I think Ellis takes it by a decision over 15..fighting a very technical fight mapped out between him and Angelo Dundee. The element of surprise would be used by Ellis, starting quickly and Hurting Jones with a sneak right hand early in round one, almost decking Jones...and he would maintain the upper hand throughout that 1st round. The fight would settle down withing a few rounds to a more middling pace, with both men conserving their strength for the late rounds...pacing themselves accordingly, as seasoned pros used to do in the 15 round era. Jones would find his rhythm by the 3rd & 4th rounds...and would be more effective, buy he would be somewhat wary of that sneaky right of Jimmy's. The excitement of that sneaky right would be a deterrent for Ellis, but Jones would keep his poise and would do most of the stalking and pressing the action....Ellis, on the other hand would box conservatively and for the most part, would refuse to lead...making Jones take the role of the aggressor throughout most of the fight. Another right would crash into Jones head in the 12th...bringing some much needed excitement for the fans. Not much action in those last three rounds....those "championship rounds" of those 15 round days, as Ellis took no more chances with the ever forward moving Jones...and an ever increasing smattering of boos grew in volume near the fight's conclusion. A unamimous decision for Ellis, who didn't have nearly as much trouble with Jones that Cassius Clay did back in '63. All throughout, Ellis seemed to be more effective with his jab than Jones, and didn't really take that much punishment from Jones, and Jimmy was confident in sticking to his disciplined fight plan. Over all a good effort by Eliis, and the crowd seemed to concur with the decision.
I thought I was the only one who ever thought of this matchup. Both can box and both can punch, but Ellis, like McVey said, is better. Jones has a better track record in tough fights though, and has better stamina. This would have been a great fight. I personally could see it swaying either way via SD. Stylewise I favor Ellis to outbox Jones. As for being a tough guy, I favor Jones to outslug Ellis.
This is really a toss-up as neither man was very consistent, but both beat several world-class fighters, and could hold their own with the best.
Ellis was a very good fighter...but one that I took a while to fully appreciate. I want Martin to beat him in that tournament, Jimmy started like a whirlwind and gored poor Leotis, then, as a Bonavena fan, I thought for sure that Oscar would roll all over Ellis...boy, was I wrong....Jimmy dominated Ringo like no one else did, even Ali...then he went up against my boy Quarry...and fought what I called an extremely smart, brainy type of fight...like a chess player...not making the mistakes vs Quarry like Thad Spencer and even Patterson made. I did think that Patterson beat Ellis in their Sept. 1968 bout, but maybe I was wrong about that. I think Ellis was an excellent fighter who had an impressive run during the late 60's and was unfortunate to have had to coexist with a prime...or nearing prime Joe Frazier. I stand by my contention that Ellis would beat Zora Folley, and I think he surpassed Folley as a fighter.
Yes, 3rd row, left side, ...the cigar smoking guy wearing the green fedora and plaid naugahide jumpsuit! You couldn't miss me!!