Roy jones jr..what exactly happened?

[Gandalf]

Age. He got a little bit older and slower and didn't have technique and thus he kept getting knocked out being a bit chinny. Not exactly rocket science.

[g3org3]

I think it was a combination of 2 and 3

[Beanflicker]

I think it was a perfect storm of factors.

The weight gain and loss definitely took a lot out of him. You can't just totally restructure your body and then tear it back down again in such a short time frame, especially if you're in your mid 30s. Look at what Chris Byrd did: he decided to shave down from HW to LHW and he looked HORRIBLE. He was used to getting hit by HWs and going through it, now he was getting bounced around the ring by a 175lber with hardly any power. It's a recipe for disaster.

Also, like mentioned I think Roy's heart was no longer in it. I was watching a recent interview with him where he said his goal was to go up and win the HW title, then come back down and regain the LHW title and retire. He accomplished that after the first Tarver fight. I remember at the time (after the first Tarver fight) he said he wanted to do a "mega fight" with Mike Tyson and then retire. Once a guy starts talking about retirement, you know he's done.

And also, Roy was 35 at the time. At that point, he'd been fighting for 15 or 16 years as a professional. We've been spoiled by guys like Foreman, Bhop, ect who are fighting well into their 40s and winning titles, and we forget that those guys are the exception, not the rule.
Look at other guys like Jones who relied on speed and reflexes: Whitaker was well past it by 35 (and was getting outboxed by Hurtado at 33). At 35, Ray Leonard was getting battered around the ring by Terry Norris like an old man. And of course if you want to go to Ali, he was struggling with guys like Shavers and Spinks at that age. So I think father time was also catching up with Roy: all of a sudden his body didn't respond to openings and danger quite as fast as it used to.

I'll always have a soft spot for Roy because he's the reason I started watching boxing. I wish he'd just retired after the first Tarver fight.

[imp]

Age. He got a little bit older and slower and didn't have technique and thus he kept getting knocked out being a bit chinny. Not exactly rocket science.

Age is off course a factor but we are talking pre tarver johnson - post ruiz.

The first tarver fight he won showed alot of things.

[Master]

1. Roy would have been regarded as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, ever boxer if he retired after the first tarver fight

2. It was the muscle loss that ended Roys reign with age another factor which slowed him down.

3. Roy got caught with a peach of a shot but at his best he would have avoided it.

4. Roy destroys southpaws and all styles at his best.

[jon09]

Roy is 1 of the ATG's. But ego, age and poor decisions really made him look bad in his twilight career.

[ross]

All things lead to desire.



























Or steroids.....

[imp]

All things lead to desire.



























Or steroids.....

Werent they legal when he took them?

Or is that a rumour.

[ross]

He was caught with something ilegal that was an ingredient of a sports suppliment.

Wouldnt it be easy though to find a sports suppliment that has whatever cheaty drug you want to take and use that as an excuse after being found cheating?

[Hulk]

1. Roy would have been regarded as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, ever boxer if he retired after the first tarver fight

2. It was the muscle loss that ended Roys reign with age another factor which slowed him down.

3. Roy got caught with a peach of a shot but at his best he would have avoided it.

4. Roy destroys southpaws and all styles at his best.

Its sad, but true.

To me, and some others on this forum, he is still the best of all time. He was out of this world. As VD was saying, its incomprehensible just how much better he was than everyone else and that included guys like James Toney and Vrigil Hill.

Look at Reggie Johnson's resume and then see how totally outclassed he was by Roy.

[Gandalf]

Age. He got a little bit older and slower and didn't have technique and thus he kept getting knocked out being a bit chinny. Not exactly rocket science.

Age is off course a factor but we are talking pre tarver johnson - post ruiz.

The first tarver fight he won showed alot of things.

I think he just looked old, it was a very laboured win by his standards.

[Spicoli]

Roy got bored at the same time age was tapping him on the shoulder. He was pure reflex and instinct and he just didn't develope that second fundamental gear to call on. The heavy-Tyson talk was ludicrous and once that was over he didn't go back to fighting a Woods, Gonzalez or Kelly, but he fought a rebounding Tarver who had his own chip on the shoulder not to mention his previous trinkets and was a better boxer than Jones had faced in some time. Honestly Tarver did a great job at mind gaming Roy, getting under his skin and self promotion and Roy's clock simply ran out in rematch.

[ykdadamaja]

Should have retired after the first Tarver fight... at best, after the third Tarver fight. To me, Tarver got a gift decision in the third fight.

[Master]

Should have retired after the first Tarver fight... at best, after the third Tarver fight. To me, Tarver got a gift decision in the third fight.

Thought Roy had a classic round 5ish but lost the fight.

[imp]

Should have retired after the first Tarver fight... at best, after the third Tarver fight. To me, Tarver got a gift decision in the third fight.

Thought Roy had a classic round 5ish but lost the fight.

Roy lost the third fight without a doubt