Roy Jones Jr. vs. Artur Beterbiev at 175.

If Roy doesn't blitz Beterbiev early and hurt him it'll be a long painful night. Either RJJ TKO2 or Beterbiev KO7.

 

When you say peak Roy do you mean PED Roy

 

Someone gets KOed.

Roy wont be able to UD Artur. He would need a body shot KO like Virgil Hill to beat him.

 

Roy never fought someone with the elite educated pressure Beterbiev has..combine that with his size, strength and punching power, Roy doesn’t come out alive

 

Roy, 116-112 and easily.

 

Beterbiev might win, but everyone claiming Roy has never faced anyone like him.....
Has beterbiev ever faced anyone REMOTELY close to Roy???

Roy is just as much of an outlier if not more so especially compared to their opposition.

 

Roy was great - there’s no denying that. Many thought he was up there with SRR and SRL. In terms of talent and athleticism, he was. But unless you die young, greatness must be maintained and the masses reminded. Roy neglected that. His resume isn’t as bad as his critics say, but it’s not even close to SRR, SRL, Ali, Pacquiao, Spinks, Charles, Moore, or the lesser lights of Holyfield, De la Hoya, Morales, Barrera etc. Reluctant Roy and the Roycott had their basis in reality. The reason that Roy rapped Y’all Must’ve Forgot was because boxing was tired of him fighting unemployed bartenders and assistant grave diggers while talking about himself in the third person, while guys like undefeated Dariusz M and Vassily Jirov were in or close to his weight class. Imagine rapping about how good you were to people rightfully tired of you no longer fighting…instead of actually fighting someone to remind them. Roy was a victim of his own hubris.
Based on what we witnessed of Roy at 175, he never would’ve signed to fight Arthur. He would’ve priced himself out, claiming his health was more important and in the next breath announce that he’s fighting an off duty fireman. He had the physical ability to beat Beterbiev but not mental fortitude to prove it in the ring.

 

Beterbiev has a good chance although I make Roy the favorite for now

 

I would favour Roy but I find it amusing that some are calling Beterbiev a drug cheat when I doubt Roy was so innocent.

 

Rpy maintained his greatness for long enough and exhibited much better longevity than SRL. He was 35 when Tarver got him in that second fight and we all know he wasn't the same after sucking back down from heavyweight.

Darius M decided to be a footnote and doesn't deserve mention. Jirov would have made a nice punching bag.

The fights I wanted for Roy were Toney at heavy, Chris Byrd, and Holyfield... possibly Tyson. There were some intriguing fights for him to make had he just stayed where he was after beating Ruiz. It made no sense for him to cater to Tarver and boil down like that.

 

Lou Del Valle dropped a 29 year old RJJ.

He's a heck of a fighter but there's no way he makes it to the final bell against Beterbiev.

 

Prime Roy would be up there with the All Time Greats...Can not tip against Him.!!!

 

I take your point. And I enjoy the discussion. Jones certainly had his share of undeserving mandatories. But, to be fair, he did beat a number of former and future world champions - and HOF ers - along the way (though not all at 175). And I don't agree that greatness must be maintained ... we all get older and, in the ring, that manifests itself as losses (think, Ali, Tyson, Holyfield etc). It's what they did at their best that counts. Everyone has a different style - not everyone can be Foreman or Hopkins. Jones fought until he was what, fifty?!! Impossible to maintain quality at that age, with his style, especially against much younger guys. He is certainly guilty of carrying on waaay too long though. If he'd retired after spotting the warning signs in Tarver 1, a lot of these discussions wouldn't be happening.

 

This is a great fight. Roy may very well have been unbeatable at 168 and below but at 175 there may have been a few fighters that would have done him in. I will reserve judgement until Bivol-Beterbiev. If Bivol manages to outbox and keep Beterbiev's pressure off him for 12 rounds, I reckon Roy would do one level better than him and win a UD.

But Beterbiev isn't James Toney. His 2nd best attribute after his power is his footwork. Escaping his punches for 12 rounds is as difficult as outboxing a prime Roy. Both have freakish attributes for their respective styles. Even during his prime, Roy's chin was his weakest aspect. He never had iron in his chin, although it wasn't always glass. Beterbiev landing would definitely get more than his attention. Roy doesn't have the power to KO Beterbiev btw. He had power at 175 but Beterbiev has already proven his chin against bigger punchers at 175.