how does this do anything to tarnish his years of dominance prior? His earlier wins are no less amazing now than they were then. I don't care if he's not ARchie Moore now, because he was RJJR then.
I watched the entire thing, here is my take. Tarver is one of those guys who is just awkward as hell. He's tall, he stands straight up and he doesn't dance around much, and on top of all that hes left handed. He gives Jones trouble. Jones is still so so fast and quick, he has more speed than anyone in the history of boxing, still. Jones knew he probably couldn't win, but he danced around entertained and when he wanted to he landed some nice punches and combo's. BUT he fought too defensive to win. He fought not to get hurt, but he still fought and I gained some respect for him. Tarver is damn good. I think Jones is done, he probably won't fight again. I just think he doesn't want people to remember him flat on his back, he wants them to remember him for his sheer speed and entertainment factor. The guy has too much to lose to go in there and get banged up. Hes a pretty boy, he has millions of dollars, a huge house, kids, and the lifestyle he wants. Michael Jordan and many other celebrites where there, they all love him, he hangs out with them, and women love him. Jones is the man in and outside of the ring.
Jones fight now reminds me of Jordan playing with the Wizards. You still see the flashes of brilliance, but it just isn't what it once was.
Tarver did not dominate him. The only time Roy was in trouble was in the 11th. Tarver outboxed him and was busier. Roy never took any risks so he lost soundly. What sucks is that Roy could have easily beaten Tarver if he had any heart at all, but roy has never had to put any effort in kicking peoples butts, so he just never had to develope any heart I guess.
Roy Jones Jr was considered to be the best pound-for-pound fighter of his generation. That arguement is greatly weakened when he gets dominated twice by Tarver who is also a top 3 P4P fighter of this time. Roy Jones Jr's legacy is tarnished in my mind. Tarver clearly outboxed him throughout but he was EXHAUSTED in the later rounds but Jones didnt do anything.
You sir, obviously know nothing about boxing or sports in general or you are extremely short-sighted or a young buck. Ali got himself beat senseless, literally, at the end of his career and is still regarded as the greatest heavyweight ever. Is his legacy tarnished in your mind? Hakeem was junk his last 2 years in the league. Does that take away what he did for 15 years and your team in your mind? Favre is one of the greats but struggling now. Does that tarnish his legacy in your mind? Hopkins is known as the p4p king now and Roy beat the hell out of him with one arm. He had broken his other. Toney at the time he faught Roy was called the greatest p4p ever and Roy made him look like a chump. Every athlete hits a wall at some point in thier career and what they did easily yesterday just isn't there anymore. Roy's was when he lost 25 pounds of muscle in 6 weeks time for a fight at 35 years of age. Watch the Ruiz fight, that was 205 of solid muscle, not fat. His body never recovered. Roy showed flashes of brilliance tonight and could have won if he would have let his hands go more, but he didn't. That should have nothing to do with what he did for the 15 years prior, though. Roy is the greatest fighter you or I will see in our lifetime and we should apprecciate what he has done and what we have seen. He made everything look so easy for 15 years we took it for granted. I seen a stat one time where he had not lost a round on any judges scorecard for over 7 years. Boxing is a dying sport, every division is struggling to find a big fighter,you will not see another like Roy. So, instead of his legacy being tarnished in your mind for getting old, you should enjoy what you have seen if you are old enough to have watched.
One last thing about the fight, Roy lost 8 rounds to 4. If you flipped the first 2 rounds, where they through about 20 punches combined, that could have went either way that were scored for Tarver, the fight would have been a majority draw, 114-114 or 6-6. I am not saying Roy won, but that is how close it was. Outside of the first 2 or 3 rounds, each fighter won their rounds without a doubt, but the first 2 or 3 could have went either way and changed the descision.
Roy is a p***y who never put everything into any fight. He decided to fight a safe fight tonight instead of using his speed to put presure on Tarver. Jones is a chicken ****.
I really like Roy Jones Jr, and I've never seen him fight. I love his rap CD, Body Head Bangerz Vol.1, and I love the game he's on the cover of, Fight Night. It sounds like he was a good boxer too, ha. Go Roy.
Your argument seems to boil down to the fact taht showed he was human and not able to create a wormhole and recreate the RJJR of the mid 90's? The guy in his prime, was simply one of the finely skilled athletes to enter a boxing ring, and was able to use his athletic ability to dominate at multiple levels for the greater part of a decade - something that only a few boxers have ever done (Tarver, most definitely not being one of them). In his old age, he showed he was not as good as he was in his prime, like Ali's inglorious demise against Larry Holmes, Sugar Ray Leonard's beating at the hands of Terry Norris, and even the Ageless Archie Moore's ignominous end vs. Clay - essentially like every single great fighter (of course there were a few like Hagler and Marciano who quit in or near their prime - but in a way you could argue that that is even more "p***y" than taking your lumps in old age, not that I think that, but you could make the argument) Perhaps, if Roy Jones Junior was a blood and guts warrior rep fighter like Arturo Gatti or something, placid tactics on his part would be a big negative - but he was never that kind of a fighter, and it's unrealistic to expect a change at this stage in the game.
Jones got outboxed by Tarver for the 2nd time in a year (including a 2nd round knckout), and Jones' lone victory was a controversial split decision. Your examples dont hold water because this isnt a Shaq becoming the next best center over hakeem. Jones got beat by a contemporary -- it's different when you're continuously losing to your rival. Tarver is the same age as Jones FWIW. There was always criticism that Jones' was a show-off boxer who handpicked his opponents, I'm not saying I agree with this, but boxing fans who were on the fence about the issue are probably leaning towards that now. I think you may have gotten the wrong idea, Jones' legacy is tarnished in my eyes, because he's no longer the clear cut, undisputed best P4P fighter of our time, but he's top 3. I guess it's comparable to Randy Johnson, or Greg Maddux (no one is Roger Clemens in boxing now). In my mind Tarver won all three of their bouts -- dominating the last two. When I look back on Jones body of work 10 years from now, that's what is going to stick out. At one point, he wasthe best fighter in the world, but when he had to defend that honor against his rival, he couldnt.
