When it comes to Toney vs. Kalambay, I guess it depends on your taste in defense. Kalambay was incredibly elusive and he'd peck at you and put away rounds. Toney, on the other hand, stayed in the pocket looking to counter. There's a reason why Kalamby's KO percentage is only 50%. Toney's is only six percentage point higher but he fought the much, much better competition and in the second half of his career he did it at heavy weights (and at heavyweight). McCallum isn't wrong to think he might have taught Toney something - McCallum was another guy who could stand in front of you all night and keep you missing. It's interesting that Mike thought he won the first Toney fight but doesn't say anything about the second.
I've read from many fighters that Roy Jones was the smartest they ever saw .. if you listened to him for years on HBO as an analyst you saw that his exceptional vision helped him read styles before the others could even start to comment on them ... he was boxing's version of Ted Williams that way ..
Loved that he said Herol Graham was the best boxer.To me the man was a boxing genius and certainly unlucky not to have become a world champion
I love to see Watson get his props, and I can't think of a McCallum opponent who was stronger than Watson so it's also good to say that he deserves it. Curry had a damn good jab, but better than Kalambay's? No way IMO. I like him picking Kalambay over Toney for defence. He did land a lot more on Toney IMO, and that's coz Toney was in range more often. Obviously changing/maintaining range is a method of defence. This piece has really put into perspective how good Jones was. He has shoehorn arguments for best defence, smarts, power, speed, boxer and overall. And considering the level of competence McCallum faced, that's pretty nuts.
Awesome. He always mentioned how quick Jackson was and that aspect being the key to his KO's. An important distinction. Also, Jones, Jr as the smartest? Interesting to think on. Perhaps it wasn't all just natural gifts with Roy.
This is one of the more honest-looking lists I've seen. Most of these things are mostly self-congratulatory celebrations and they list fighters they beat, thereby elevating themselves in the process. He seems to be more forthcoming here.
Roy is one of the smartest fighters, he went into the ring and did his thing over and over again. His feints, jab, counters, footwork, everything was one step ahead, of course he was a freak but he had a great fighting IQ. Julian Jackson was as fast on the trigger as any fighter I've seen, maybe not pure handspeed but he knew how to throw the punch right in the opening in a split of second.
I was thinking the same thing. His opinion carries some weight because just as he was himself, he faced some top quality, skillful fighters.
Just my opinion, but Jones may be the best trap setter I've ever seen in a ring, alongside Canzoneri. Everything was a flowing set-up of a set-up. There is a lot people can learn from Jones that they usually ignore / cant see. Jones himself says his favourites were Duran and Sanchez, which hints to his ideal of Boxing.
Toney gives McCallum props and says that he never faced anyone better. It tells you something about Toney too. Most guys wouldn't seek a rematch with their toughest opponent. Toney did twice, when he could have made more money in easier fights. You never saw Roy Jones giving Toney a rematch even though at cruiserweight there would have been a huge payday.