re: Favorite fighter (boxer or mma) of all time

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But before then, he just went out there and whipped everyone's arse, typically in dramatic fashion, and he did it his way. No technical boxing whatsoever, just jumped in and out of range in front of people and knocked the piss out of them almost at will. So, yeah, when the superior athletic ability went, he did not have the technical skills to remain viable. But he was something else in his prime and just unreal to watch toy with world class fighters

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I agree with this. I love me some boxing, even boxed competitively myself for a time, and appreciate the rich history of the sport, but I'm not one of these "get off my lawn" / "defense wins championships" types. Not only do I appreciate fighters who have a style that is all their own, but I think fighters are better off if they do have a style that's uniquely theirs. And if RJJ can dominate boxing across multiple weight classes for well over a decade without throwing jabs, then by all means, do your thing Roy.

That being said, when you don't throw jabs -- like, at all -- you've gotta be more than just a little bit faster than your opponent. You better have some x-men mutant type quickness. And he did. Which is why he was so damn fun to watch. And why most people (myself included) were shocked when he just completely fell off a cliff. But in hindsight we probably shouldn't have been surprised. What was inevitable is that as soon as that guy lost even a half a step, he was dunzo. It wasn't an "if"question as he kept on fighting past his prime -- as virtually all fighters do -- it was when.