
Originally Posted by
ono
I pick Jones but it wouldn't be an easy fight for him. Nowhere near as easy as the 'Jones inside 5' predictions on here. I think he'd win a UD.
I actually think Jones has a chance beating him now. I don't seem him being as shot as people make out. He lost a lot of weight after the Ruiz fight and he got ko'd twice. That experience obviously altered him as a fighter. He isn't as fast (altho stil faster than Calzaghe) as he used to be and he doesn't seem to be as active, but he's still very capable of putting on a performance.
When you get to the level that Jones got to, it's impossible to lose the talent that got him there. Obviously different fighters peak at different times. Jones obviously peaked a very long time ago, but the talent is still there. It's just a question of wether he is mentally and physically strong enough. A fight against Calzaghe is a very big incentive for Jones to go all out for the win. I woudn't be surprised if he managed it.
I agree with this (not read most of the thread, can imagine a lot of shit slinging about). I'm undecided who'll win this year, I think both guys have slipped a bit.
As for prime, Jones was special and I'd pick him to win a wide UD against a prime Joe, noting that prime Joe would probably be his toughest opponent.
It's tough to gauge prime, as there best performances don't necasarily coincide with their actual prime. There best performances usually come against the best opponent for their style (good example is Tyson-Spinks). While Joe's best performance was against Lacy, I feel he had already slipped physically, however the challenge brought an extra focus to his game, which could have been pretty special if the Joe of 4/5 years earlier could have had the opponent to bring the best focus out of him.
I think Roy's prime is easier to spot, it was probably at 168 circa Toney fight. Roy suffers in the eyes of many since he was almost too good, opponents are often classed as off their game or just never any good since he made them look that way.
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