Jones/Tarver info

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FIGHT ANALYSES FOR THE PAY-PER-VIEW CARD, SATURDAY, APRIL 17 th
By Bert Randolph Sugar

ROY JONES JR. (49-1, 38 KO's) versus ANTONIO TARVER (21-2, 17 KO's)
For the world Light Heavyweight Championship
May 15, 2004, from the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada

AN ANALYSIS OF THE FIGHT
By Bert Randolph Sugar

ROY JONES JR.

STRENGTHS

Jones' style is not a one-style-fits-all style, but one combining tremendous speed with devastating knockout power deliver in a faster than you can read this manner with either hand that can be adapted to fit the fight and his opponent.

With the fastest hands in boxing, Jones can throw a bewildering array of punches --lead rights, body punches, fast flurries and his best punch the left hook-- and counter extremely well.

Jone's primary asset is his supreme confidence in his almost superhuman abilities which motivates him to fight every fight with a determination to prove that he not only is the "Best Pund-for-Pounder" in the game today, but also one of its all-time greats. And now he has something more to prove that his first fight with Tarver was an aberration and that he can once again, as he didi in his rematch vs. Montell Griffin, raise his effort from merely human to superhuman.

A calculating fighter -called a "genius fighter" by Budd Schulberg --Jones is known for playing "head games" with his opponent, as witnessed by his fight with James Toney, and is looking to get under Tarver's skin and into his head for an advantage he can exploit.

WEAKNESSES

Jones has always had trouble with lefties, be they Reggie Johnson, Louie De Valle, Erick Harding or Antonio Tarver, often letting them dictate the action, sometimes even retreating to the ropes, rather than pressuring them - which is the best way to fight a left-hander.

Jones tends to go right-hand crazy against lefties, ignoring his best punch, which is his left hook.

Tall fighters have always frustrated Jones, causing him to throw wild, looping punches -sometimes from afar-leaving himself open to counters.

In his first fight against Tarver, Jones had to shed the 20 pounds he had put on for his fight with John Ruiz which left him looking drawn and affected his performance, gasping for breath as he was by the fourth round. The question this time round is will staying at 175 again be a problem? Or has his body reacclimated to the 175 pounds he'll carry this time?

ANTONIO TARVER

STRENGTHS

A tall, stand-up boxer who looks like he could work in an olive factory dragging the pimentos through, Tarver uses his height well.

Possesses a loooooong right jab to set up his combinations.

Can "crack" with his left, which he throws in a fast, almost sneaky manner as a counter against right-handers, especially those who reach from him.

Has the style to give Jones problems, as was the case in their first fight. Trainer Buddy Mc Girt, studying Jones' past fights, prepared Tarver well, teaching him to nullify Jones' past fights, prepared Traver well, teaching him to nullify Jone's speed to the point where he could get his shots off -or as Mac Girt said, "do his thing" - and not try to "outspeed" the speedier Jones.

His aggressive style, always coming forward, allowed him to dictate the pace of the first fight vs. Jones, which he looks to employ again.

WEAKNESSES

Tarver tends to rely on his power first and his boxing ability second. Too often he tends to stand in front of his opponent looking to land his power shots when he should be moving to his right and setting up his combos with his loooooong jab.

After throwing his left cross, too often Tarver leaves himself open, stopping to see what effect it had rather than bringing his hands back or moving his head. This shortcoming, what insiders call "posing", could prove to dangerous against a fast fighter like Jones if Jones is on his game.

Instead of snapping his jab straight out and then bringing it back quickly, Tarver has a habit of throwing his jab straight and then dropping his hand on the way back. If he does this often against a to-of-his-game Jones, Jones will be able to counter with left jabs and left hooks over Tarver's lowered right hand.

Tarver might be suffering from overconfidence. Feeling he won their first outing, he might overestimated his talents and under estimate Jones', a sure formula for disaster.

WHAT EACH MUST DO TO WIN:

ROY JONES JR.

Jones must fight his fight, not Tarver's, and not allow himself to be backed into the ropes and letting Tarver tee off on him, as he did in the first match-up.

Jones needs to use his power left more than he did in the first fight. In previous fights he had been impressive combining quick left jabs and double and triple left hooks. Against Tarver first go-round he neglected to go with the hand that brought him greatness, his left. This time he cannot keep it in cold storage, but use it.

Last time Jones let Tarver dictate the action and came out bearing the battle scars of his profession for the first time in his career. This time he must initiate the action, giving Tarver little time to set up his combinations and use his speed to get to the taller Tarver.

TARVER

As he did last time, Tarver cannot look to "outspeed Jones, but must use his right jab effectively to keep Jones to the end of it and set it up his combos.

In their first fight Tarver did a good job of moving in and out quickly, avoiding most of Jones´ fast counters by not standing in front of him. To win, he must repeat his performance in the first fight.

Tarver cannot take time off, as he did in their first fight, thus giving Jones, who might still be having weight problem, a chance to not only catch his breath, but catch Tarver.

If Montell Griffin is any kind of example, then Tarver must watch out for Jones coming out quickly to avenge his win, which was this close, by taking Tarver out early.

