I think Jones would win a comfortable decision if these two had fought in their respective primes. Jones' movement and speed would be too much for Joe. Joe had a good defense so I don't see a stoppage here. Joe would move ahead and try to go to the body in hopes of slowing Jones down, but would be largely unsuccesfull.
I would make Calzaghe a 2-1 favorite, Joe had a small size advantage, 6-0 to 5-10, and was a natural 168, Roy's best days were at 160'... Calzaghe in my opinion could take a better shot, i never saw him really hurt in a professional bout, he had a couple of flash knockdowns, but that was it, while Roy was knocked cold... The wild card is the logistics of the fight if it's in Europe Calzaghe definitely wins, if it's in the states it's 50-50... It would be close and competitive, i just lean a little more towards Calzaghe..
I think it could go either way, but I'd favour Calzaghe, because he isn't going to let Jones do his usual showboating for more than 2 minutes per round and fight in spurts, no matter how eye catching and fast those spurts were. I look at Jones fights and see a lot of posturing and posing, then a sudden attack, and gone. That would not happen with Calzaghe.
I like Calzaghe as a fighter...I think he is a great fighter. But I do not see him beating a peak Roy Jones Jr.
Two great fighters. Joe had a lot of ability, but as great as he was, he was always relatively easy to hit. He could be dragged into a macho tear up in the centre of the ring, and he was always susceptible to a right hand. Roy had an unconventional defence, heavily relying on his incredible reflexes, but the truth is, he was extremely hard to hit clean when he was in his 20's. Roy was in his absolute prime at 25/26 at 168, and I just can't see how Joe could have pulled it off. Hand speed - Roy Accuracy - Roy Work rate - Joe Stamina - Joe Chin/punch resistance - Joe Timing - Roy Footwork - Roy Shot variation - Roy Power - Roy Defence/reflexes - Roy. Roy just had too many attributes. Overall, Roy was more skilful, was quicker, had more shots in his ars*nal, had better reflexes, and had a lot more fire power in either hand. The outcome: A pretty comfortable points decision, unless Joe forced the issue, which IMO would have resulted in a TKO, after Joe had been dropped on more than one occasion. I've watched almost every fight from both fighters, and Roy was just on another level in his 20's.
It's really hard for me to pick against Roy… against anyone… at this weight. And I like Joe a lot.
And that is the one thing that Jones neither could or wanted to do. That is precisely why I'd make Joe a slight favourite, taking Jones out of his comfort zone.
Roy never had to engage in a shootout. But if he'd have one with Joe, there would only have been one outcome. Roy had better reflexes, more variation, more accuracy and more power. Roy would have had no trouble finding Joe's chin. Lots of guys found his chin over the years. He couldn't have stopped Roy's right from landing. Roy was just on another level at 25. That doesn't mean that Joe wasn't great in his own right, but he wasn't good enough to beat Roy.
I agree. Joe was a great fighter with lots of great attributes, but he didn't have the defence to beat Roy. Offensively, Roy was better in every department. I just can't see how Joe could have beaten him.
I don't either. As much as I like Joe Calzaghe, Roy's youthful athleticism and track record of fighting at the heavier weight would give him physical advantages that I think turns the tables in his favor. A completely shot Roy Jones managed to deck Calzaghe early, who admittedly was past his best too, but not as far gone as Jones..