Hya J, long time no speak ! Yes I had high praise for lucas matthysse. But after his last debacle which showed his limitations as an
all around fighter, I am disappointed somewhat. It seemed to me as he was slower than his prior bouts. It happens to all fighters
at sometime in their career. But I always look forward to my favorite fighter now GGG...He could hit with power and on target.
I have been watching boxing for too long a time, and loved the competitive fighters of the 1940s and 1950s...They to make a living had to fight
OFTEN and the best and because of the deep pool of fighters those halcyon days brought out the top champions and contenders...
But I truly believe that GGG would have fit in very well with the top middleweights of those days, EVEN if he has never beaten the quality of fighters
of yesterday...No fighter can be pick the date of their birth...Roy Jones at times in his early career seemed unbeatable for sure, but it seems to me
that were he fighting the top middleweights of the 1940s and 50s, as Ezzard Charles, jimmy bivins, archie moore, Harold Johnson, a Lloyd Marshall
his not too concrete a chin would have been tested and found wanting....All those guys above could hit and could take it in return if needed..,
nice to hear from you BB! yeah, GGG seems to have "the stuff" though I agree with Bert Cooper that his handspeed is a bit lacking at the top level. His chin, amateur career, accuracy and power are the kind of tools that will see a fighter through all kinds of adversity.
I still need to watch the Matthysse fights to get a better idea of what he's capable of and what his limitations are. both are on my list of "to watch" fights while i'm off on a sick leave.
As for Roy :bbb he's always gonna be my soft spot. love the man to death, irrationally maybe. and i still feel he's the fighter who looks best on film...robinson, ali, moore and charles included. I honestly think Roy's chin has been underrated in recent years. His career, to be fairly analyzed, should be divided into pre and post ruiz. Really in the same way Tyson is pre/post Spinks, Robinson is pre/post retirement, Pep is pre/post crash.
Roy Jones at 168 is, for me, one of the top 10 fighters of all time. I genuinely believe that. from 160-175 there are a HANDFUL of fighters in each division I may favour over him (greb at 160, no one at 168, a few at 175 including charles and spinks). That's a ridiculous thought for such talent rich divisions (160 and 175 at least). I think the historians, both modern and otherwise, have unfairly judged him on his post 2003 performances and have held him to a standard that other fighters aren't. Take Jones during and before the Ruiz fight: list all the fighters you'd favour over THAT man in the respective divisions. It's a short list. Unless you include the chin of a weight drained and shot Jones.
