I thought Roy would win the fight with ease back then, which is why I wasn't all that interested in it happening. My opinion hasn't changed.
He'd travel from the basketball game to the arena in a huge semi-permeable Nike Swoosh spaceship made of a liquid that supplied all his oxygen and micronutrients yet left his clothes bone dry on arrival.
Yep. And then he'd rap himself to the ring, but his hands behind his back, and make Bernard look silly.
But, however, though. Hopkins was much better than he was in 1993 and 1993 Hopkins split the last 8 rounds. You all need to stop watching Roy's cameo in the Matrix & wake up and smell the real falva flav. Hopkins was cold chillin' in effect by the millenium.
If you want to live in the land of make believe, where fighters that have never gone 12 don't improve after fighting the distance a few times, that's all you baby.
Which early fights did Roy slow down in the latter rounds suggesting he ever had a problem going 12? Hopkins? Chirino? Toney? You're assuming a deficiency there's no evidence for. Secondly, where's the evidence you see that Roy was better in ANY DEPARTMENT vs say Reggie Johnson or David telesco than against Toney or Paz after your all important couple of 12 round fights? No basis for it, really. Roy was Roy. If anything he was a half touch slower and less sharp to my eyes, if only due to becoming a bit top heavy with the extra muscle at 175. Just because allot of fighters take a couple of fights to adjust to a 12 round pace doesn't mean they all do - or that it's relevant in such a low paced, low action style match up.
Roy 8-4, 9-3 1999? Then ROY BIG..... 60-40 and i kick your ass.....wasn't that in 2001-2002? A bit closer but still JONES...
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I don't see this being all that different than their first fight. Jones moves a lot and Hopkins can't quite catch him. I don't think Hopkins could ever beat Jones, unless he waited until Jones was completely finished as a threat. Oh, wait...
Yup. Prime Jones is the ONE man who Hopkins could have never beaten. That speaks not to Hopkins' limitations (because he had virtually none) but to the fact that a prime Jones was invincible for anyone his size or smaller (or even slightly bigger).
Yep. And Hopkins didn't have the fight-changing power to swing the fight in his favor while behind on the cards.
agREED. Hopkins beat the only version of Roy he could...which again...is precisely why the fight wasn't made in previous years.
Agree with only half of this (back at ya) The fight wasn't made in previous years because Roy in his arrogance refused to fight anyone unless it was on only his terms. When Roy got old and was getting knocked out by everyone and was no longer marketable...in his desperation he'd fight anyone that would have given him the time of day.
Hopkins shares an equal amount of blame here. The infamous "60/40" argument was ridiculous. Hopkins didn't deserve half. Think about his fight with Oscar...he didn't get half...didn't get 40%. Those fights with Taylor, pavlik, Tarver, Wright and Calzaghe...he made as much or less than what he would have gotten for the Jones fight. In fact, I'd say he would have made more on the PPV upside if he'd fought Jones in say 2002 as planned. Jones and Hopkins did come to an agreement for a 50-50 split after the first Jones-Tarver fight but HBO didn't want to front the money...thus Roy fought the rematch with Tarver.
Hagler maybe. Only because of the southpaw style and the abnormal reach. Monzon and Hearns definitely not. Too much speed for both guys. Also, at 160 Jones was a hell of a puncher. Tommy couldn't have handled the incoming. We saw him outboxing Barkley before getting hurt badly by basically the first real punch Barkley landed. Before bringing up Tommy's "big right hand" don't forget...save that for the welterweight discussion.
I see, apparently Tommy couldn't hit above welterweight... someone better notify Duran, Shuler, Andries and Roldan immediately Barkley landed the luckiest punch of all time, up from the floor, right on the chin... If you gave him a million chances, he would not have duplicated that result... 3 years later, when Hearns was washed up and still had more than enough to beat Virgil Hill to win a 175 strap, Barkley landed on him all night and couldn't put him down, much less stop him... In order to get to Hearns you have to go through the hell of his shots... This was true of Hagler, it was true of Barkley (who was a shot or two away from being stopped himself when he landed what again is a one-in-a-million punch) ... The idea that Jones is going to just pot shot his way to a big lead and then knock Hearns out is ridiculous... nobody else ever came close to doing that against him... the man was never beaten on the outside, you had to brawl, you had to take risks... and even then, few could survive it... Jones was a brilliant talent but he was about as risky as skim milk... there's no way he's going after Hearns, and there's no way he can win by potshotting
