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»»Julius Stecker:
I have said it before, and I will say it again. Antonio Tarver's style will always give Roy Jones Jr. problems. But in the end Roy's speed will once again be the difference in an even closer encounter then their first fight.
Roy Jones by Split Decision
»»Jason Herron:
I like Roy Jones to win in spectacular fashion. This will be an exact replica of Jones-Montell Griffin 2. Jones will exit the light heavyweight division in style!
Roy Jones by 1st round KO
»»Dave Crellin:
From the unparallelled perspective of the UK, I pick Jones. Tarver shot his bolt last time, bringing everything he had to the table against an underperforming Jones. Disregarding weight trouble rumours, I just think Jones has too much, but it should be a better fight than last time.
Roy Jones by Late Stoppage
»»Joe Lopez:
The upcoming Jones-Tarver fight should give us an opportunity to be shed of a guy, Tarver, who can't decide if he really wants to win. His performance in Jones-Tarver I was huge on expectation and "itty bitty" on delivery. He fought a safety first style and didn't deserve the win after all the empty boasts.
Roy Jones, widely acclaimed as the best pound for pound fighter today, was a few ounces short on common sense in the first Tarver bout.The worst case scenario is that Jones was intentionally unprepared for the Tarver bout and gave a marginal performance to force a second bout. Jones won the first bout by default because Tarver quit fighting in the later rounds.
Jones should have had his purse withheld for malpractice as a professional prize fighter. He knew he would not be competitive in his depleted condition due to dehydration from weight loss. Compare the performance of these fighters to Pacquiao and Marquez, who showed up on the mark and ready to rumble. Jones and Tarver are 110% on talent and ability, but based on Jones-Tarver I are co-equal holders of the "pound for pound underacheivers" title.
If he applies himself. He is superior in every category; speed, reflexes, power and combination punching as well as defense.
Roy Jones by Knockout
»»George Diaz Smith:
What I find more intriguing to this fight is the fact that Roy's taken a more focused assertive approach at this one, with of course an eye on the house of immortality preceding. I believe Jones will reflect back to those greats who've pulled out the wins; even with or without peaking factors involved.
Speed has never been an issue for Jones... and I certainly do not think it will be here against Tarver. We've really looked at about an 80% fighter RJJ has edged Tarver with. The first fight wasn't the best of Jones. So it is my guess that Roy Jones, Jr. will be at a full automatic throttle looking in identical form as he did against Vinny Paz. Roy by as early as the sixth, but if you'd have to push anyone's nose closer to the grindstone, a much more holistically symmetrical figure would be favored for Jones to KO Tarver by a late round stoppage.
Roy Jones by a Late Stoppage
»»Andres Carriedo:
Tarver blew his chance in the first fight and Jones will be in top condition to stay in the center of the ring for 12 rounds. Tarver will have his moments and will keep the fight competitive in spurts, but Jones will win this one going away by using
his jab and digging his body shots in close quaters.
Roy Jones by Unanimous Decision, Score of 9-3
»»Neil Kapoor:
With the fight on Saturday 15th nearing the opening bell, many are wondering who to place a bet on, who is going to win and most importantly what is going to happen. Get the picture? From my expertise regarding the Jones Vs Tarver rematch, I have many things to say regarding the outcome.
In their last meeting, Roy Jones did not put on his usual performance due to the fact that he had to come down from Heavyweight to fight at his natural weight limit. Losing weight to fight at a lower weight class took energy and power away from Jones and therefore last year, Roy paid the price against Antonio Tarver by taking a beating. Although Roy had won the fight, many fight fans had saw a different fight when compared to what the scoring judges had ruled out. Many had seen Roy lose his status as being 'Pound for Pound' best fighter at that time.
With the fight being appropriately titled as "Now its more than personal" many fights fans are underestimating the will and courage of Antonio Tarver and therefore are picking Jones to win. I dont think that this is the case. Antonio will be very fast paced from the opening bell and believe we will see a very agressive fight. Antonio will be puting on alot of pressure on the champion but I strongly think that Roy will fight a fight with his smart boxing skills. If Roy is to win the fight, I believe that he will try and Catch the "Magic Man" out by making him make a mistake. Remember the fight with James Toney? Roy taunted James by showboating, James Toney had a very big ego and did the same thing to Roy as a result, Roy decked James and staggered him.
Also dont forget the two fights against Montell Griffin. Griffin had won the first fight when Roy had hit Montell with a blow as Montell was about to get knocked out, clearly though, Roy was winning the fight. In the rematch however, Jones came in with a straight face and knocked out Griffin in the first round with a beautiful upper-cut.
With all that said, don't count out Antonio Tarver. Tarver has the mental toughness, will and courage to be a champion. He is the only fighter that poses a threat to Roy Jones Jr. He battered Roy for 12 Rounds and when the final bell rung, Roy had looked like a fighter ready to retire, also don't ignore the fact that Tarver has been calling out Roy for a number of years now. Tarver is definately a worthy opponent to fight Roy, he holds victories over fights such as Eric Harding, Montell Griffin and Reggie Johnson.
My Verdict on the fight is Roy Jones By knockout within the first 4 rounds. If it goes beyond 4 rounds, expect Tarver to
be a huge threat on Jones and probably take the fight on points.
Roy Jones by Knockout
»»Luke Callahan:
Lets face it here folks, the first fight was a heck of a lot closer than the pair of judge's scorecards that read 116-112 and 117-111. At least from this set of eyes. I had the first bout scored a draw at 114-114 and see more of the same the second time around with Jones getting credit for makes martial art noises. Oh, but wait, for their first fight Jones had to lose 25 pounds and was dehydrated. This time around, errr..., Jones had to lose another 25 pounds coming off a fight in a division he has fought at for 8+ years. If you love excuses, be prepared for quite a display from both combatants as for one, Jones has already fired up the excuse machine BEFORE this fight has taken place.
For the rematch, do yourself a favor and don't take any excuses. Its a fair fight, whatever the outcome may be. Neither holds that mental edge in the fight and the hate is about equal. Jones is no longer capable of fighting at 175 and he will have difficulty with Tarver's height and southpaw stance every time they meet.
I think Tarver can negate Jones' desire to end the fight early by KO. I think Tarver gets another crack at Jones in a poor mental state and does another decent job, but doesn't do enough in the eyes of the judges. Jones' brings just enough of his talent to pull this out.
Roy Jones by Split Decision
