How Good Was Roy Jones Exactly?

I think when it comes to raw athleticism he’s one of the most gifted fighters of all time. He was very agile and could punch too. Won titles in either 4 or 5 weight classes. And took on almost every type of style we can think of. Overall I believe he’s a true ATG. But as for assigning him an actual rating on some sort of p4p list I have no clue where to place him.

 

He was good but relied on his athleticism rather than solid fundamentals which caught up with him leading to expose his fragile chin.

 

His chin wasn't fragile. He just didn't have any punch resistance when he was a shot fighter

 

It's hard to place him because for much of his career he was spectacular. If he only hung up the gloves after beating john Ruiz. But late in his career he got splattered several times. Not like Ali or other greats who fought too long and were losing decisions or having a corner stop the fight, but Jones was getting beaten bloody and laying on the canvas with one or more limbs twitching.

 

He was the greatest fighter of the 90's where he was untouchable, that's all that's needed to be said.

 

Agreed, he was a freak and extremely good up until his mid 30s. If he had stopped after the Ruiz win people wouldnt get hung up on his KO losses post prime and rank him higher (probably too high).

The guy beat James Toney in embarrassing fashion and beat Hopkins (pre prime, but still young and good). Good fighters don't do that, great ones do. The 168 lbers back in the 90s and Michalczewski at 175 were offered big money (for the time) to fight Jones, almost all said no or didn't even return the call to negotiate.

 

He is an all-time great.
The most skillful boxer of his generation in his weight classes. He was the best in the world in his weight class, 160, 168 and 175 for 10 straight years.

 

He's an ATG and on the face of it one of the most phenomenal fighters in his prime to grace the ring.

There are some question marks, however.

He popped dirty for peds a few times. Peds can't give you skills but they can enhance physical abilities. Also, once he slowed down a little and people started to land on him more consistently, it turned out that his chin wasn't exactly made from iron, granite or even aircraft-grade aluminium. In fact his ability to soak up punishment is, I would say, at best only average. Less charitable people might say he had a glass chin. Because he'd relied on his athleticism so heavily, his fundamantals were not solid. When he got older and slower this showed and he lost to fighters that he'd previously whooped, like Hopkins.

 

One of the best ever to step in the ring. Top 5-8 P4P best fighters ever.

 

I don't buy that he "lacked solid fundamentals".
What exactly ?

 

it'd nonsense rhetoric repeated by sheep who have never boxed.
"lacked solid fundamentals" - the great Jones jnr myth.
He had unreal defence & offence.
Lacked fundamentals?
He had a great jab, head movement, hook off the jab, hook, straight right, lead left, lead right.
was a brilliant amateur boxer before he was koing everyone
ROCK SOLID FUNDAMENTALS.
I could go on but there's too many fools who don't understand boxing.
He was shot when he lost end of.

 

Yeah. I think you are correct on this.

 

Roy Jones Jr was about as good as anyone ever was. Judging a fighter at his best he was phenomenal. Jones had a lethal combination blinding speed, real one punch power in either hand, the footwork of Willie Pep.
For years nobody outside of Griffin could lay a glove on him. That was Eddie Futch's big brain that helped Griffin do as well as he did.

I think Roy had a pretty tough chin when he was tagged occasionally. Though he was dominated James Toney timed Jones with a couple right hands. The first Tarver fight Roy dug deep and gutted out the win. He took punishment. It was going up and down in weight that ruined Jones's whiskers.
He fought some mediocre challengers at the Sametime he could make a good fighter look pedestrian.

The GMan was on the horizon and Jones was mentally preparing for that. That was out of Roy's control but it would have told us alot, perhaps cemented his legacy. He could have pursued some fights across the pond or those guys could have come this way but it didn't happen.

Roy Jones as a boxer. I would rate him an A+.,