Re: Roy Jones Vs Mike Tyson at their weight
If you're talking prime for Prime, you're probably talking about Middle/super middleweight Jones but we can go with early light heavy. Some things to consider:
- Tyson actually had a really good inside game in his prime. Cus's system actually gave him room to work on the inside and his compact form allowed him to throw those stubby hooks and uppercuts that were the bread and butter of his fearsome offense while his taller opponents couldn't work from that range. His ability to work the body wore fighters down when he couldn't knock them out. Mike loved to work on the inside, mostly because the majority of fighters were taller than him. So he'd get in and bang the body drop your elbows and then chase the head and if you lasted past the first 2 or 3. After he took the body for a couple, he'd give you this test in a clinch... and take your arms and lift them onto his sides... if you latched on and held, he knew you dead on your feet and were ready to go...
- Tyson was Fast, but Jones was faster and had better reflexes. Mike knew where he wanted you in the ring to do his work. Jones knew where you wanted him in the ring and was just never there.
- Mike could bang and end you with a single shot in his mid to long range, Jones could swarm with blistering speed/ volume and it would seem like you couldn't get away from him. Jones had underrated power and did manage to wobble Ruiz (who was only knocked out prior by murderous puncher david tua and 7 years after by a David Haye that had about 30lbs on what Jones weighed in his fight with ruiz (Jones weighed in 193, fully clothed with his hands in his pockets and was rumored to be holding fishing weights in his hands. Ruiz was rumored to outweigh Jones by about 45 lbs in the fight. Ruiz not really known as a big puncher (though he did knock down Holyfield and kO'd some low profile heavyweights) but did stun Jones at the end of the first round as well.
- Mike crumpled Sphinx, the other reigning light heavyweight who came up and grabbed a piece of the heavyweight title. Jones scored the first Scoreless round in compubox history (10 years up till that point-- not sure if it happened after) on a Vinny Pazienza, being trained by Tyson's former trainer in his prime, Kevin Rooney using the Cus D'amato numbers system.
-Tyson had a very good chin but was known to get discouraged when things weren't going his way (Cus, Rooney, and Early on Atlas provided the counterbalance by mentally coaching Tyson between rounds, King would later employ a sports psychiatrist after he got rid of rooney). Jones had a pretty decent chin, but could have had a weakness against persistent southpaws that didn't give him room to breathe. (rapid Physiological differences after the drop from heavyweight make it more difficult to say for sure)
The question becomes weather Tyson can pressure trap and cleanly hit Jones before his carriage turns back into a pumpkin of a fragile psyche. Can Jones, move frustrate and hold, pot shot, clown and teleport his way around a bulldozing Tyson enough to expedite the process of Tyson mentally regressing to a childlike temperament. We all know Jones probably won't hurt Tyson with any shots because Jones wouldn't stand still long enough to plant and 4 hooks with the same hand means each hook probably has less on it. There's no guarantee that Tyson lands anything big cleanly early and while its likely that Tyson could steamroll Jones into a corner and try to tee off. There's a greater possibility that Jones reads Mike well and follows the holyfield blueprint to a T and clinches mike up and talking to him. The amount of holding allowed, as well as the refs ability to keep armbars/forearms, etc to a minimum could determine how much time A matador in Jones has to stand in front of a bull like Tyson, The weight difference is huge and constant so Tyson always remains one dangerous punch away from victory, albeit it slower and more predictable. That being said even with the constant coaching his Jedi masters in the corner, i feel like Tyson only holds it together for 6/7 max (and probably is leading on the cards because of Jones' reluctance to throw) If Jones makes it to seven Tyson unravels with Jones's help and Jones starts to unleash his best and takes a piece of him at a time as long as his hands hold up.
They want your @$$ beat because upsets make news. News brings about excitement, excitement brings about ratings. The objective is to bring you up to the tower and tear your @$$ down. And if you don't believe that, you're crazy.
Roy Jones, Jr. "What I've Learned," Esquire 2003
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