Not taking anything from Roy, but I'm kinda unsatisfied that he took the heavyweight crown from John Ruiz who I don't think is an elite level heavyweight. So Imma just put 5 fighters from who I think is the weakest to strongest, and you tell your opinion how RJJ would fair against them. Stage 1: Alex Stewart Stage 2 : Bert Cooper Stage 3: Michael Moorer Stage 4: Lennox Lewis Stage 5: Prime Evander Holyfield If Roy fought against these level of opposition, Can he dominate them? Will it be Competitive? or will he fail Miserably?
He probably loses at Moorer. But I think Roy had a brief moment where a little cunning and the right matchmaking could have netted him a good heavyweight legacy. It's conceivable that he could have beaten Ruiz, beaten Byrd, waited for Lennox to retire, defended against Toney (coming off the Holyfield win), ignored the WBO -- not yet a fully legit title, and occupied by a very dangerous Lamon Brewster -- and made a lot of noise about how he wanted to face Vitali. Vitali, of course, would retire with an injury, so this bout would never come off. Some people would then claim that Vitali retired because he knew he couldn't beat Jones. (This is clearly ridiculous, but either way, at least Jones tried -- which helps his legitimacy without endangering him.) Depending on how much Roy wants to roll the dice, he could even take on Rahman for the remaining non-WBO strap. Rahman would probably blow him out, but I'd give Roy a better chance against Rahman than he has any right to have. (Rahman didn't put an obese Toney away in two tries, for example.) Roy had the promotional power that he might be able to make the fights align the way he wants them. But it would require luck and a lotta clever matchmaking.
Very interesting question. The Roy Jones who fought John Ruiz was at the very end of his prime years. He went 6-7 in his next 13 fights. People often bring up RJJ's chin but his chin was great for the first 49 fights. He just finally hit a wall in his 15th professional year. So, assuming we are talking about the Jones who fought Ruiz, here are my opinions. Stage 1: Alex Stewart - Stewart was a good fighter but not elite. Jones handles him by decision Stage 2 : Bert Cooper - Cooper was a cruiserweight sized fighter with limited skills. He has no chance. KO Jones. Stage 3: Michael Moorer - As a light heavy Moorer would have had no chance against a 175 lb Jones. Heavyweight Moorer would have really challenged 2003 Jones. I make Jones a close decision winner but it could go either way. Stage 4: Lennox Lewis - Lewis handles him easily, most likely by knockout. Stage 5: Prime Evander Holyfield - Prime Holyfield beats 2003 RJJ by a relatively comfortable margin.
Bert Cooper is a hard hitting pressure fighter. He'd probably give Roy hell, and I'd say Roy stops at Moorer. Ruiz didn't use his size advantage at ALL. He was an idiot during that fight, trying to stay at range and exchange at mid range against the superior quicker counter puncher. He should have been in there imposing his size, walking Roy down. But i take nothing away from RJJ, what he accomplished was incredible.
It must be noted that Lewis is superior to Holyfield. As for your question, Roy has a good chance of out-pointing the first two. He clearly loses to the rest, most likely by KO.
Stage 1: Alex Stewart: Jones by a decision Stage 2 : Bert Cooper: Jones by a decision Stage 3: Michael Moorer:Moorer by a decision Stage 4: Lennox Lewis:Lewis by a brutal KO Stage 5: Prime Evander Holyfield:Holyfield by a brutal KO.
Alex Stewart: Jones would probably outpoint him, but I don't think it's ez Bert Cooper: This guys hands is fast and powerful He'll probably outmuscle Jones just how Sosa did. And if he lands a shot, it's night night for jones. Michael Moorer: Probably lose to him. Lennox Lewis: I do think that he would fair better against Lewis despite this is stage four. I just personally think that Jones elusiveness is hard for a jabber and 1-2 guy like lewis. Evander Holyfield: He KO's him, Brutally
