and Jones is hardly one of the greatest LHs ever. Abilitywise he was greatest suppermiddleweight of all time but then the lack of competition (only Calzaghe and Ward, and they arent even close in ability) devalues that somewhat. He is in the top five all time middleweights too, but factoring in the difference in TWO proper weight divisions reduces his attributes somewhat. He CAN beat a great LH but more likely he will lose. Likewise he can beat a good to middling HW.
oh yeah sorry. not sure about Benn on ability, but def Toney and Eubie. Still its sparse pickings compared to the more competitive divisions above and below it. Theres no way a joke like Sven Ottke could win a title in either of those divisions, much less stay champ in.
Jones ud. He's easily the greatest filmed lightheavyweight we have. His resume is pretty strong with only one missing name at lhw. Also he unified the belts in what? 98? Ruling until 03? That's a five year reign that not many people can compete with.
Spinks also ruled for almost five years, and then beat on an ATG heavyweight twice, although he unified much later than RJJ. familar quote from wiki -
I can't dispute that. There are many here who don't believe he's top 10 worthy, because they feel he lacks a name of great significance in his win column like Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore, Bob Foster, Billy Conn, John Henry Lewis, etc.... But frankly I think his long term dominance and decisive performances make up for some of that.
I won't debate who one considers a great light heavy and who doesn't. But Foster himself was rated as ring magazine's #5 all time great LH, as of several years ago, and won 14 world title bouts over a 7 year period. I only listed him because he is the "type" of name that many people feel Jones' resume lacks.. I don't necessarily agree with them, but that seems to be the concencus of a lot of folks when ranking jones.
I just think that at some stage Spinks will get that big right hand across. It's not like Spinks is slow, can't box or isn't accurate, it's not like there's some glaring hole in his offence...he's a great fighter. I don't think Roy will knock him out, and although he could numb him in time for the later rounds, that's not my bet. Even if I'm wrong about the Jones chin Spinks is a hard puncher. That right hand would be a game changer. I'd pick Spinks by knockout in the first half of the fight.
Oh i'm not saying jones is a greater lightheavyweight than spinks - I don't think he is. I'm saying jones wins a ud. The rest was just jargon I was throwing in for the benefit of the thread.