Something is "screwy" about this fight....

[thebadguy]

After watching the replay of the Jones-Tarver fight last night, I have changed my mind on a few things.

1. It was a LUCKY punch! Tarver threw that shot with his eyes closed, and then just barely opened them as the punch landed. You will never convince me otherwise. Tarver had no idea where or even IF that shot was gonna land.

2. Something just isn't right. The way the odds went significantly down like that just before the fight. Also, Jones got up before the 10 count, and Nady didn't even give him a chance, he immediately stopped the fight. One would think that given Roy Jones' reputation, he should have gotten the benefit of the doubt.

3. It seemed almost "robotic" and "programmed" didn't it? First they announced it as a KO, saying Jones did NOT beat the 10 count (according to Michael Buffer), then they had to reverse themselves and call it a TKO.


I dont like the whole "conspiracy theory" bull****... but something just isn't right about this fight.

If I am wrong, and everything is legit, then we have a different story. It is the same story that took shape during Rocky III and got the title: "Eye of the Tiger". Jones hasn't had the "eye of the tiger" for years... Tarver has. However, if the story plays out correctly, Jones will use this loss as a way to get it back... and when he does, watch the **** out!!!!

[wildhawke11]

Yes it was a LUCKY punch
Meaning lucky someone like the old champion Bob Foster was not in the ring with Roy that night.

Jones turned away he did not want to know, no excuses please the man was beaten, fair and square.

[Bam Bam]

we agree badguy on the lucky punch. Don't think it was a setup though......Jones had stars in his eyes, he didn't fake that...It was interesting to hear Tarver say that he actually bet on Jones that night...what the hell is that?
Jones sure did have alot of excuses though.....

[ACGord]

No way was that an early stoppage. Jones was out on his feet plain and simple. Letting the fight continue would have put Roy in serious danger (McClellan?).

As for the punch, lucky or not it landed and did the job.

[cubedrum]

The Jones that Tarver bet on was a racehorse. He said that immediately after.

Cube

[estone57]

Yes he said he bet on Smarty Jones. It was a pretty funny line I thought

[Bam Bam]

oh, wups lol

[sabotai]

The way the odds went significantly down like that just before the fight.

This happens all the time. The odds change based on bets that are made. If the people taking the bets get a surge of bets one way (in this case, I would think a lot of people bet on Tarver), they adjust the odds accordingly. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

You will never convince me otherwise

Then I guess it's no use to explain how wrong you are then...

[thebadguy]

Now Tarver has the balls to say that Jones was never as good as people claimed he was and certainly not as good as Roy said he was. He is also claiming that Roy has been pampered throughout his career and never took any chances. I have never been a big Jones fan... but Tarver is an ******* that needs his mouth shut in a hurry.

Some people have always critisized Jones for taking "easy fights". That is also crap. Its not that those fighters were bad... its that Jones was SO much better.

[hamed]

It's funny, if I were a pro fighter, no matter who I beat, I'd say he was one tough guy - even if I didn't think that. Why would you want to say the guy you just beat didn't have a chin, or couldn't punch? If that's true, why should anyone be excited you beat a bum like that? LOL

[ACGord]

Originally posted by thebadguy

Some people have always critisized Jones for taking "easy fights". That is also crap. Its not that those fighters were bad... its that Jones was SO much better.

Most of the competition that Roy fought was suspect some was even laughable. Roy has taken "easy fights" almost his whole career. This is not “crap” it is fact.

I never drank the Jones Kool-Aid. He very well may have been one of the most athletic (reflexes, speed, etc.) fighters ever. But showing those skills off against taxi cab drivers and off duty rent-a-cops just doesn’t cut it, at least not for me.

If you ever get a chance, read Dark Trade.

[mh2365]

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a huge Roy Jones fan .... I don't dislike him, he's just never been my favorite ....

But saying that he's not one of the top 10 all-time or that he never fought anyone is just plain wrong. All he did was get old and lose just like every other boxer ever (except Marciano). Ali was freaking horrible the last few times he stepped into the ring, but did we say he sucked? NO.

