What Were Roy Jones Jr's Top 5 Wins?

1. Toney
2. Tarver
3. Hopkins
4. Griffin
5. Ruiz

I think the significance of the Tarver win is significantly downplayed and the significance of the Ruiz win is hyped. I also think Harding was one of his better wins but doesn't deserve to be ranked because Harding had an injury that influenced the outcome.

 

IMO; Tarver and Reggie are numbers 4&5. Both uber-talented, underrated, and obviously evenly matched. Although the Vinny KO has a special place in my heart, it's obviously nowhere near the top level. For me, guys like Harding, Hill and Griffin fall short coz Tarver on form drilled Eric, and Hill was obviously aging. Griffin's reputation is based on a DQ, a robbery over a Lazy Toney and a win over a lazy Toney IMO. He also lost to Harding so I thought it good to rule him out.

After those two, the top 3 aren't too hard to split IMO. Toney is the clear #1, even if he didn't train, it wasn't Jones' fault. He also kicked Ruiz's ass, years later. B-Hop was green, but showed his quality, and what he achieved afterwards is really special. Obviously. I think the fact Jones became HW champ in '03 makes it a better when than the B-Hop win.

I think Jones really underachieved, on a résumé-basis. Imagine if he'd stuck around at 160 for a few years more. He could've beaten guys like prime McCallum, Nunn, Watson, Kalambay, Jackson ect. And then after you have his abysmal run at 168. Imagine if instead of it looking like Toney, Byrd, Paz, Thornton, Lucas and Brannon it was Toney, Collins, McClellan, Liles, Benn and Eubank. And to be honest a Calzhage fight may not have been in play in real life, but it's not so far-fetched to think it could've happened in 1997.

And what's more, is that at 175 he could've had even better wins, too. Michalczewski being the biggest caveat at that weight. I think my favourite little thing to think about is Jones at CW, since it's a whole new ball-game and complete speculation. I have no doubt he'd have beaten Toney again, and the Jones who beat Ruiz would've beaten Jirov IMO. A win over Juan Carlos Gomez would look brilliant on Jones' résumé.

I actually have next to 0 doubt he'd have won all of these little hypotheticals had they happened at the weights I mentioned, at the rough times they could've. Jones was that good. Sorry, tangent aside, my top 5 looks like this:

• #5. Reggie Johnson
• #4. Antonio Tarver
• #3. Bernard Hopkins
• #2. Fatboy Ruiz
• #1. Fatboy Toney

 

I like the Hill win. Not prime Hill but the fashion of the win.

 

Toney
Hopkins
Johnson
Hill
Tarver

 

Here are the indisputable five best conquests of prime RJJ:

1. Getting touched
2. Getting stopped
3. Getting moved
4. Getting rocked
5. Getting shook

 

Toney, Griffin 2, Hopkins, Reggie Johnson and Tarver in no particular order

 

Hopkins
Toney
Ruiz
Tarver I
McCallum

 

Thought you was leaving the forum to become a boxer?

 

People often say that Roy didn’t have a great resume. Yet I can’t decide who to put in his top 5 wins between Griffin and Hill.

I couldn’t argue with your list, but for me, Tarver is his best win due to the circumstances.

 

I think Malinga and Harding are definitely underrated wins. Harding beat Tarver for that title shot IIRC and Malinga who would beat Benn also got robbed against Benn and Eubanks previously. Jones completely dominates him, stopping him in 6.

 

Hill was ageing, but it was the manner of the victory which made it special. Nobody ever did anything like that to Hill, and he won a belt at CW a few years later.

Griffin was a talented fighter, and it was special how Roy blew him a way in a round with a lead uppercut.

Nobody else did things like that.

I don’t think Roy’s SMW run was abysmal. It was just short lived because he couldn’t get the fights.

Fighting Joe in 1997 is extremely far fetched.

Joe didn’t fight Eubank until October, 1997, and he’d never have fought Roy anyway. There wasn’t a chance of it happening.

 

At 168, maybe. If Calzhage really wanted it, I don't doubt he could've moved up and went to the US. He had it in his head that he didn't need to make concessions, but Roy did.

 

Joe had a walking around weight of 190 plus pounds.

He had to starve himself to make 168.

He could have fought at 175 whenever he’d have wanted to, and he had Showtime’s backing from the late 90’s.

He didn’t have it in his head that it was Roy who needed to make concessions.

He just didn’t want anything to do with Roy.

His BS call outs of Roy were just made to try and make it appear as though he was interested.

He knew damn well that the world’s best fighter wasn’t going to drop down a division and fly to Wales to fight him.

He’s also on record stating that he wasn’t chasing Roy, as he didn’t want tough fights. And his record certainly reflects those comments.

 

How about his top 10?