Jones' Heavyweight win vs. Fitzsimmons Heavyweight win

I seriously don't even know where to start with a post like this. It is sad on so many different levels. I love the way Jones nuthuggers try and talk Ruiz up as some hulking KO artist when the bum has 1 legit proper KO in 10 years. :roflatsch

Ruiz was handpicked by Roy for various reasons and anyone that tries to compare this to what Fitz did is delusional or mentally ill or both.

 

Ruiz is not to be compared to Jim Corbett. Boyshorts or not, he was the man at that time. He wasn't the biggest guy, but he was the heavyweight champ. Fitzsimmons was a middleweight.

Ruiz hadn't exactly cleaned out the heavyweight division and established himself as the man the way Corbett had. If Jones had gone out and unified the heavyweight division while still weighing 170 or so, THAT would be comparable to what Fitzsimmons did. Fitzsimmons didn't even move up in weight, he just went out there and whipped the balls off the best heavyweight out there at the time. He did this just for kicks and giggles because he was tired of beating up guys his own size.

Roy, on the other hand, ruined himself as a fighter AND used PEDs to get up to size, and then snatched an alphabet belt off of the weakest dude he could find. Fitzsimmons just got bored one day and was all like, "Hey, you know what? I think it'd be fun to go punch the faces off of the biggest and baddest dudes alive. Especially since I'm just a middleweight."

Fitzsimmons > Roy Jones. Always. End.

 

I've seen him fight. He's a total badass.

Look, do you not think there were 6'6 guys in Fitzsimmons' day? If they were the best, they would have been the champs, and he would have fought them and ripped their balls out their esophaguses, because he's Bob Fitz****in'simmons, bitches.

Lennox was the champ because he was a great fighter, not because he's 6'6. Bottom line: Fitzsimmons, at 167, was the BEST FIGHTER IN THE WORLD above 160 at that time. Because he was undisputed heavyweight champion. In order for Roy to match that, he would have had to unify the heavyweight division, or at least be recognized as the champ. He didn't, and he wasn't. Sure, he beat a guy who was bigger than him. Big ****ing deal, I've done that. Sure it's an accomplishment, but it isn't anything like what Fitzsimmons did.

Let me break this down Barney-style for you: If Lucian Bute fought and beat Wlad Klitschko tomorrow, this would be similar to what Fitzsimmons did. If he beat Vitali or David Haye after that, you could make an argument he had met or exceeded Fitzsimmons' accomplishment. Butthen Fitzsimmons would rise from the grave and eat Lucian's soul and have sex with his wife, because he's BOB FITZSIMMONS, and he can.

 

Hands down. Lennox Lewis is serious business and would be hell for any fighter in history, bar none.

 

Chyeah, but Roy didn't beat him and imo wouldn't come close.

 

I've got to agree with the others based on Ruiz's ability combined with some other comments however,

If history had panned out different I believe a victory over Holyfield would be comparable.

ie If Holyfield beat Ruiz in the rematch, throw in a win over Rahman in 2002 to fill in the gap and then lost to RJJ.
Beating Holyfield at that point is more realistic than Lewis and a far better win than Ruiz.

 

James Toney beat Ruiz as well. That was not counted due to the positive drugs test of course, but also hasn't been mentioned yet.

It's not like RJJ did something another well skilled ex-middleweight couldn't do either.

Kind of diminishes Roys achievement, regardless of the roids issue.


But yeah, if Roy had beaten Lewis, now we're talking.

 

While he wasn't up to the same weight as several HWs of the time, hadn't Fitz fought at heavyweight several times before he got to Corbett? In fact wasn't the infamous Wyatt Earp--Fitz vs Sharkey fight at HW? For the title in fact (or it was thought to be at the time).

Edit: The above is just for the sake of being fair, I'm not necessarily saying that Roy's W over Ruiz is comparable to Fitzsimmons' over GJC.

 

**** yes!