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Originally Posted by Sargeman
So who was there in his prime that he avoided? I don't remember but I don't think there was anyone in his class that was a big name boxer that he avoided.
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That's my point. There was no one in light heavyweight that was worth fighting. So the fact that he beat them all doesn't mean much. His blazing speed and movement would not have been as evident against higher quality opponents. He moved up until he found a weight class where there were no quality opponents, found that he liked it there, and stayed there.
He moved up to heavyweight recently to take on John Ruiz, an absolute sloth in the ring. Jones boxed circles around him, of course. I respect him for doing this, but I still see it as a trivial thing that posed no real threat for Jones.
Jones was phenomenal early in his career. He was robbed at the olympics and took out his anger on his first bunch of pro opponents. But that was a looong time ago. All I'm saying is that, since that time, years and years ago, he hasn't fought anyone worthwhile. And maybe, just maybe that is why everyone was so shocked when Tarver took it to him. Jones isn't accustomed to fighting people that are even remotely on his own skill level.
From cbssports:
*Some in boxing had always said Jones picked his opponents too carefully and refused to fight anyone who might pose a danger to him. His record was littered with obscure opponents, and even his foray into the heavyweight ranks came against a slow, inept boxer in John Ruiz. For years, Jones lived off the controversy of his gold medal loss in Seoul and took advantage of an HBO television contract that paid him $5 million a fight to defend his title against the likes of forgettable fighters like Clinton Woods and Glenn Kelly.*
The fact that I agree with this does not make me a Jones hater. I have never called Jones a "chump." If you need to continue to classify me as such, then whatever man. I just call it like I see it. I've watched all of his fights and followed his career closely, and that's what I've seen. I agree that he was the best light heavy out there for his entire reign. All I'm saying is that light-heavy is, and has been for a long time, a weak division. Is this Jones' fault? No, of course not. But the best fighters in just about every other division, the champions, took the big risks and fought the best fighters out there, regardless if it meant moving up or down a few pounds or losing an idividual belt that no one cared about. Roy didn't. He hid behind his belts, and fought all the "mandatory challengers." For ten years. He took a chance at heavyweight only because it was John Ruiz. He deserves credit for doing it, but it really wasn't a huge accomplishment.
Another knock on Jones is his aloofness and refusal to give anyone else credit for anything at all. He said of Tarver, after Tarver knocked him out:
(AP) "What basically happened was I probably got bored with this guy," Jones said.
This is a typical Jones response, and an example of his extreme sense of pride getting in the way of acknowledging the truth.
Sidenote---I remember reading something a while ago, I don't remember where, in which Roy Jones was talking about a friend of his that had died in the ring, after taking too much damage in a fight. He gave the impression that this had affected him deeply, and changed the way he felt about fighting. He said he never wanted to hurt anyone like that. He said that had a lot to do with why he used the style that he did, boxing circles around people instead of trying to knock them out. I wish I could remember where I saw this. Anyway, I thought it was interesting...