It would be a pretty dull fight. I just don't see Ward having any answers whatsoever for Roy's handspeed. And I see Jones hurting/dropping him and putting him in a shell.
Could be...but Toney was a short man...Ward's height and reach would stylistically give Jones slightly more problems than Toney did, style wise.
Ward doesn't have particularly long arms. His reach is 71, which isn't impressive for a guy his size. Roy's reach if I'm not mistaken is 74. So Roy has the longer arms despite being slightly shorter. I just think everything Ward does well is offset by Roy's physical gifts. I'm waiting for someone to reference the Griffin fight as evidence of Ward is competitive, but I think Montell being an awkward MIDGET is part of what gave Roy difficulty. Ward isn't accustomed to CONSISTENTLY getting beaten the the punch. After having no success with Jones from the outside, Dre's only alternative would be making it an ugly grapple fest. But because of Roy's footspeed, and because Jones actually fought a lot better on the inside than someone like Kov or Froch, I don't see that working for Ward either. It'd be a classic case of skill have no answer for insane talent.
Ward would give trouble to RJ. RJ would always be a step ahead, but he would fight reluctantly and would not look impressive.
Why would Roy fight reluctantly? It's not as if Ward has the pop to hurt him. Conversely, Jones could DEFINITELY seriously hurt Ward. Only one would fight reluctantly.
Like X just said, I think the speed of hand and foot that Roy possessed was just too much for Ward to deal with. He might have a bit of success in SPOTS when Roy goes to the ropes and it turns into a grapple and hit type of fight, but Roy was good at that too, and he was so slick at sneaking in those short uppercuts and body shots inside, something Ward isn't used to dealing with. I just Roy two steps ahead the whole time. He either hurts Ward badly enough to get a late stoppage, or outclasses him badly en route to a UD, 10-2, 9-3 type scores.
Roy was reluctant agasinst Harding and Harmon, and they both were powder puff. Against a guy as skilled as Ward, you can bet Roy would do a lot of posing and feinting, but he wouldn't throw a lot
Reluctant and smart are two different things. Roy wouldn't go out and open up Ward like say, Merqui Sosa. Because Ward isn't an easy target. But he wouldn't be overly cautious of Ward either. Especially not if we're talking about the mid 90s Jones at 168, who was more aggressive than he became in the 00s. Roy's reluctance shouldn't be in question here. The only one getting reluctant would be Ward. You can bet your ass he wouldn't be as willing to throw after getting hit faster and more frequently than he ever has before.
they both would be reluctant. It would be a dull affait with roy winning a 8-4 type of decision in a forgettable fight. Roy was letting them go against slow pondering foes, against fast skilled guy, he was always rather conservative
