I recently read the ring magazine published just after Jones lost to Johnson. One line stated 'How good was RJ all those years? So good we never knew he had no chin'
Do you think this is right? How good was his chin throughout his career?
Roy Jones's Chin
I think it was probably more vulnerable than most of us ever thought, but probably not as bad as it has looked lately.
In other words, I think the truth of the matter, as with almost anything , lies somewhere in the middle.
I don't believe that his chin was ever quite as durable as we might have believed it might be back during his peak, but of course, it just never really got tested ( aside from that brief spill via Delvalle ... ) because of his brilliant athleticism.
But, once he sacrificed some of those athletic gifts to come back down to 175 after his one-off venture at heavyweight, we got a more realistic look at one sort of chin he had. And, I think, those 12 tough rounds vs Tarver in their initial encounter took their toll as well, softening him up if you will, for the subsequent KO defeats to Tarver & Johnson.
In other words, I think the truth of the matter, as with almost anything , lies somewhere in the middle.
I don't believe that his chin was ever quite as durable as we might have believed it might be back during his peak, but of course, it just never really got tested ( aside from that brief spill via Delvalle ... ) because of his brilliant athleticism.
But, once he sacrificed some of those athletic gifts to come back down to 175 after his one-off venture at heavyweight, we got a more realistic look at one sort of chin he had. And, I think, those 12 tough rounds vs Tarver in their initial encounter took their toll as well, softening him up if you will, for the subsequent KO defeats to Tarver & Johnson.