The following are excerpts of a mailbag conversation between a guy gaining much respect as a trainer and an analyst, Stephen Edwards, and a boxing fan that claims to have trained with Roy Jones. Some here have said Jones never had a good defense or boxing technique. The actual interpretation of what defense entails apparently is not universal.
Was Roy Jones Jr just a mindless speed demon void of technique or was he just ahead of his time?
http://www.boxingtalk.com/pag/article.php?aid=21722
Mailbagger's comment:
"Roy is as technical as they come. We know that the art of boxing is over a 100 years old so that means that there are virtual 100's of defensive and offensive moves. Floyd uses the Shoulder Roll as a defensive cloak and dagger but when I questioned Roy about his methods he actually took the time out to demonstrate a weapon that he used in the RUIZ fight called the Windshield Wiper, a sort of Jack Johnson catch/parry motion he uses to pick off with his open palms when rapid fire punches are being fired at him.
Bread, I can say that I felt the effectiveness of Roy's parry's as they threw me off. His hands seemed to move like a helicopter's propellers. He also has SEVERAL ways of immobilising an opponent after they throw a jab and then taking them out with SEVERAL counter punch options after immobilising them.
I have heard over the years that Roy does not throw a jab. Again, I would like to say that I understand this point. BUT they are wrong. Roy does throw a jab but we know it as a straight right hand! Roy has a way of throwing it that he says makes it more effective than the classical left handed jab. Basically, Roy does everything backwards.
He has reversed engineered most of the traditional moves in boxing and found ways of using this to trap and immobilise his adversaries. He has methodically studied and broken down traditional boxing moves (such as the double jab right hand) and found 'shortcuts'. His methods are so unorthoxed because what a classical boxer will do in 3 moves, Roy would use his methodology + SUPREME athleticism to execute the same result in ONE move..."
Stephen Edwards' Response:
"I know the fans are wrong when they assume Roy is not technical. He was just UNCONVENTIONAL in his approach. He was such a genius , people insulted him by giving him compliments. It’s a shame that more people didn’t appreciate the wonderful gifts he had. Speaking of the jab. I always thought this was Roy’s most amazing talent. He was not especially tall for a lightheavyweight, yet he took away most guys jabs without jabbing himself. Everyone insulted him by saying he abandoned his jab, but it wasn’t true. He was just such a genius he did it in a different way.From the outside looking in, I saw Roy take away jabs with feints, a check hook and lead right hands. But I know there had to be more to it. I want to ask Roy exactly what he did and can he break it down for me. He is truly a genius in my opinion."
Was Roy Jones Jr just a mindless speed demon void of technique or was he just ahead of his time?
http://www.boxingtalk.com/pag/article.php?aid=21722
Mailbagger's comment:
"Roy is as technical as they come. We know that the art of boxing is over a 100 years old so that means that there are virtual 100's of defensive and offensive moves. Floyd uses the Shoulder Roll as a defensive cloak and dagger but when I questioned Roy about his methods he actually took the time out to demonstrate a weapon that he used in the RUIZ fight called the Windshield Wiper, a sort of Jack Johnson catch/parry motion he uses to pick off with his open palms when rapid fire punches are being fired at him.
Bread, I can say that I felt the effectiveness of Roy's parry's as they threw me off. His hands seemed to move like a helicopter's propellers. He also has SEVERAL ways of immobilising an opponent after they throw a jab and then taking them out with SEVERAL counter punch options after immobilising them.
I have heard over the years that Roy does not throw a jab. Again, I would like to say that I understand this point. BUT they are wrong. Roy does throw a jab but we know it as a straight right hand! Roy has a way of throwing it that he says makes it more effective than the classical left handed jab. Basically, Roy does everything backwards.
He has reversed engineered most of the traditional moves in boxing and found ways of using this to trap and immobilise his adversaries. He has methodically studied and broken down traditional boxing moves (such as the double jab right hand) and found 'shortcuts'. His methods are so unorthoxed because what a classical boxer will do in 3 moves, Roy would use his methodology + SUPREME athleticism to execute the same result in ONE move..."
Stephen Edwards' Response:
"I know the fans are wrong when they assume Roy is not technical. He was just UNCONVENTIONAL in his approach. He was such a genius , people insulted him by giving him compliments. It’s a shame that more people didn’t appreciate the wonderful gifts he had. Speaking of the jab. I always thought this was Roy’s most amazing talent. He was not especially tall for a lightheavyweight, yet he took away most guys jabs without jabbing himself. Everyone insulted him by saying he abandoned his jab, but it wasn’t true. He was just such a genius he did it in a different way.From the outside looking in, I saw Roy take away jabs with feints, a check hook and lead right hands. But I know there had to be more to it. I want to ask Roy exactly what he did and can he break it down for me. He is truly a genius in my opinion."
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. Anyway, regardless of who you know there are plenty of people that think Jones had a great defense and most of those people are professional boxers and trainers as opposed to the average armchair joe that usually can only decipher simple things. This is not to be condescending but most of the people that think Jones had a great defense are people that are actually in the game while most people that are not in the game just see a fast guy that started getting hit as soon as he slowed down. Go around and ask and you will see that this is true.
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