Who was better, Sugar Ray Leonard or Roy Jones Jr?

True .. but he ultimately fought for a lot less money than he would have made with Nunn which makes it stink even more for me

 

Trinidad is a bit of a stretch there LD .. don't ya think?? He was a natural ww, hadn't fought in 2 1/2 years and his first and only fight as a LhtHW .. I think the catch weight was at 170 ... btw, happy holidays to ya

 

He does not have the resume to be top 10. Trinidad and Calzaghe and Hopkins were either too young or too old.. Toney? Good win, but is James an all time great? What is the exaggeration? Ray beat Benitez Duran and Hearns in a 2 year period. That right there beats anything Jones did. It is easy. Had you picked Trinidad and asked who is greater, that is harder.. or Delahoya. But not Leonard.

 

Leonard, by far the better fighter, bigger wins, tougher opponents. Leonard showed more heart and overcame more obstacles. Both are complete Azzholes though.

 

yup I hear ya .. but I do not fault Jones here .. Hopkins I think was guaranteed 6 million ... and ended up fighting for 1.5 million in his next fight , so there was good money there for Hop ...vs Jones

 

Sugar Roy Leonard Jnr.

 

Leonard by a shade. Far better competition when that competition was at or close to prime. Jones was one of the most gifted ATHLETICS to ever lace up the gloves. Possibly even more gifted than Ali himself. But, his competition didn't answer a lot of questions about him. His best competition was the lackadaisical J.Toney, a very green Hopkins, a well past prime Mccalum. And even against those fighters he never pressed the attack, his mentality like Mayweather jr was just do enough to win. What would he have done if he got a bad cut? Behind on the score cards? etc while in his prime? Unfortunately the competition he fought in his prime couldn't push him to his physical and mental limit. Leonard proved it multiple times against multiple different styles how mentally tough he was and physically gifted , the chest match against Benitez, the brawl with Duran in Montreal, the strategy change mid fight against Hearns and his ability to adopt a more physical and flat footed approach and body punch his way to victory. Even the sheer recklessness he showed against Kalule when he easily could've used his speed and quickness to a easy dec victory, he choose to fight Kalule, stay close to him wear him down,and knocked him out. Could Jones have done the same against Leonard's competition? Maybe he could've, But what we saw against far lesser competition he never took the chance to be that type of fighter unless he absolutely knew his opponent had absolutely no chance against him. Would Jones have dared to stand in front of Hearns and walk him down, if Hearns had taken all his other options away from ? Or would wait for the perfect counter shot until it was to late? That's why in my opinion Jones would be BELOW the Robinson's Leonards, and quite a few others as far as ATG status goes.

 

You've perfectly articulated my own thoughts on the differences between them.

 

What are you smoking? Toney was certainly at the level of those guys.He just was not that night beause of weight issues.

 

Good to see Jones getting some serious kudos.

 

Well put.

I saw RJJ live vs. Thulane Malinga, who had given Eubank and Benn all they wanted just a year earlier, and Roy wasn’t just a different class ... more like a difference species. He should be tested for the X gene — he’s gotta be some kind of superior mutant being.

I talked to him in person one time when I was in Pensacola, it was right after he had iced Thomas Tate in 2. He said he saw Tate would kind of bob his glove up and down a bit and he timed a hook and ... RJJ pointed to a high point on his cheek ... and said “I knew I could hit him right there (like that exact spot) when his glove came down.” And I looked at the tape and that was exactly where he hit him.

Then I remember him fighting Virgil Hill, an extremely competent former world champ, and he ends it with one perfectly timed body shot. Blam, over. Best body shot I’ve probably ever seen.

He outclassed guys like James Toney and Bernard Hopkins like they were average. Hall of Fame champions and he made them look ordinary.

RJJ in his prime years may be the very best there has ever been.

 

Curiously you are the only one on the forum who said "jones by a country mile"
You are the one who need watching here.

 

SRL

 

I don't think it's a stretch in terms of great names on a resume, might not have been as great a win as what it looks like on paper. But on paper it is Jones Jr UD Trinidad.
The point of mentioning him was more to extend the point that he fought what there was there for him
Not sure whether the holiday wishes are sarcastic or not? Haha but I'll wish the same to you anyway, feeling festive!

The exaggeration is saying it's easy to choose between two ATG's.
Even if you do favour one, to say it's easy is certainly exaggerating between these two.

Jones is just outside the top 5 for me personally.
Were they too young or too old just because it suits your argument or?....
I never said any of those I mentioned were all time greats, all very strong names on a resume is what I am saying, and pointing to the fact that there wasn't better for him to face. I'm not of the opinion that we should assume fighters couldn't do it against people who weren't there to test themselves against. It happens all the time in boxing but I'm not one to get sucked into doing it. I just judge on what did happen. And that was Roy Jones Jr absolutely dominating opponents fight after fight.
Ray Leonard had huge wins against great fighters, which makes him great too, doesn't mean Jones ranks below on the basis that opponents of that calibre didn't exist for him to fight though.

 

Not sarcastic was genuine .. And Roy did miss some better guys he didn't want to fight/risk, Read my posts in this thread if you want and you can respond ... And Trinidad is a great name but when you peel it back, it doesn't do much or anything for Roy's legacy