Had Roy Jones retired after the Ruiz fight...

So what, don't try and make out he was in his prime though when it just isn't true.

 

You have to be one of the most ignorant posters that I've come across.

He did push for fights.

HBO publicly backed him in that live interview before he fought Brannon.

Frankie Liles's ex manager says that Frankie had a great fight lined up with Roy, but he blew it by going back and asking for more money.

Again, Eubank was content to defend his WBO belt in Britain and Europe.

Again, away from the cameras, Hopkins was offered $6m and a comeback fight on HBO, but he demanded $10m or no deal.

So tell us how he could have made those fights?

Is it really that difficult for you to admit that you were mistaken?

 

He did push for better competition.

 

I know you have excuses for why Jones couldnot fight them, but I know at the time he was the one holding back because I remember the era. If a fighter wants the fights he gets them. Nigel Benn. I don't think Jones wanted him. DM. Nunn. I mean look at the guys Jones fought Harding, Richard Hall. Lucas earlier. There were better guys out there. Eubank would have been a good fight for Jones. I don't remember problems making this fight. I thought Jones turned it down because Eubank lost a fightor two.. Dm is one, and even Jirov Jones ducked, yet he fought Ruiz at heavyweight, the easiest guy there to beat.

 

A very strange performance from Jones. I thought he had a chance to win that fight but he just gave up after the second round

 

The idea that Jones ducked Jirov is even more ridiculous than mayweather ducking golovkin. People are grasping at straws trying to discredit him

 

HBO wanted him to take it after the Kelly fight. As far as they were concerned the money they were paying him was more than enough for him to face high risk opponents like Jirov. Jones turned down the fight and fought Woods instead

 

Hbo might like Ward fighting Joshua or Mayweather fighting Golovkin.... doesnt mean that Ward is ducking him if he doesnt take the fight. Its ridiculous and only proves how good Jones was even at 33 that it was even being discussed.

 

It was because of the money he was being paid, $5m per fight. I doubt if they would of gotten on his case if his contract paid less money. More money more risk is how they saw it.

 

Yeah but Roy was regarded as unbeateable back then.He became human in losing those fights.So I have to disagree

 

Yet more ignorance from you.

What excuses?

Fights against Harding and Hall were mandatories.

If a fighter wants the fights he gets them? Really? It's that simple is it? And how long have you been watching boxing? Boxing is a ruthless, complex business. Big fights are extremely hard to make for various reasons.

Again, explain to me how he could have fought Hopkins in 2002, when Hopkins demanded $10m or no fight? Come on genius. Enlighten me. Hopkins demanded $10m, then spent a year out of the ring before coming back and fighting Morrade Hakkar for $1.3m.

You have to be one of the most ignorant people I've come across on this forum. Just because a fighter doesn't fight someone, it doesn't automatically mean that he's ducked them.

Regarding Eubank, of course he would have been a good fight for Roy. He was a very good fighter who was extremely tough. Roy had a lot of respect for him. But I've told you what Eubank has said. Again, he's said that he never pushed to fight guys like Roy, because it would have been career suicide. Again, he's said that he was content doing what he was doing in Britain, and he would only have fought Roy if Roy had became his WBO mandatory. Now take a look at the timelines of each fighter. When Eubank was at MW, he'd already beaten Watson and Benn before Roy had made any waves. Roy's career didn't really start to take off until he'd split with his father and signed with HBO in 1992. By the time Roy had beaten Hopkins in 1993, Eubank was already at SMW. Roy's first official fight at SMW was against Toney in November, 1994. By beating Toney, Roy became the IBF champion. But just 4 months after Roy had beaten Toney, Eubank lost his WBO belt to Steve Collins. He then had a few comeback fights before rematching Collins. And after he'd lost to Collins for the 2nd time, he then left the division. So you can clearly see that a fight was never viable. Now if you think otherwise, then kindly explain how.

Regarding Jirov, Roy didn't duck him. He wasn't really interested in the CW belt back then. He signed to fight Ruiz late in 2002. And although Ruiz wasn't a great fighter, it was a much bigger fight to Roy. It was for a version of the HW championship which made it historic, and it brought in 2-3 x more than what a Jirov fight would have made.

 

If he'd retired after the Ruiz fight most people would have him in the top 10 ATG's or at the very least top 15 for sure.

What happened after the Ruiz fight exposed Roy's one major weakness - his chin. RJJ didn't get starched repeatedly after the Ruiz fight because his chin suddenly deteriorated, he got KO'ed because his reflexes and speed deteriorated and guys were able to hit him flush for the first time in his career, before that Roy rarely if ever got hit clean.
When talking about a fighter's ATG legacy most people consider how he would have done against other ATG's in H2H's. Guys like Ray Robinson, Moore, Spinks, Charles, Foster etc. would undoubtedly have had the skills to nail Roy even in his prime and when they do it's likely light's out.

Roy is still a top 20 or 25 top ATG but his chin brings down his legacy considerably for me.

 

if he had, then he wouldnt suffer the breadth of debilitating illnesses that sit in wait for him over the next 3 decades.