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On the other hand, some fighters end up on the trail and cause us to reflect as to whether or not they even belonged in the upper echelon of the sport, for example Zab Judah.
With Roy Jones Jr. relegated to comeback status in his upcoming fight against the marginal Light Heavyweight player Glen Johnson many fans are asking the question "How much does he have left?" Some fans are even questioning the credentials that helped him get to the top of the sport in the first place.
Let's take a brief look at this fight and try to figure out what we can expect.
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His last 2 fights were against Clinton Woods in Wood's hometown of Sheffield, England. The first fight ended in a draw and the second with Johnson securing the vacant IBF Light Heavyweight Title.
So Johnson brings some reasonable credentials with him to back up the 27 KO's on his resume. The 27 knockouts are a little deceiving since all but one happened while he was campaigning as either a Middleweight or Super Middleweight.
And then we have Jones. Gone are the days when Roy could dictate terms. Antonio Tarver ended those days on April 25. Roy is going to enter the ring without a championship belt, a rare occurrence for sure, since he hasn't been the challenger in a fight since the 2nd fight with Montell Griffin more than 7 years ago (unless you count his foray into the Heavyweight division against John Ruiz, which I guess we should).
The fact that Johnson is a natural Super Middleweight shouldn't be much of a factor in this fight as Jones is also a natural Super Middleweight or some would say a natural Middleweight. In fact many consider the period of Jones' career while he was competing in the 160 and 168 pound divisions to be his peak.
Through his comments and actions Roy has always demonstrated a real hesitancy at wanting to get in there and mix it up with a big punching Light Heavyweight, and understandably so. Roy started his career in the 154 pound division. He never wanted to get knocked out in the manner he was knocked out against Tarver and has always been more than conscious of the risks involved every time he stepped into the ring.
Getting hit clean by a legitimate Light Heavyweight is exactly what happened against Tarver. The good thing for Roy is that Glen Johnson isn't a big punching Light Heavyweight.
And where the Tarver knockout doesn't or shouldn't affect his legacy or his hall of fame status it may affect the way he chooses to approach the fight with Johnson. When he steps through the ropes on Saturday night Roy will only be 4 months and 10 days removed from the crushing loss to Tarver. Is that enough time? Has he shaken the ghost of Antonio?
Despite the fact that Johnson can't punch with the big boys Roy Jones shouldn't be expected to take any chances in this fight. This is more than likely going to look like many of Roy Jones title defenses where he earned decision wins over the likes of David Telesco and Lou Del Valle. Tough competition but not top tier stuff like Tarver.
In the end, Glen Johnson is probably the perfect comeback fight for Roy. He's got somewhat of a name in the boxing world will give Roy another win over a decent opponent which will keep the door open for a rematch with Tarver and Roy isn't really risking much so his reputation should remain intact leading up to a potential catch-weight fight with Bernard Hopkins.
But Johnson is still a 175 pound professional fighter and if he wants to test the chin early...
