Хоёр жингийн дэлхийн аварга Паули Малиньягжи боксчин Бен Уиттекерийн ур чадварыг Рой Жонс Жуниортой зүйрлэсэн ч түүний тулааны сэтгэл зүйд эргэлзэж байгаагаа илэрхийлэв.
1990-ээд болон 2000-аад оны эхэн үеийн шилдэг боксчин Рой Жонс Жуниор нь өөрийн хурд, хүч болон өвөрмөц техникээрээ “жин тус бүрдээ шилдэг” гэгддэг байв. Тэрээр мэргэжлийн карьерынхаа эхний 50 тулаанаас ердөө нэг удаа л ялагдал хүлээсэн бөгөөд Монтелл Гриффинийг нокдауны дараа дүрэм зөрчин цохисон хэмээн хачирхалтайгаар хасагдсан байдаг. Гэвч тэрээр хариу тулаанд өрсөлдөгчөө эхний раундад нокаутаар ялж, өшөөгөө авсан түүхтэй.
Жонс Жуниор нь Бернард Хопкинс, Жеймс Тони, Майк Маккаллум зэрэг алдартнуудыг ялж, 1990-ээд оны шилдэг боксчноор тодорч байсан юм. Хэдийгээр ийм өндөр амжилт үзүүлсэн ч боксчин Бен Уиттекерийн сүүлийн үеийн тулаанууд мэргэжилтнүүдийн анхаарлыг татаж байна. Уиттекер Конор Уоллес тулаанд хүндхэн сорилттой тулгарсан нь түүний сэтгэл зүйн бэлтгэлд эргэлзэхэд хүргэжээ.
“[Ben Whittaker] has an amazing amount of talent. If he has any balls, this kid can go really far. [Sometimes he looks] almost like he wants a way out. It’s like he doesn’t mind if you give him a way out that’s the worst way out.
“He looks like the best thing since sliced bread to [then] all of a sudden he just doesn’t care how bad he looks anymore.
“You see generational talent level within his boxing ability, but does he have the mindset? Boxing at a high level is [about] becoming comfortable being uncomfortable.”
“If he’s showing these deficiencies at this level, dude, that’s a hard climb. I think of the guys that Roy Jones had to face that he made look easy, they were rugged dudes.
“I mention Roy, why? Because I think Whittaker has that kind of talent. His physical gifts, you don’t see that. It’s out of this world. It’s Roy Jones-esque in a lot of ways. But I still question whether he’s got the mentality.”
Малиньягжийн үзэж буйгаар Уиттекерийн бие бялдрын өгөгдөл нь Рой Жонс Жуниортой дүйцэхүйц ховор авьяас боловч тэрээр тулааны талбарт “эвгүй нөхцөл байдалд дасан зохицох” сэтгэл зүйн тэсвэр хатуужил дутагдаж байж магадгүй юм. Одоогоор Уиттекер хагас хүнд жингийн дэлхийн аваргын бүсийн төлөөх тулаанд ойртож байгаа бөгөөд Конор Уоллестай дахин тулалдах асуудал яригдаж байна. Энэхүү дахин тулаан нь түүнийг илүү давамгай, итгэл төгс тоглолтыг үзүүлэхэд чухал нөлөө үзүүлэх болов уу гэсэн хүлээлт үүсээд байна.
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A prime Roy Jones Jr. is often referred to as unbeatable, with his angles, power and dynamism making him the standout pound-for-pound star during the 1990s and early 2000s.
The Florida-born fan-favourite lost just one of his first 50 professional bouts and did so due to a controversial disqualification after hitting Montell Griffin following a knockdown, but avenged that ‘loss’ with a first-round knockout in an immediate rematch.
During that first half-century of bouts, Jones scored iconic wins over the likes of Bernard Hopkins, James Toney and Mike McCallum, as he cemented himself as the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet and as the BWAA’s Fighter of the Decade for the 1990s.
Despite the astonishing achievements of Jones Jr., two-division world champion Paulie Malignaggi was happy to compare the skill of the American to Britain’s Ben Whittaker, but questioned Whittaker’s mentality following a close shave against Conor Wallace, on ProBox TV.
“[Ben Whittaker] has an amazing amount of talent. If he has any balls, this kid can go really far. [Sometimes he looks] almost like he wants a way out. It’s like he doesn’t mind if you give him a way out that’s the worst way out.
“He looks like the best thing since sliced bread to [then] all of a sudden he just doesn’t care how bad he looks anymore.
“You see generational talent level within his boxing ability, but does he have the mindset? Boxing at a high level is [about] becoming comfortable being uncomfortable.”
“If he’s showing these deficiencies at this level, dude, that’s a hard climb. I think of the guys that Roy Jones had to face that he made look easy, they were rugged dudes.
“I mention Roy, why? Because I think Whittaker has that kind of talent. His physical gifts, you don’t see that. It’s out of this world. It’s Roy Jones-esque in a lot of ways. But I still question whether he’s got the mentality.”
Whittaker is now being linked to a rematch with Wallace, seeking a more dominant performance against the Australia-based contender as he homes in on a shot at world honours in the light-heavyweight division.
