The Impossible Dream
Roy Jones says he wants to be heavyweight champion. While there is
practically no-one who doubts his skills, I find this dream to be
impossible. On several occasions I have heard so-called sports commentators
say that he can beat Evander Holyfield, and the following is my breakdown of
a potential fight between the two.
Speed
Let's start with Roy Jones' only advantage. Roy Jones' hand and footspeed
is superior to any heavywieght in the sport today. While Evander does have
decent hand speed, he will have problems keeping up with Jones; he may even
find Jones' head a hard target to strike. Big advantage for Jones.
Endurance
Holyfield is one of the best trained athletes in boxing, but is sometimes
prone to get tired. Roy Jones is also in great shape, but lacks the size
and power punch to wear down Evander. Even.
Durability
Well, we all are well aware of Holyfield's durability. Punches from Roy
Jones will be a blessing compared to the ones he took from Tyson. Roy Jones
has never taken a heavyweight's power punch, but at his size there is no
reason to assume that he can take many. Huge advantage for Holyfield.
Power
Holyfield is not known for heavywieght knockout power, but still has decent
power, especailly from his left side. He usually wears down his opponent.
This being said, Jones has never had punches of that kind of power thrown at
him. Jones has good power even at light heavyweight, but the jump to
heavyweight should be too much for him to compete in this category. Huge
advantage for Holyfield.
Size
Heigth, reach, weight. Holyfield is just bigger.
Intangibles
Holyfield has too much big-fight experience, and has of late been fighting
smarter. All the wars have made him one of the most experinced fighters
ever. Roy Jones really has never been in a superfight; but that isn't his
fault. Jones can't show Holyfield anything he hasn't seen before. Big
advantage for Holyfield.
This fight would begin with Jones doing his best impersonation of Ali;
dancing and moving his head, trying to utilize his speed advantage. If
Holyfield should have problems catching Jones, look for him to walk through
Jones' punches to land power-hooks to the body. When Jones clinches, look
for Evander to push him around and utilize his weight advantage to wear
Jones down. Jones' middleweight body will take too much heavywieght
punishment after about 3 rounds. He will probably retire on his stool, or
go down after a bodyshot and not get up.
Dreams are what enable us to achieve greatness; but Jones' dream will enable
him to get hurt, badly.
Heath
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