Joe Rogan Experience #1548 - Roy Jones Jr.

Pro boxer Roy Jones Jr. captured championships in numerous weight divisions, at one time holding a record-breaking seven heavyweight belts simultaneously. In 2003, Jones made history by becoming the first middleweight champion to win a heavyweight title in 106 years. Jones officially retired from the sport in 2017, but signed on earlier this year to fight Mike Tyson in an highly anticipated exhibition bout.

Roy Jones Jr.guestJoe Roganhost

Oct 13, 20201h 57mWatch on YouTube ↗

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150 min read · 30,013 words

0:02 – 2:12
Rogan praises Roy’s peak style: speed, defense, and “executions”
1. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  (drumming music plays) Joe Rogan podcast. Check it out. The Joe Rogan Experience.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (rock music plays) Roy Jones Jr., ladies and gentlemen.
3. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Hey, what's up, my brother? How you doing?
4. JRJoe Rogan
  I'm honored to have you in here. I've been a fan forever.
5. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  I know this, and I was gonna tell you that I am very happy to be here for you and for me, because I've been a fan of yours as well. But I always loved the support that you give me. You've always supported me since day one. You've been one of the best people that I could hear talk about me s- since day one. So, I just wanna say thank you, man, for all the support, for being a brother.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  Thank you, sir. Thank you.
7. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  'Cause I feel-
8. JRJoe Rogan
  My, my pleasure. Listen-
9. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  I feel like we brothers now, you know.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  For sure. Uh, li- I've been a fan forever.
11. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yeah.
12. JRJoe Rogan
  Like, from way back in the day, you know. Y- you know your song, Y'all Must Have Forgot?
13. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yeah.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  I didn't forget shit.
15. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  (laughs)
16. JRJoe Rogan
  I remember all of it, man.
17. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  There it is.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  I remember when your fights were basically executions.
19. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yes, exactly.
20. JRJoe Rogan
  There was this, there's some-
21. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  (laughs)
22. JRJoe Rogan
  ... there was some years, man, where you would just, like, see how is this guy gonna survive and how long? And you, you had, uh, there was a time in your career when you were at your peak, where you had devised this style that was so different than anyone else's. Very few jabs. You would throw-
23. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yeah.
24. JRJoe Rogan
  ... a lead hook. No one knew how to prepare for it, because there was no sparring partners that could emulate it.
25. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Right.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  Your speed was off the charts. Your movement was off the charts. Y- I- it's, I think to this day, you're the only person in CompuBox history that went a full round without having a single punch scored on them.
27. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  And they say I'm not the best defensive fighter ever.
28. JRJoe Rogan
  Listen, man. (laughs)
29. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  (laughs)
30. JRJoe Rogan
  That's, that's ... No one's ever ... Now, I mean, maybe Willie Pep might have done that back in the day.
2:12 – 4:30
Building the “game rooster” mindset: lessons from Roy’s father and fighting roosters
1. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Honestly, man, it was lot, it was a lot. My father was a fighter who was trained, uh, by Sarge Johnson in, um, the, I think, at some part of the Armed Services. Anyway, my father learned a lot. But he also learned a lot of things not to do. So, by learning those things, he was able to give me a very good foundation. With that foundation, my father had roosters, fighting roosters when I was young. So, I would watch the roosters all the time because roosters develop a pecking order.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Hmm.
3. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  And people always talk about, you know, fighting animals, this, that. They develop a pecking order on their own anyway. They're gonna do that anyway. So, I would always watch them to figure out what made one the king of the pecking order. What made him better than the rest? And when I learned what that was, I f- it was a few things I figured out. Once I would figure them out, I start emulating them, emulating those things in my boxing style.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  So, from fighting chickens-
5. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yes.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  ... what, what was the thing that you noticed?
7. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Well, first of all, the one that usually was on top, he knew and he carried his self with an air, air of confidence that he wasn't gonna be messed with. So, when he fight, he'd do a lot more faking, a lot more feinting, never let them know when he coming. All of a sudden, there he goes. And he stayed powerful. He stayed the same the whole day. And it's like, anytime he went against anybody, he did the same thing. He used the same feints, same feints. And he often would do things that other chickens just didn't know to do. But that's God given.
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Hmm.
9. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Man didn't teach him that. God gave him that. So, if you learn his characteristics, which I would watch how he would carry his self all day long, the way he carried his self when he wasn't around the other ones, the way he got rid of when the other ones came around. People say, r- people used to think that I was very egotistical. I've never been an egotistical person. But what I was, was a highly confident person. I'm God's game rooster.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  Hmm.
11. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  You feel me?
12. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
13. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  You bring another one around, guess what? I'm ready to defend my turf.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  That's a funny thing to say to a world champion fighter, one of the greatest of all time, "You're egotistical." I mean, listen, if you're not confident, you don't get to that place.
15. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Never ever.
16. JRJoe Rogan
  Impossible.
17. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Never ever. Never ever.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  Like, that's ... Like, you have to have a belief in yourself.
19. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  If-
20. JRJoe Rogan
  There's no other way.
21. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  ... if you don't, who's gonna believe in you?
4:30 – 7:01
The Seoul Olympics robbery: integrity, aftermath, and turning it into fuel
1. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, nobody. Yeah, I- I was a fan back when you got fucked over in the Olympics, man.
2. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  (laughs)
3. JRJoe Rogan
  Goddamn, did they ruin that. That was terrible. That was one of the worst Olympic decisions I've ever seen in my life. Maybe the worst. It was so bad. But it was in Korea, right?
4. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yep, it was in Seoul, South Korea.
5. JRJoe Rogan
  And the Korean fighter-
6. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Hwang Si-hyun.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah. But goddamn, that was ridiculous. It was one of those fights where you're like, "Well, he got the gold medal." Clear. And then you see the decision, your jaw drops. You're like-
8. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Mm-hmm.
9. JRJoe Rogan
  ... "What is this?"
10. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  It hurt the sport of boxing, especially amateur boxing. It hurt it because when you can take a kid, 19 years old, he defeats his rival clearly, and you rob him? It really eliminates the integrity of that sport.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
12. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  And you still don't go back and fix it.
13. JRJoe Rogan
  Hmm.
14. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Nobody to this day has come back and tried to fix it. They gave me Olympic orders. They gave me the, uh, Val Barker Cup, which is for the best boxer at the Olympics. Well, that's contradiction.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  How crazy is that?
16. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  That's contradiction.
17. JRJoe Rogan
  How crazy is that?
18. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  How is the best boxer here not wearing a gold medal? (laughs)
19. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah. It was, it was bad, but it also was ... I- in one way, it made people really root for you.
20. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  It was a blessing in disguise. And I understood that the, the, the second day. I think I might have cried the whole first day.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  (gasps)
22. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  But the second day, well, I didn't cry 'til after I went to the back and asked, as- asked the interpreter to ask him if he really thought he beat me. 'Cause if he said yes, then he didn't know it, but he was gonna get another one. (laughs)
23. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
24. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  (sighs) But he said, "No, I know I didn't win, but it wasn't my fault, it was the judges." I shook his hand and I left. And I never had another, another bad feeling towards him-
25. JRJoe Rogan
  Good for you.
26. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  ... because he, he didn't do it. You feel me?
27. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah. You're right, for sure.
28. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  You have to understand what, what is com-
29. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
30. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  But then, I also realized that not only were the judges not necessarily... They, they are to be blamed, but what God did was take their negative and turn into a positive for me-
7:01 – 10:13
Prime victories and the road back: James Toney, retirement, and the Tyson call
1. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah. I remember when you fought James Toney, and that was a big fight 'cause James Toney was in his prime-
2. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yeah.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  ... and you were in your prime. And, uh, again, you caught him with that leaping left hook, man, that crazy left hook, and dropped him. When you, when you beat James Toney like that, I think a lot of people had to go, "Whoa, like, he can do this to an elite top of the food chain world champion."
4. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  That's what makes a real superior athlete. Not that you could do it to guys who are beneath you, when you can do it to guys who are supposed to be your equal or above you.
5. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
6. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  That's when you're really doing it.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  Now, people, maybe people don't know, but you had been active and you fought up until about, what, like two years ago?
8. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  '18. 2018.
9. JRJoe Rogan
  2018.
10. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yep.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  So you decided you're done, or were you 100% done, or were you just-
12. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  100%.
13. JRJoe Rogan
  100% done?
14. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  100%.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  How did... Tell me, walk me through this call.
16. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  (laughs)
17. JRJoe Rogan
  How do you get this call to fight Mike Tyson?
18. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Well, uh, one of his guys, Azeem, calls McGee and tells McGee, my, my partner, to tell me to call. So I call Azeem. Azeem says, "Hey, Mike wants to do a comeback. He wants to do an exhibition, but he wants you to be his dance partner." "Me?" Said, "Yeah." And I said, "Okay. Well, let's see if we can work out." He said, "Yeah, we got a lot of different situations going on, but they wanna do it on a different format, and they wanna do it in a way that you and Michael are taking care of and everything is good." Well, that didn't turn out to be necessarily what the case was, but me being Roy Jones Jr., and us being in COVID, I'm like, "You know what? Six weeks, that's (sighs) right around the corner. He ain't been fighting. I can get ready. I'm pretty sure I can get a little bit more ready than he can because he's been inactive a lot longer than I have."
19. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
20. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  So six weeks, I know it's Mike Tyson. He's big as heck and he's still Mike Tyson and he still can punch. But six weeks is no way he can get prepared for this.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
22. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  So I said, "You know what? I'll take that." And I jumped on it. Well, (laughs) lo and behold-
23. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
24. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  ... something happens (laughs) and they changed it.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  Now, why did they change it? What was the... Did they give a reason?
26. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  They, they-
27. JRJoe Rogan
  They said something about marketing.
28. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  They told me something about marketing, but I don't really believe much of what was said. I mean, I just can't believe it, you know, because we had a September 12th date. That was before football season start. Um, basketball may have started it, but people at home with nothing to do. And that's why I was like, "You know what? I won him when I was in my prime, so why not take him now?" I mean, 12, I mean, six weeks, that's easy. Um, and they said, "Well, we got more attention than we expected to get," and this happened and that happened, so we wanna move it. I'm like, "Man." So I was thinking about it and, um, Dean Too, my guy, he posted something about the new date on my site. And when he did that, they was like, "Well, that means that you admitted, that you agreed to it." I didn't, but, "Okay, if that's how it goes, I'll be that guy." You know? I don't back out of nothing. It ain't like I'm scared of Mike Tyson 'cause he's Mike Tyson. It's just that I know that in six weeks, he had no chance to deal with me.
29. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
30. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  You understand me?
10:13 – 15:53
Training others without cloning Roy: fundamentals, counters, and boxing IQ
1. JRJoe Rogan
  Now, during the time where you were off, were you working out?
2. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Of course.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  Were you, were you still staying fit? 'Cause you, you always stayed slim, you look good.
4. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Mm-hmm. Well, I have to work out because I train a lot of guys. And when you train guys, for me, I like to not only just teach them, I like to also give them an example. The best example is the best that I think did what they, what I'm teaching them.
5. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
6. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  And I only teach them what I learned and what my style was. So I like to be able to demonstrate by example, lead by example.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  So do you have young guys that fight in your style?
8. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  They are trying to.
9. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
10. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  (laughs) It's hard to say they fight in my style. And really, I don't really necessarily teach them to fight like me.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
12. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  My style is not necessarily just me.
13. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
14. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  My style means that you know how to counter everything. You know offense, you know defense, you know footwork, you know everything. Every aspect of boxing is what my style is. Now, the craziness, that's... You're an individual person.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
16. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Your DNA will decide what you do with that. What I do is... Excuse me. I try to make guys comfortable and to give them every opportunity to execute on another guy's mistakes. If I can make you do that and have you prepared, always prepared for the next move, then that's my style.
17. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm. Y- your style required extreme physical attributes though.
18. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Mm-hmm.
19. JRJoe Rogan
  You know, that's, uh...
20. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Well, physical attributes, it, it, it does require extreme attributes. But when you come and watch one of my classes, like, I got a apprentice over in Sweden, I got an apprentice over in South Africa, I got a few apprentices that I've been teaching. I got one out in Washington State. And when I teach them, they understand that, yeah, people blame it on athleticism, but it's not all athleticism. There's a lot more knowledge to it than people ever would begin to understand.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm. Right.
22. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  You understand me? So, yeah, people say, "Ah, he was just a super athlete." No, take me back.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
24. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  I can go-... visually or verbally walk you through every knockout that I got, and, or every setup to the knockout before it happened. Sometimes rounds before it happened. Sometimes, the one that happened quick, I can tell you exactly what happened, exactly what I saw, and why I did what I did. Is that physical attributes? No, that's not.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  No, there's no way it could be just that. It's impossible.
26. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yeah, you gotta know a lot.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  Just, there's a lot of freak athletes out there.
28. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Of course, of course.
29. JRJoe Rogan
  But you had freak athleticism as well, as like an insane comprehensive understanding of boxing.
30. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yeah.
15:53 – 20:37
Heavyweight history: Ruiz, Tyson as the only other HW target, and weight strategy
1. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah. It, he's... Now, you said that he was always kind of on your radar, even back-
2. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  He was.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  ... when you were the heavyweight champ, when you beat John Ruiz.
4. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Mm-hmm. He was the only other person I would've fought as a heavyweight.
5. JRJoe Rogan
  Really?
6. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Because he was the youngest heavyweight champ ever, and to be honest, I probably was the lightest... Who... I started lighter than anybody that, only junior middleweight to ever go win the heavyweight title.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm.
8. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  So I was the smallest guy to ever come up and win the heavyweight title.
9. JRJoe Rogan
  How much did you weigh when you fought Ruiz?
10. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Uh, 200.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  200?
12. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yeah.
13. JRJoe Rogan
  Wow. And so did you think when you were getting ready to fight, like what do you walk around at right now?
14. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Now I'm heavier than I was then.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  Really?
16. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yeah, now I walk around at like 220 sometimes.
17. JRJoe Rogan
  220?
18. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  I've been up to 220.
19. JRJoe Rogan
  So do you feel good at 220, or do you, do, would you like to be lighter when you fight him?
20. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  No, I'm at, I'm at, I'm at about 210 now, and this where I want to be at.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  Right there?
22. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Hands fast as ever. Still a lot of mobility, not too much weight on these knees, so I feel pretty good at 210, so I think I'm gonna stay around this area.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  That's not much different than him, because when he was in his prime, he was about 215.
24. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Mm-hmm.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  I mean, he was a light heavyweight.
26. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Mm-hmm.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  You know, for... A lighter, rather, heavyweight.
28. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  A, a light, explosive heavyweight.
29. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, super.
30. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Super explosive heavyweight.
20:37 – 30:20
The brutal cut back down: Tarver, cardio extremes, and weight-class realities
1. JRJoe Rogan
  Now, how difficult was it to get from 200 pounds and go all the way back down to 175?
2. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  That was the hardest thing I ever did in my life.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
4. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  25 pounds of muscle-
5. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
6. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  ... put on by making sure it's on.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  That's, that's the difference.
8. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  25-
9. JRJoe Rogan
  Because if you look at you when you fought Ruiz-
10. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Mm-hmm.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  ... there was nothing to be lost.
12. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Mm-mm. 25 pounds of pure muscle. So that first fight, I won on pure heart with Tarver.
13. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
14. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Pure heart. That's when people... And I had people even texting me and calling me and telling me, "You know, I was a fan. I liked you, but I like you a whole lot more now because I realize what you really are. I never knew you had that big of a heart."
15. JRJoe Rogan
  That was a big transition for you, I mean, and maybe a, a bad transition to go from heavyweight down to light heavyweight again.
16. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yeah.
17. JRJoe Rogan
  Because you could see physically you weren't the same. Because of that weight cut, you were struggling, and that was the talk of all the commentators.
18. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Mm-hmm.
19. JRJoe Rogan
  They were like, "What is, what is happening to his body that he's going from 200 pounds, ripped, down to 175 and then competing?" I mean, you, you must have cut an extreme amount of weight for the weight... Like, and it... Was this the day before weigh-ins or the day of weigh-ins?
20. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  It was the day before, but it didn't matter because I had pulled so much muscle off.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
22. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  So you couldn't, you can't put that back.
23. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
24. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  You know what I mean? So I couldn't put that back, but what's, what's, what's so ironic about that is that as weak as I was, he still couldn't get me out because my mind said I gotta do what Bob Fitzsimmons said, did, I mean.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
26. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  So because my mind was locked on something, you can't get me out of there. My mind locked in. I was weak as I probably ever have been. My mind said, "No, we gonna forget this." And I got there.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  And then you went and fought him again.
28. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yeah, then that... I probably shouldn't have, 'cause like I said, my body hadn't came back yet and I, and I didn't have nothing mentally to get there. I was just doing it because people said, "Oh, he gave you a hard time." Okay, well, I ain't scared to fight nobody.
29. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
30. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  So y'all want me to fight him again, sure, why not? But I had nothing to gain.
30:20 – 32:53
Old-school boxing eras, too many belts, and why unification should be mandatory
1. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yeah. And know what? I've, I heard that Ze Alimentar passed too.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh, did he?
3. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yeah. I was, I was, sh, I was saddened to hear that because those days were the real days of boxing to me.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Oh, yeah, man.
5. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Almost one champion, maybe two-
6. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
7. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  ... but mostly one champ, and you knew-
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
9. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  ... who the champ was at every weight class.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  I remember when they started adding IBF and WBO, and it'd be like, "How many champs you gonna have?"
11. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Well, see, my, my point though is h- here's my problem with that. I don't have a problem with you having more champs, but why not make every champ have to fight one another to find out who is the champ?
12. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
13. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  When I was a light heavyweight, I had seven of the eight known available belts, and only reason I didn't have the eighth one is because I wasn't going to Germany to f- take all my seven belts for that one belt, and they may rob me because I had got robbed in-
14. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
15. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  ... Seoul, Korea.
16. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
17. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  So I had learned my lesson. I can't go way over there to fight Darius and I'm the man right now. He needs to come see me.
18. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
19. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  If you're offering to fight me, to come see me, he turned it down. So what does that tell you? He don't want this smoke.
20. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
21. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  (laughs) But if I could've got it-
22. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
23. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  ... if I could've got it, I'd a had every belt at light heavyweight-
24. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
25. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  ... because that's who I am. So I feel like any fighter that is aspiring to be champ or is champ, if you don't want every belt in your weight class, you don't think you the best.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, it should be, if you're calling someone a world champion, they really should fight the other world champions. If you're gonna have a bunch of different sanctioning bodies, they should, if, if they're available, they should have to fight each other.
27. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Every year, the East play the West in the NBA, the, for the championship.
28. JRJoe Rogan
  Yep.
29. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Every year, the AFC play the NFC-
30. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
32:53 – 46:12
Studying the greats: Hagler discipline, Leonard’s narrative control, and dream matchups
1. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah. You know what I watched the other day? Hagler versus Mugabi.
2. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  That was a good-
3. JRJoe Rogan
  I watched that again.
4. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  ... that was a good fight.
5. JRJoe Rogan
  (exhales) Mugabi was killing-
6. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  That was a good fight.
7. JRJoe Rogan
  ... people back then.
8. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yes, he was, but Hagler-
9. JRJoe Rogan
  He was killing.
10. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  ... wasn't having it.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  There's a time in the fight where he hits Hagler with an uppercut-
12. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yeah.
13. JRJoe Rogan
  ... snaps Hagler's head back, and Hagler just right back at him-
14. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Right back at him.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  ... like it was nothing, like it-
16. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Ha-
17. JRJoe Rogan
  ... didn't even work.
18. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Hagler was one, was one in my dynamite dozen that-
19. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
20. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  ... I learned things from as a kid. And what I learned from Hagler was consistency.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
22. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  He wore the same maroon and white trunks-
23. JRJoe Rogan
  Yep.
24. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  ... and he was the same Marvin Hagler every time you saw him.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  Yep, yep.
26. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  If you fought Hagler, guess what you gonna get? Hagler.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  Yep.
28. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  (laughs)
29. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah, he was so d-
30. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Wasn't no question.
46:12 – 59:59
Roy’s chips, father conflict, and the ‘neutering’ metaphor for suppressed masculinity
1. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  The all-time greats have to have a chip on their shoulder.
2. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
3. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  If you don't have a chip on your shoulder, then you're not gonna be ever reach the heights or take the measures that it takes to become an all-time great.
4. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
5. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Me, I had two chips. They robbed me at the Olympics, and I had a father that I separated from that I know in my heart didn't really want me to, to succeed without him. So, those were my chips. And because I had those chips, I can't lose, because if I lose, he win.
6. JRJoe Rogan
  Hmm.
7. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  You understand me?
8. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
9. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  So in my prime, if I lose, he win because he said I can't do it without him. And in my life, the way I was taught, the way I was brought up, all I need is God. Nothing against my dad, but all I need is God. So my... To me, God prepares you to get me to a certain level, but God took those roosters, God took a guy named Charlie Campbell, and you would know Charlie Campbell 'cause he was a boxer back in the day, an amateur boxer, but God showed me so much through Charlie Campbell that to this day, I still speak to Charlie Campbell, because without Charlie Campbell, I might have never gotten to be Roy Jones Jr.
10. JRJoe Rogan
  Really?
11. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Charlie Campbell taught me so much about charisma that my father could never have taught me, that it was unbelievable. Charlie Campbell beat all my father's fighters as amateurs-
12. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
13. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  ... that were in his weight class easily almost every time because he had charisma. Now, they were better than him, but he had charisma, and he beat them with that charisma.
14. JRJoe Rogan
  How did he beat them with charisma?
15. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Because he believed in himself, he had confidence, and he knew how to do stuff that made me love watching him. You understand me? And he wasn't the best puncher. He really didn't have the best boxing skills, but his emotions, he'd breathe with everything he did. Even though he was slapping, he had sharp breath with it.
16. JRJoe Rogan
  Hmm.
17. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  You understand me? And to me, I was like, "Whoa." And he beating these guys that on my team. So, they learned the same thing I'm learning, but they can't have that kind of charisma 'cause my dad didn't want to allow them to beat them people. He wouldn't allow them to perform with that kind of confidence. You understand me?
18. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
19. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  So, I need to learn how to do what he doing, 'cause if I can add what he doing to what we doing, now I got something.
