nope...he's done... he would have to drastically reinvent the way he fights in order to do that...and its too late for that...his reflexes and legs are gone...
if he gets himself focused mentally and physicaly,yah he could. i mean look at hopkins. hes not ****ing shot.
Father time has treated Hopkins well, plus he trains like an absolute beast and his style is much better suited to age.
Roy should just hang them the **** up. He should've gone out after trinidad and called it a day. Unfortunately, the guy craves and longs for the spotlight, whether it paints a positive or negative picture notwithstanding. Roy's going to be that guy who keeps getting drawn back into the ring until that tragic day he gets hurt BADLY and is forced out of it for good. Tragically, when Roy was in his prime, I could never, ever imagine him being that guy. He seemed too smart, he talked the retirement game from an early stanza and I envisioned him walking away when the time was right -- ESPECIALLY when you consider what happened to McLellan and the impact it had on him from the outset.
At 40 he's supposed to get better :nut, Hopkins is way past his prime fights nothing like the guy I saw in the late 90s, the last time he looked peak was against Joppy in 03.
Top 5? Like Calzaghe, Hopkins, Dawson, Johnson? No way. But he could beat some other top 10 LHW if he was in great shape. In any case, the guy should definitely retire for good now. He has nothing else to prove, plus he could get a whole lot of $$$ by staying in the boxing business as a commentator, trainer etc.
Top 5 No. Top 10 probably. i think RJJ is done and should retire. he really has nothing more to do in the ring.
two important addendums to your piece: 1) Bernard Hopkins has never been brutally knocked out in his career, let alone twice. The psychological impact that can have on a boxer, especially when fed a God complex for so long as RJJ was, can be devastating. I don't think i have to explain to you how many elite fighters went quickly downhill after suffering debilitating defeats. 2) Bernard Hopkins' style lends itself more to longevity than Roy's does -- more in-the-pocket, more fundamentals employed, holding, clenching. Roy never did ANY of those things in his prime. Roy was about circling away from your power and dodging in and out with incredible quickness -- you lose your legs and this strategy goes right out the window, and then what are you left with if you haven't been utilizing those fundamentals consistently over your pro career? Not much.
Stick a fork in him...He needs to retire. He's given us plenty to remember him by, and hes the most gifted fighter to ever wear boxing gloves 8 time world champion over 4 divisions, what more can he do?
bing bing we have a winner everyone eles can go home now. Jones is a fighter that used his god given talent to win fights, his un-natural speed, and cat like reflexes...Those things are gone, Jones was never a fighter that relied on techincal skill, and/or classical boxing skills. Meaning he would jump in with fast hard hooks and be out of the way before the return. Bait people to throw shots move and counter. Hopkins was more of a throw back. He used good defense, and a wide aray of offencive attacks but all very classic, always working behind his jab, its a skill that has allowed Hopkins to hold on to his better days of boxing longer.