He is #1 for me. I'm not putting RJJ there for like 5 fights, albeit one against Toney. Calslappy defended his title so many times and beat the likes of Eubank, Reid, Bika, Kessler, and Lacy. Ward and Calzaghe can be argued though.
Joe would definitely have fought Ottke, and I believe he'd definitely have beaten him, unless he'd have gotten the treatment that Reid got in Germany. It's a shame we didn't see it.
This is why it stirs up such a great debate. Roy's are: Malinga Toney Sosa Thornton Paz Lucas Joe's are: Eubank Woodhall Reid Mitchell Brewer Lacy Kessler I have to rank them in terms of ability.
Eubank was very honest enough to admit that he was just content to defend his WBO title. You can throw James and George in. Nobody has mentioned Liles or Watson yet. Regarding Eubank vs DeGale, I think I'd have favoured Eubank.
Nobody loves Andre more than me. But what's with all of this: "He always finds a way to win, and he didn't allow us to even imagine how he can lose"? Again, he only had a 32 fight career. Roy was 49-1 at one point, with his DQ avenged in under 3 mins. Andre wasn't better than a prime version of Roy.
Roy only had 7 fights there but his biggest win was better than any of Joe's. He was also a better fighter than Joe, and he'd have beaten him had they have met at the weight. That's my honest opinion after watching both of their careers. Roy's number of fights are irrelevant. Most of Joe's 44 fights consist of wins over B and C class guys in the defence of his lightly regarded WBO belt.
Nobody respected the WBO back then. They were a laughing stock. But I don't think Ottke would ever have fought Joe.