Jones beat alot of talented fighters. Hopkins, Toney, McCallum, Malinga, Lucas, Hill, Reggie Johnson, Del Valle. Then you've got Griffin, Harding and Gonzalez who were all undefeated when he beat them.

He never fought Hopkins again which is one of the criticism of him. Well Hopkins wanted a 50/50 split. Why would Jones give Hopkins a 50/50 split. Jones is the bigger draw and he already beat Hopkins. So IMO Hopkins was chicken to fight Jones again because he made demands that were unreasonable. If I'm unemployed and want to work I take the first job that comes along, If I don't want to work then I tell McD's that I would be excited to work for them but only if they gave me 37.50$ per hour. It's unreasonable. Why should Jones split the take for fighting someone he whipped earlier?

Another factor that should be thrown in when looking at his competition is the Don King factor. King has a rider in a lot of his contracts that he becomes the promoter of both fighters after the fight. Jones promotes his self and lost out on fighting a lot of King fighters because of this. Now granted I am taking Jones' word on this matter but it sounds right.

Jones got old. Fighters do it all the time. I would like to see him get hungry, come back and whip Tarver and then retire. Or just retire now. All of this, of course is just my opinion.

[Brooks TVB]

It may have been a lucky punch(probably was) but luck is 90% of all sports. Even the best runningbacks in football break loose for 40 or 50 yards by getting lucky a guy was not in his way or a basketball player shooting a 3 point from halfcourt at the buzzer and hitting it. That shot is hit less than 5% of the time. Whether lucky or not, when that happens it counts nothing you can do about it.

[JimmyK]

I think you have to put Roy Jones in the proper perspective. First, people tend to either overrate or underrate most of the all-time greats.

They did it with Dempsey, Marciano, Ali, Tyson, etc.

Even Ali said Tyson was AWESOME when Mike was at his peak.

I believe the truth lies somewhere in this statement, "On any given night, any very good to great champion can beat another." That's why I like the best out of 3 concept in judging a fighter.

The same fate that befell Jones could have befell Hagler.

Hell, it happened to Duran! Had Hearns not bombed him out, we would have thought it impossible.

Ray Robinson landed the perfect shot to starch Gene Fullmer. And he had an iron jaw. It had never happened before... and it never happened again (to Fullmer).

To a boxing fan, these guys become hero's. We WANT to see the best in our era because we love the sport. And when one of them disappoints, we tear them apart.

I still think Tyson blows out Lewis in Tyson's prime. He was fast, hard to hit, and threw combos in bunches.

Not that Lewis couldn't tie him up... I just think his chin wasn't as good as some of the other giants who went the distance with a prime Tyson (Bonecrusher Smith, Tony Tucker, etc.) Plus, he took a good shot.

Jones' decade of brilliance can't be erased with one punch - especially at the age of 35.

Just my thoughts.

Jimmy K.

[sabotai]

Jones' decade of brilliance can't be erased with one punch - especially at the age of 35.

That's where the debate has been sitting (since long before his run in with Tarver). Was a decade of brilliant boxing, or brilliant match-making?

[wildhawke11]

Hello Jimmy and welcome to the Board.

You mention Gene Fullmer, your right one hell of a tough fighter.
Only Robinson knocked him out, but i believe he was put down by
Eduardo Lausse, Bobby Boyd and Gil Turner.

The one big weakness i see in Roy Jones is his way of thinking *i don't want to be hurt* You could not have took on the All Time Greats and come out a winner with that attitude i fear.

If the *Great Ali* had had the same lines of thought as Roy, he never would have won when the going really got tough but Ali had for want of a better word, call it pride.

Can you imagine Roy going through the fights with Joe Frazier, as Ali himself said " the nearest thing to death" Roy had more sense i agree then both Frazier and Ali, but that's not the hallmark of an All Time Great fighter.
The truth is Roy was a business man first and foremost, in other words his motto was *is the risk worth the rewards*

In 50 years time my own feelings are the experts will not find it hard to drop him from being a great fighter in there minds when they compare his oposition and the fights he should have taken to justify his postion as being One Of the Best of All Time.
Cheers and welcome again Jimmy