zab from using his SHOCK superior speed from jumping in and out due to the fact he was getting tagged hard to the body when he did. zab doing his prison fighting technique was kinda funny.

but floyd was eating lefts from zab (no shame in that i guess, zabs left is dope) 1-4.

 

[rezident]

In my opinion, I think he just got old. He beat everyone there was to beat, and basically went into Pseudo retirement. He came out of Pseudo retirement.

He only has 4 losses total in his career. 52 - 4 is hardly "Kept losing"

One was a BS DQ which he later avenged.

Another was the PERFECT punch from Tarver where he got KO'd in the second round.

This was his first ever REAL loss, not to mention Knock out, and I imagine it fucked with his head. Because he didn't look at all the same fighter in his next fight against Glen Johnson. That's no excuse, he still lost.

So realistically, in his career, he's only lost to 2 people. Antonio Tarver & Glen Johnson. And that was towards the end of his career. I wouldn't be too upset if my first loss came at the age of 35.

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