Roy Jones Jr beats all of your middleweights & light heavyweights

Another great post, D. Well done!!

 

Ruiz was inept...

 

There's a few Lt. Heavy's and Middleweights in history that beat John Ruiz. He wasn't particularly powerful, skilled, and most importantly, aggressive. Jones Jr. Knew that before he entered the ring against him.
Ruiz was the perfect Heavyweight Champion for almost any talented fighter at Middleweight and above to beat.
So yes , it's a decent victory for Jones Jr. But let's not make it seem like he beat Lennox Lewis, whom he purposely and smartly avoided.
Jones had that one victory over Ruiz and immediately left the weight class.
Though it did backfire on him, because it seemed to cost him some reaction time.
And what was almost a super human ability of his became ordinary.
We than discovered when he lost that super human reaction time , he couldn't take a hard punch, and his defensive technique was a liability because of his hand placement.
His extreme physicality hid some glaring weaknesses.
I believe it was the lack of a great competitor was the difference.
In other words could Jones Jr avoid the bombs of a skilled and aggressive power punchers like Spinks , Foster, Qawi, Moore , Charles , Saad Muhammad, or Moore for 12rds or more Without at the least tasting some serious leather at least once a rd?
Could he survive the Hagler that went at Hearns like a rabid pit bull?
Or Monzons cool determination for 15rds? He'd probably embarrass Monzon the 1st five rds. but what about the next 5? How about 15?.
We know Ray Robinson probably could survive Jones Jr's best shots but what would happen when Robinson was able to land his?
And it would happen because Robinson could match his speed.
Even Hearns, who wasn't his best at Middleweight and above would still be a serious challenge for Jones because of his very educated left jab and threat of that nuclear right hand.
Would Jones Jr dare to take the fight to a formidable , and physically challenging opponent like Hearns?
Doubtful.
Jones Jr. Best opponents were McCallum, Toney, and Hopkins.
Of those 3 only two I would consider great overall ( McCallum and Toney) and of those two one was past prime ( McCallum) and one was simply lazy and lackadaisical ( Toney)
Hopkins wasn't a great fighter. He gets props for his longevity, but was that about his greatness or the weakness of the competition he faced.
Jones Jr was a heck of a gifted talent in his prime. That's obvious..
But he wasn't unbeatable, he had some holes in his game hidden but his extreme physicality.
Those holes would've been exposed by a few Atg Middleweights and quite a few Atg Lt. Heavy's.

 

I love that there are places to talk about nothing but boxing, but we have to pivot and touch grass if we're talking ourselves down a rabbit hole where Michael Spinks beats—let alone knocks out—Roy Jones Jr.

Who did Michael Spinks knock out that was better than RJJ? Nobody. Spinks was 3-1 (0 KOs) in his fight against fellow Hall of Famers. He also won by decision against Eddie Mustafa Muhammad an all-time "Hall of Very Good" fighter. Spinks fought out of an awkward, defensive posture in the fights where he couldn't bully his opponents around—which was the case in most of his biggest wins. Spinks was a great talent and fun to watch in his own way—the way he was talking sh*t to his corner and acting weird between rounds during Holmes II is a super underrated fun boxing moment—but Roy smokes him at 175 and 200.

If you put Prime RJJ at 160, 168, or 175 during any era in history, he's the champion or the #1 contender. You can talk yourself into history's best boxers having a puncher's chance because of his late-career chin issues, but he was 50 fights into his career before anyone was able to so much as lay a finger on him. Keep in mind, RJJ-Tarver I (an ugly, but clear-ish 116-112 RJJ victory) was widely considered a robbery at the time because people were so shocked that somebody was actually able to land a punch on Roy!

Please everybody, go watch Prime Roy. His resume leaves something to be desired, for sure, but he passes the eyeball test more than anybody I have ever watched.

TDLR: There's no version of Michael Spinks that beats Roy Jones Jr—and if you're predicting a Spinks KO I am requesting your search history and a brain scan to see if you have actually watched these two gentlemen fight before.

 

Mmmm…James Toney

 

Who did Roy Jones beat that was better than Spinks?
Name one other ATG who had the entire trajectory of the remaining 15 years of his career turned into a complete mockery by one single punch?
I completely agree that Roy passes the eye test and must be considered an ATG based on what he showed and his stats…but he also loses points based on what he showed and his stats.
Name one other ATG who was met with calls of, “Just fight someone”.
Name one other ATG who was called, “Reluctant”.
Name one other ATG who, in response to being criticized for “selective” matchmaking, released a song about the criticism…instead of actually fighting a dangerous opponent.

 

I'm sorry to be sipping so heavy on the haterade during my three posts for the year, but saying something this wrong, this confidently is borderline criminal. Dwight Muhammad Qawi himself would raise an eyebrow reading this!

 

Don't forget that he was quietly busted for PEDs. He was never the same after he was discovered. The reality is, we don't know how much of the Roy Jones we know was Roy Jones. We just don't.

 

Hi Liston, Jones wasn't prime at 175. He wasn't as quick nor nearly as elusive there. You cannot compare the 160 version to the 175 version, and I am talking about the better version at 175, the Griffin version not the Tarver version, who was pretty much shot at that stage. And by the way, what lightheavy did Roy beat that was even remotely on a similar level to Michael? Come to think of it, didn't Del Valle drop pre-Ruiz Jones? I feel sorry for Roy when Michael lands one of those nuclear lefts or rights.

 

Andre Ward. Now, I don't like him all that much, and I know most here don't like him all that much for being a pretentious knob who fought dirty but... he was an excellent talent at SMW, with a wicked jab, excellent ability to manage distance, and one of the strongest inside fighters (if also one of the dirtiest) since Duran. Ward is stylistically tricky for pretty much anyone, especially the 168 version. iirc, Jones also struggled a lot against a very green Hopkins, and Ward is that style amped up to 10. I know Jones walked through Ruiz (who does have a kinda similar style), but Ward was better than Ruiz and his jab and ability to frame, smother, and get his shots off up close was remarkable.

 

lol I guess you personally know Qawi. Just my opinion. You know what they say about opinions.

 

At 160, yeah, he might run the table.

175? He's going to pick up some losses. Spinks, for example.

 

If Roy's elusiveness doesn't fully hold out, Qawi may grind him into bits. Good point. Anyone with a bit of a durability problem against Qawi, who is unable to keep him from getting up close, is in for some ****.

Qawi probably isn't a top 10 at 175, but against the right guy, he's kryptonite.

 

RJJ never fought any big punchers at Light Heavyweight the only one was Tarver who sparked him out with one punch.

Did RJJ ever fight a fighter in his prime with one punch KO power ? Spinks is one of the best H2H Light Heavyweights of all time and is significantly bigger than RJJ with one punch KO power either hand.

I think you're the one that needs a brain scan if you don't think Michael Spinks could KO RJJ.

Also baffling you say yourself RJJ resume leaves alot to be desired and yet you're so confident he beats an ATG Light Heavyweight with dynamite in both fists ? As I said did RJJ ever fight a Light Heavyweight in his prime who had genuine KO power ?