Does RJJ v Ruiz compare to Duran v Barkley?

I always thought RJ was a small lightheavy, and was so impressed how he just blew guys out. Fighting at heavyweight he looked ridiculous with his chicken legs and his huge upper body. To me that was incredible to see a guy that really should have been at 168 tops, fighting a guy over 200 pounds that was a seasoned heavyweight. Its not Ruiz was feather fisted guy either, he could punch a little. I think there is no comparison here.
He was just a freak of nature with his speed, and its ashame now to see him look ordinary now that he has lost a step.

 

Yes, both were much smaller men who were fighting limited titlists who were not nearly the best in their respective divisions.

 

Absolutely not. Jones-Ruiz is closer to Toney-Jirov than it is to Duran-Barkley. Duran's win over Barkley is on another level.

Jones-Ruiz or Toney-Jirov would have been a better thread.

 

To come close to what Duran did to Barkley. Jones would have to have beaten a fighter on the level of, Rahman, or Bruno. Not Ruiz.

 

Ruiz beat Rahman in 2003. :good

 

Here's a list cobbled together from the other Duran-Barkley thread:
- Duran was 38

- He was a natural lightweight

- The fight was two traditional/classic divisions up

- The guy he was fighting was a natural mw & current world champ

- The only man to beat Barkley in the previous 5 years was the superb
Sumbu Kalambay

- Barkley had stopped Hearns in 3 rounds in his previous fight, and so was rightfully a huge favourite

- Barkley took the excellent Michael Nunn to an SD in his next fight

- Barkley was bigger, stronger, younger, fresher, had better power

- Duran won the fight convincingly, even though it was close & competitive. His performance was nothing short of magnificent

- Duran KD'd Barkley

- Barkley was a better mw than Ruiz was a hw

- When was the last time a lw champ moved up and won a mw title?

- Duran was in his 22nd year as a pro (started a long way away below mw)

 

Ruiz beat Rahman. To answer the question above, I think it was a bigger win in my mind. In reality Jones could have competed at heavyweight at 170, the added weight hurt more than helped, so fighting guys 30-40 pounds heavier was something special in my book. The difference just in punching power was huge. It was common to see lightweights sparring with middleweights in the gym, but not middleweights and heavyweights, it was just too much of a power difference.
Styles make fights. Who would have thought Manny Pac would completely dominate and stop ODH.

 

Is Chagaev-Valuev as good a win as Duran v Barkley as well then?

Valuev beat Ruiz, and Chagaev was giving away far more weight v Valuev than Jones was v Ruiz.

Weight is not the only factor, nor even the single most important one.

 

Jones didn't weigh 167-175lbs though. He weighed in at 193lbs and was apparently around 200lbs on fight night. Is a brilliant cruiser/borderline heavy beating a mediocre heavy who was around 220lbs as good as Duran-Barkley? I think not.