strange night...the end of an era...

[sphincter]

i said before,after tarver/jones 1, that jones should never do 175 again.......tarver was much the bigger man tonight....jones looked small and gaunt... again....not taking anything away from tarver...it was as clean a one punch knockout as i`ve ever seen......

very strange...jones easily dominates round one....is easily winning two until the abrupt ending....i don`t think tarver threw 5 significant shots in the first 2 rounds....it was flukey.....but i`m not calling it a fluke....

what i`m taking away from this fight...

1)....that jones had no business at 175.....

2)that jones speed and reflexes have deteriorated to a point that it`s probably time to walk away...without those lightning reflexes,he`s mortal....and at 35,i think his reflexes and skill has diminished significantly...not to mention the hunger....i had the same feeling about lewis...

3)tarver has a style that absolutely gives jones trouble.....tall,powerful lefty....with a very wide stance....jones just looks like he has trouble getting inside that reach and lefty stance.....

4)i still don`t think that tarver is a great fighter...as i said before,i saw eric harding handle him relatively easily in their first fight....and was winning handily in number two until he inexplicably ran out of gas and got caught..in round 5!!!!..of course,i`ve heard rumors about harding`s lifestyle which seem to be true,,,,considering what`s happened to his boxing career....

5) i absolutely believe tarver got inside jones` head.....i really believe that.....i don`t know how much emphasis each one of you places on the mental aspect of the sport,but,i honestly think think tarver messed with roy`s head....it was brilliant..."any questions?"....."yeah,what`s your excuse gonna be this time,roy?".....brilliant...

when it`s time,it`s time.....and i think it`s time for jones....definitely at 175....probably,it`s just plain time to step away...they say it can happen overnight...even jones` trainer was giving indications that roy was slipping....

just walk away...

and tarver doesn`t have to go up to heavyweight to find interesting bouts.....mormeck.....braithwaite....even up and coming rico hoye....a talented guy...

the end of an era...he had a great run...

 

[Royler]

It's all very strange. Jones was on top of his game and his career only a year ago, vs. Ruiz. Here's a man who has barely sustained any damage, is at his most visible with the watercooler crowd, and was set for a big-money fight vs. a heavyweight to close it out. What's not to get motivated about?

I find it difficult to believe that a few months can make such a drastic difference in one's abilities. The Jones who fought Tarver twice didn't seem interested in either fight. He even said as much in interviews.

This was a time for Roy to put it all together and cement his place as the P4P best ever. A win over Tyson or Klitschko would've done it. I guess he may still attempt it, but obviously his confidence going into such a fight would be damaged.

Seems like there ought to be more to the story than this.

 

[almly]

I'm still stunned, absolutely stunned. Dont believe that crap about Jones not being able to get up for the fight. He was definitely up for this one.

Spinch, how are you not mentioning Calzaghe? I agree with you about Tarver, I still dont think he's that great.

 

[Royler]

Tarver isn't that great, but he has a great fighter's number. It happens.

As for Roy being excited for the fight...I don't think so. He admitted beforehand that he wasn't interested in a rematch or in fighting anymore. I think he expected his skills or reflexes to kick in anyway.

I still believe a motivated, determined Roy Jones wins the Tarver fight. He seemed to latch onto that midway through the first fight, but it wasn't present here. I'm not even that big a boxing fan, and don't feel compelled to make excuses for him. It just didn't seem to be the same Roy I've seen before.

Tyson/Jones is still the biggest fight in boxing, especially now that everyone who thought Roy was invincible knows better. Other than that, there's not much else going on.