20. JRJoe Rogan
  And how did you incorporate it?
21. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Well, I started doing the stuff he did.
22. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
23. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  A little bit of it (laughs) until I figured out what it really was.... you understand me?
24. JRJoe Rogan
  Right, right.
25. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  So, some of the grunting, some of the moaning he did while he was fighting to show that he had breath control, I started doing.
26. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm-hmm.
27. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  So, like when you hear Bruce Lee go, "Woo," Charlie Campbell would do stuff like that-
28. JRJoe Rogan
  Really?
29. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  ... in a boxing match. Now, his punches weren't nearly as effective, weren't nearly as effective as the sound was, but he kept them on beat and in tune with the sound, so it made him look way better than he really was.
30. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
59:59 – 1:10:10
Tyson exhibition complications: two-minute rounds, commissions, and Roy’s ‘RJ’ alter ego
1. JRJoe Rogan
  Mm. Do you think this is one and done? Do you think this Tyson fight is one and done? Does it depend on the outcome, or you just have to focus on the fight right now and then decide what else is going on afterwards?
2. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  It really depends on how it goes, because you know, I, I'm like this man. I, I, I think Mike is an awesome person. And, uh, I know Mike has had his ups and downs in the world, but I know Mike is really, you know, he, he is Mike. (laughs) You understand me? So you don't know what Mike you gonna get.
3. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
4. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  You understand me? So in this exhibition, you gotta prepare for the best you can prepare for. And, um, you know, anything could happen. Mike could hit you with an elbow and cut you on purpose. Anything can happen. You don't know. And you try to get him back and it may-... stop it before you get the getting back. Then they say, "Well, y'all wanna do a real fight?" Hell yeah, I wanna do a real fight with my get-back. You understand me? If that happened like that, you understand me?
5. JRJoe Rogan
  You've already got it played out in your head.
6. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  I'm just saying, yeah, 'cause you ain't gonna do just no anything if you think I ain't getting no get-back. You feel me? (laughs) So-
7. JRJoe Rogan
  Right. I understand.
8. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  ... it don't go like that.
9. JRJoe Rogan
  Right. Yeah.
10. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  You feel where I'm coming from? So, but now if we go, uh, we have a straight up one this time and it's good, then I'm cool with it. That may be the end of it. We might be... It might turn out like I want and everything will be great. You understand me? So it may be a great opportunity. We be, both may put up great performances and we might call it a day. We might be too tired to talk about it after (laughs) that's 'cause we old.
11. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
12. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  You understand me?
13. JRJoe Rogan
  Yeah.
14. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  That may happen too. But, um, it all really probably depend on the outcome of this. You understand me? Because when you the smaller guy and you're fighting a guy that you know is over here today and over there tomorrow, then you just gotta prepare yourself for whatever, because you don't know what he may come in there and do.
15. JRJoe Rogan
  Right.
16. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  You understand me? So I gotta be ready. I mean, I feel safe with these earmuffs on, 'cause (laughs) it does have me.
17. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs)
18. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  He might bite you in your damn ear. (laughs)
19. JRJoe Rogan
  (laughs) That's the thing about Mike is-
20. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  You don't know.
21. JRJoe Rogan
  ... he's so crazy.
22. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  You don't know he-
23. JRJoe Rogan
  He's so wild.
24. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  You feel me? You don't know what he might do, so.
25. JRJoe Rogan
  But I think he's a different human now, you know? He was, he's... I've talked to him twice on the podcast.
26. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Yeah.
27. JRJoe Rogan
  I talked to him once, it was about 10 months ago.
28. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Mm-hmm.
29. JRJoe Rogan
  And once just a couple weeks ago.
30. RJRoy Jones Jr.
  Mm-hmm.

Episode duration: 1:57:31

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Rogan praises Roy’s peak style: speed, defense, and “executions”

Building the “game rooster” mindset: lessons from Roy’s father and fighting roosters

The Seoul Olympics robbery: integrity, aftermath, and turning it into fuel

Prime victories and the road back: James Toney, retirement, and the Tyson call

Training others without cloning Roy: fundamentals, counters, and boxing IQ

Heavyweight history: Ruiz, Tyson as the only other HW target, and weight strategy

The brutal cut back down: Tarver, cardio extremes, and weight-class realities

Old-school boxing eras, too many belts, and why unification should be mandatory

Studying the greats: Hagler discipline, Leonard’s narrative control, and dream matchups

Roy’s chips, father conflict, and the ‘neutering’ metaphor for suppressed masculinity

Tyson exhibition complications: two-minute rounds, commissions, and Roy’s ‘RJ’ alter ego

Get more out of YouTube videos.