I think you missed the point... EVERY fighter is vulnerable and has weaknesses. What separates good fighters from great fighters is their ability to mask those weaknesses. In the case of Ali and Jones, their natural ability allowed them to hide their flaws better. Ali's albatross was always the left hook due to the way he pulled back and cocked his right hand. He always had trouble with lefthookers. The difference between he and Jones is that Ali had an all-time great chin. The shot Tarver caught Jones with wasn't any less devastating than the lefthook Frazier caught Ali with. The difference being Ali's chin vs Roy's. And again, you're talking about a 35 year old version of Roy Jones who wasn't anywhere near the fighter he was 10 years prior. Ali at roughly the same age could barely keep Leon Spinks off him. I don't see why it's difficult to understand that the Jones Tarver and Johnson got wasn't the same as Bernard Hopkins or James Toney fought. :dunno: It's not an excuse, it's the truth. If Roy got KO'd like that at 25, then I'd agree with you. I'm not one of the guys who think Roy's the greatest fighter ever, but I do think he's in the Top 25 to Top 30. The problem is, guys act like the Tarver/Johnson version of Jones is the best Roy Jones. Furthermore, all of a sudden Roy couldn't beat anybody. That's just ridiculous.
dsimon writes: This post makes sense to me because it admits Roy's chin may be at least as much a factor as any unknown injuries and luck on tarver's side. I agree with you and I am neither a Roy hater or a Roy lover. I would put him in the top 25 easy.
Bottom line is that we can all specualate how good or how bad Roys grill was in his prime. He rarely got hit so we will never really know. What we do know is that he had crazy speed and reflexes that meant his opponents were hesitant and defensive.
let me sum up all of our thoughts here.. Tarver had his eyes closed and just swung for the fences.. Roy didn't see it coming and was severily weakened by the weight drain post Ruiz.. Tarver won the lottery basically
I agree .... He did the same shit Vs Eric Harding .... Fuckin Tarver was looking like a complete fool and getting OWNED every second of every round ... He had this look on his face like he wanted to quit. The same look that was on his face towards the end of the Hopkins fight ... Just when Tarver started to go into a survival mode only , he closed his eyes and swung for the fences ... Fuckin Harding got caught ...
It was More LUCK than Anything... For Starters,Roy MISSED a Lead Right from POINT BLANK RANGE that WOULD have Dropped Tarver OR @ the VERY Least,Knocked Tarver OUT of Position to Land his Left Hook...Tarver even Ducked INTO the Shot,but Somehow it MISSED:dunno: ... Roy even PAUSED Himself,Out of Surprise... Then,Roy ANTICIPATES Tarver's Left Hook,Lands HIS OWN Left Hook 1st(a WEAK One to Tarver's Neck)& Tarver's Shot SOMEHOW Go's INSIDE of Roy's Glove... To this Day,REED has NEVER Seen a Guy Get HIT w/a Shot WHILE his Defense is Up.... Yet Tarver Managed to Do this vs Roy... As Much as this Loss STILL Hurts REED,it was FATE... REED
Trinidad decapitaded David Reid with a left-hook that got through his guard. Watch the tape. It looked like Tito cut him with a Sabre.
:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: For the record REED is VERY VERY VERY upset to announce Tarver landed the luckiest shot in boxing history on Roy Jones, a punch physically impossible. It was fate. :shit: :shit: :shit:
@ the VERY BEGINNING of the Fight... Ruiz RUSHED Roy,Got him on the Ropes,Landed a HUGE,FLUSH Right Hook...The Sheer FORCE of the Shot Spun Roy's Head... Yet,NATHAN Happened... REED:nono: ps. That "Weak Ass" Puncher DROPPED Holyfield AND Kirk Johnson...AND he Kept a 7ft,300lb Motherfucker TENTATIVE....
1st round on the left side of the head, but something happened though. Roy looked unsteady for about half a second.
True... REED Stands Corrected... That's THE ONLY Other Time REED has Seen a Guy Get Drilled WHILE his Protective Guard is Up... It's an EXTREMELY RARE Occurrence,Undoubtedly...Imagine Floyd Getting Caught w/his Guard UP???:dunno: But even N Tito's Case,his Shot Landed ACROSS Reid's Face...Tarver's Shot Landed N the BEST Spot Possible... REED
That's precisely why it's an incredible shot. Roy's glove was positioned correctly and Tarver had a small gap to land that shot and he hit the sweet spot. The following week when Floyd fought Corley, Corley stunned Floyd with a similar shot. Floyd's glove was positioned correctly ... "however" A straight left from a southpaw comes in at a straighter angle than a lefthook (unless you're a point of chin lefthooker like Tito) therefore the shot was able to slide through a high guard.
Pacquiao split through Morales's guard numerous times with his straight left. It's the southpaw thing, a straight left hand coming in through the guard. Morales and Jones had their right gloves near the right sides of their face, ready to fend off the left hook from an orthodox fighter. Obviously, the angle is different from lefties like Pacquiao and Tarver. Tyson caught Tubbs with a left hook through his guard.
REED my post...Floyd got caught by Corley. It's the angle the shot comes in at. Judah caught Floyd with a straigt left or two as well.