Who was more athletically gifted, Prime Roy Jones or Prime Pacquiao?

Highly, and I mean highly debatable. Pacquiao was a vicious, ferocious nasty puncher at 122 and 126. So much so that I'd give him the edge in power department.

 

He was only beaten one time in his prime and that was against an ATG fighter.

 

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Without question I think both were and to the gills. But Roy was so far ahead of other athletes it probably wouldnt have mattered.

A lot more goes into athleticism than pure speed and power/strength. Pac was a speed/power freak - who seemingly became faster and more powerful the bigger he got, but speed/power don't equal athleticism. The more I think about it I don't think Pac is/was anywhere near the pinnacle of the sport in terms of raw athleticism. There are also gonna be plenty of guys that don't come to mind right away because they wont go down as ATG's - and ATG's are primarily the type of guys we should not be looking at. Freak athletes rarely turn out to be great, because as they are coming up they have such an athletic advantage over others that they dont need to develop great skills. Chad Dawson, Andre Dirrell were freak athletes, Klitschko's and L Lewis (for their size), Terry Norris sure had a TON of bounce in him, Mike Tyson, Jorge Linares, just way too long a list. Oh, and presently, Lomachenko and Josh Kelly ring the bell really loudly.

Forgot, SRL was an INCREDIBLE athlete. T Hearns was a speed/power freak.

 

That's actually a myth. His speed and power clearly peaked around 2003-2004. The Lucero, Barrera I, Marquez I and 3K battery fights. When he went to 130 he was outsized and was no longer a 1 punch type fighter.

Another thing I will add is Pacquiao just had sheer aggression. His workrate and power helped him with that, but at the end of the day it takes a certain type of fighter to just bite the mouthpiece and bring it. You can't teach that kind of spirt that we saw from Pacquiao circa 2003-2009. It just comes.

 

Yes I’d agree with this as Manny ended up in wars whereas Roy in pomp just made it look so easy,put it this way we’ve not seen many who have the skills and power in both arms,even made James Toney look bad.

 

Yep,gotta mention SRR alongside Roy as he too had the power and skills.
Crawford n Lomo both having to move up like their predecessors just to get tested.

 

Well I have to say that since Pac is 5'5" he's so low to the ground and has such a low center of gravity. It's easier for him to move around the ring with agility, balance and quickness. Pacquiao killed people with his feet.

 

Roy played semi-pro basketball. In his prime, he once played a game before one of his fights. I give the stamina edge to Roy.

 

Jones, clearly, by a lot.

 

Lomachenko

 

Are you being serious? You know where Pac started right? And you saw him utterly dominate bona fide welterweights right?

 

When he was how old?

 

Roy...

 

RJJ. This isn't a bad competition to lose though