Roy Jones Jr. vs. James "Buster" Douglas

It was all good thanks, got a horrible month ahead though with work, this will be my last post today

Sounds good mate hope you're feeling better

As for Roy, I agree, I think Roy would have gone ahead with the fight. But it was the smart move not to move up to HW at that time. Though I would have loved to see a Holyfield fight in 1998, would have been a great clash of styles

 

Hiya pal, Happy new year!

Yes I agree, and I certainly wasn't referring to you in my last post. Buster fighting at 100% of his capabilities against Roy, then who knows? But in 98, I think Roy would have beat him pretty comfortably.

I saw a documentary a few years ago about the Tokyo fight, and it was really interesting. I've also read a few articles, that said Buster was never fully committed to a lot of his fights. He reminds me of Toney a little. What do you think would have happened if Holy had've been in front of him that night in Tokyo? I think he'd have given any heavy a tough fight then, becuase of his mindset. He'd lost his Mum, and he was so determined that night. Like you say, it's a question of, what could he have achieved, when you look at his career.

 

What a bizarre matchup!

 

Ok mate, I'll catch you next time you're free.

Take care.

 

Hey my man....happy new year as well.i think that holy would got blasted on that night as well.he was in that stated of mind.
Buster was cold as steel on that night.Incredible feat!
He reminds of toney about his food habits,i saw the documentary as well when they talked how he used to order pizza from the ring when he was sparring,in between rounds LOL.But Toney was a ****ing madman in the head,there was no breaking that mans will.
Oliver mccall reminds me of buster.Both mentally screwed.
I agree at that point 98 that roy would win against buster.No doubt.

 

'Mcbride' Tyson takes out Jones within a few rounds. Ill be surprised if it goes more than 1-2 rounds

 

yeah and senior talked roy out of it if i recall. he said "there's just too much mass there to deal with" :good that's what my doctor says, just a nice way of saying fat i guess :rasta

 

IntentionalButt

Ok mate, fair enough, and I respect your opinion. But that is what I'm going to assume. I'm going to assume that, if Roy had been 100% committed to going through with it, he'd have done it professionally with assistance, like when he hired Mackie Shiltstone for the Ruiz fight.

You can look at the situation from two different perspectives. You are looking at it, that in 2003 Roy had 7 years of experience at 175, and had 5 more years of experience against other fighters.

My perspective is completely different. Those extra 5 years, from 98 to Ruiz, brought extra fights and wear and tear on his body. He was older and he wasn't as sharp. Roy was a better fighter at 29, than what he was at 34 in my opinion. So if I assume that he'd have gone up between 190-200 pounds safely, then I think he'd have been a better fighter than the one that fought Ruiz, and I think that the Ruiz version of Roy would definitely have beaten Buster from 1998.

Roy went up pretty easily for Ruiz. When he was re weighed for Ruiz, he weighed in at 200 pounds according to The Sweet Science documentary. Now you may have a point. He was older and fought at 175 for longer, so it may have been easier for him to bulk up for Ruiz. I can take that on board. But I think that Roy in the correct mind set could have bulked up pretty quick against Buster. But in my honest opinion, I think a 190 pound, 29 year old version of Roy would have beaten that 98 version of Buster.

Again you may be right, but it would still be enough to pull out the win in my opinion. Like I say, if he'd have been fully committed I think he could have packed a fair bit of weight on in that time. He fought Hill in April, but wasn't going to come in at a ridiculously high weight. If he hadn't have pulled out in Feb, then he'd have had enough time to put weight on. We don't know what weight he'd have wanted to come in at though had it gone through. It's all subjective.

I would say that Roy was a better LHW at 29 than what he was at 33 in 2002. We don't know exactly what would have happened, unless you've got Micheal J Fox's phone number and the Delorean isn't in the scrap yard. But again, I'm going to assume that had Roy been fully committed, he'd have trained hard and correctly with help, and at 29 he'd have been in good shape. I think Roy would have been far too quick for him at that stage.

Serious question for you, and I'm not joking.

If we had a time machine, and we put the Griffin II version of Roy in the ring with Valuev, what do you think would happen? Do you think Roy could have beaten him? If he weighed in at 175, and then came in the ring at whatever he weighed for Griffin?

Again I respect your opinion. But in my opinion he'd have been younger, with less fights, sharper and nearer to his prime, which in my opinion was 26. So assuming he went up safe with no problems, I think he'd have been better than the Ruiz version. But of course you're right, we don't know for sure.

Ok, maybe it wouldn't have been 200, but whatever it would have been, it would have been enough to win on points in my opinion. Like I say, according to various reports and the documentary, Roy did weigh 200 pounds against Ruiz, when he was reweighed.

Maybe you're right, but both fighters would have had advantages and disadvantages. Whatever weight advantage Buster had, he gave up speed, sharpness and fitness. They both would have held advantages over the other. If Buster had've landed clean, then Roy would still be asleep now. But I don't think he'd have landed flush. I don't think he'd have gotten the opportunity, but if you think that he would have, that's fine.

Just because a guy has a huge weight advantage over his opponent, it doesn't mean that his opponent is at a huge disadvantage overall, unless they're very evenly matched skillwise.

Again, I respect your opinion, but Roy was older with more fights under his belt. More experience goes hand in hand with more wear and tear, slower reflexes, age etc, etc.

Correct. But I was looking at the shape he was in, his timing, reflexes, and footwork etc. I think a younger version, even if not as heavy would have been better than that version.


Great debate.

 

Ruiz was 6'2 with 78 inch reach Douglas was 6'3 and 83 inches in reach ..Douglas was bigger than Ruiz ..The reach is what set them apart ..

 

Yeah, but this is my point, we're talking an inch in height and a few inches in reach. Really not a whole lot.

The Buster of 98 was years past his limited prime. People remember him for his moment against Tyson, but his career in general was not that impressive.

Him beating Tyson was like Sanders beating Wlad.

Even in his prime Buster was only a contender. The 98 version would have been school by RJJ in my opinion.