Tarver must try to keep his lead foot, his right, outside Jones´ left foot, thereby enabling him to stay away from Jones´ right while jabbing. This will force Jones to keep his left hand back to defend against Tarver´s jabs.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

There is no hate lost between these two and there exists a real possibility that the fight will turn into a grudge match instead of a boxing bout. If it does, it could spell trouble with a cap "T" for the one who lets his heart rule his head.

Has Jones conquered his weight problem which so badly drained him last time? Or will he be battling weight and Tarver at the same time? If it goes into the middle rounds look to see if Jones is gasping for air, as he did in the first fight.

The battle of de feet could mean defeat for the boxer who cannot keep his lead foot outside his opponent's. If Tarver can keep his lead right foot outside of Jones´ left he can use his jab from an angle, move to his right and stay away from Jones´ power. If, on the other foot, Jones can keep his lead left foot on the outside of Tarver´s right, he can position Tarver in front of him and land with both hands.

LAS VEGAS - Antonio Tarver's left hand out of nowhere stopped Roy Jones Jr. in the second round Saturday night, giving him the light heavyweight title and handing Jones the most crushing defeat of his illustrious career.

Tarver had landed only a handful of punches and seemed slow in starting when Jones threw a right hand that missed that caused him to crouch down. Tarver came out of the crouch with a roundhouse left hand that caught Jones flush on the side of his face.

Jones was knocked under the ropes in Tarver's corner, and was badly hurt even though he managed to get up at about the count of seven. But he stumbled across the ring as referee Jay Nady waved the fight to an end at 1:41 of the second round.

Tarver, who had vowed to settle a score from his loss to Jones in November, jumped around the ring in celebration as the crowd at Mandalay Bay hotel-casino went wild.

It was only the second loss of Jones' 15-year pro career, and only the second time he had ever been knocked down. His first loss was on disqualification in a fight he later avenged.

"I never gave up on my dream so here we are," Tarver said.

Tarver was tight from the opening bell, warily circling Jones while his corner urged him to throw punches. Jones began landing his right hand lead midway through the first round, and it looked as if Jones was going to be the faster and stronger fighter.

In the corner after the first round Tarver said to trainer James "Buddy" McGirt: "He doesn't respect me."

"Go out and get yours," McGirt replied.

Tarver did just that, bringing the fight to a stunning end almost before it began.

Both fighters were the same age _ 35 _ but there was a wide difference in experience. Jones was in his 25th world title fight, while Tarver was fighting for a title for only the third time.

But it was Tarver who seemed to have an idea how to handle this fight, much like the first fight in which he lost a majority decision to Jones that he thought he won.

Jones blamed that close win on having to lose 25 pounds after moving up to heavyweight to win the WBA title from John Ruiz, but there was nothing to blame this time.

"I'm not making any excuses," Jones said. "It's just the way it happens sometimes."

Jones had won the first round on all three scorecards, and seemed well on his way to winning the second round with lead right hands. But he left himself open after throwing one midway through the second round when Tarver launched the left hand that ended it.

"Overhand left right on the kisser," Tarver said. "It was beautiful."

Jones tried to get up right after going down, getting to one knee before sinking back to the canvas. He finally got up, but Nady waved the fight off and he staggered along the ropes into a neutral corner.

"I was hit with a good shot, a very good shot," Jones said.

Jones was a 4-1 favorite going into the fight, and he seemed determined to show his fans that his disputed win in the first fight was largely due to being out of shape and having to lose too much weight.

He admitted though that Tarver, a tall southpaw, caused him problems with his style. It showed when he had to take a chance to get inside against Tarver and got hit with the left.

"What basically happens is I probably got bored with this guy," Jones said.

Tarver, seldom at a loss for words, had a few for Jones even as the fighters stood in the center of the ring getting their final instructions from Nady.

"What excuse are you going to use tonight," he asked Jones.

Before the fight, Tarver had said Jones' legacy was on the line, and he may have proved correct.

Jones said he would not fight Tarver again, and said he might move back to heavyweight for possible fights against Mike Tyson or Vitali Klitschko.

After being stopped on one punch by a light heavyweight, though, Jones' might have trouble convincing boxing fans he can slug with heavyweights, regardless of what happened in his win last year against Ruiz.

"I would rather fight heavyweights," Jones said.

Jones earned $6 million for a fight he seemed to take personally. Though Jones is widely regarded as perhaps the best pound-for-pound fighter of his era, he has been criticized for taking relatively easy opponents throughout his career.

For Tarver, who recently filed for bankruptcy, the $2 million purse was his biggest payday of a pro career that began after he won a bronze medal in the 1996 Olympics.

"It takes a great fighter to beat a great fighter," Tarver said, "and I am a great fighter."

On the undercard, former 140-pound champion Zab Judah won a split decision in a welterweight fight against former champion Rafael Pineda. Judah was fighting for the second time in five weeks, after losing a decision to welterweight champion Cory Spinks on April 10.

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2004/05/16/ap/Sports/d82jlj680.txt

Does anyone have any video clips of the fight/knock-out yet? Didn't get to see the fight...