(From an iview that took place prior to Jones/Tarver 2):
By Karl Freitag
Roy Jones Jr. trainer Alton Merkerson told reporters today that while Jones wasn't motivated for his first fight with Antonio Tarver, he is VERY motivated for the May 15 rematch on pay-per-view. However, Coach Merk also admitted that Roy has slipped somewhat. "I'll tell you what I see in Roy at the age of 35," said Merkerson, "and I worked with him in '88 on the Olympic team. Roy hasn't really lost speed, but Roy's very smart. He's lost his ability to maneuver -- and the ring generalmanship, he still has it but it's not as sharp as it used to be when he was younger...he's just getting older. He can't do the things that he did then."
I still feel that if RJJ hadn't abandoned his traditional counterpunching game, he would've bested Tarver.