Come on, REED. Hopkins in 2001 was a better and more well-rounded fighter than the one that fought RJJ EIGHT years earlier. It is after the Jones Jr. fight that he went through adversity vs. Mercado and then fought and beat the likes of Aquino, Lipsey, Jackson, Johnson, Brown, Allen, Echols, Vanderpool....that makes a fighter better. And his stamina vs. Tito was excellent too - hell, he came in at 157 and had a consistent punch output AND movement all night. To admit this doesn't take away from Jones Jr.'s win. As for Trinidad fans....they're doing more needling than anything else. They're pretty much admitting they're "picking" with their hearts. Peace.
One more thing .... BOTH know how to close the show so , I predict that , the first to hurt the other will win this fight ... who that will be is up for grabs.
Roy hasn't been too aggressive the last couple times he's had his opponents hurt. If he didn't hurt Tarver in round 5 of the rubber match, Tarver was at least stunned, but Roy didn't press him. Roy didn't press Hanshaw when he dropped him in their fight. Roy did try to attack Ruiz when he hurt in the 4th round, but for the past few years (even before getting KO'd), Jones seemed more content to potshot and dish a methodical beating rather than go for the kill. Tito might take too many right hands though, so I'll say he falls after taking too many or the ref/corner stops it.
Trinidad ain't exactly rocking a six-pack there. He's got 2 abs...2 half abs...and a couple of big mosquito bites below those. He still is kinda soft down there, with a borderline roll over his belt line (admit it, you can see it kind of hang).
I think that's why he's going to come back aggressive. He's not going to wait around to get hurt. Tito of course has always gone for the kill when he gets his opponent hurt . I don't think either man has it to go 10 or 12 (Or it will be one bigtime snoozer) Roy has something to prove ... Tito not so much so , but he's not rolling over ... There's gonna be some action ... first one that gets caught loses.
I dont think Jones tried to get the KO against Hanshaw. He had hurt him several times and shoulda put him away in the 11th but made no such attempt. Truth is, he's never been a great finisher. But he knows how to wear you down. Plus, he can put you away with one great punch or combination. Tito's stubborn, he'll take a lot of punishment. But he's never been hit as hard as he'll be hit Saturday night, particularly to the body. And those straight rights are gonna be bouncing off his dome as early as round two. It all comes down to what Jones has left. Like I said, if the version that fought Hanshaw shows up, Trinidad won't last 12.
I don't care what the weight is, I think every fighter who steps in with Trinidad respects his power - whether it's there or not. I'm not counting Tito out; Jones carries too many question marks for me to be 100% sure. Fact is, if he's a shell of himself on Saturday night, it won't matter if it's Tito Jackson across the ring from him. So I can't downgrade a fellow Hall of Famer like Trinidad who's lost only to the best. And fukking hits hard. But Trinidad takes a lot of shots too. He won't take too many from Roy Jones, I can tell you that.
Tito is going to get his ass handed to him. Tito cant even avoid a jab from slow ass Winkey. RJJ is going to run circles around tito all night. It will be embarassing.
Roy looked worn,tired and slumping in his chair according to a writer from the Times,also said Jones had to lose alot of Muscle to go from 190 to 170 per Roy himself:doh: . If he did it to his body again he is very stupid.