Roy Jones vs previous Lt.Heavy Greats

Dam thats an ego but then again most of the greatest fighters in history had massive ego's you need a fighter with this type of confidence to be great ..I can hear James Toney talk about himself in the same manner or any other legend for that matter ..Holmes was good at this as well ..

 

As I said at worst I have jones 40-60 against any lightheavyweight. He fought the best lhw's of his era bar one man and looked good against nearly all of them (anything after tarver 1 gets dismissed by myself as that was clearly the great fighters last great reformance) it's crazy because a win over dm instead of hill makes his lhw resume so much more secure and I can't think of anyone favouring dm to beat jones.

As for fitz; at some point he'd catch jones and jones aint getting back up again. Not cos of his chin, but because fitz is that powerful.

 

And Jones fought nobody like them. So?

 

Ok..I give props aplenty to Hopkins for all this..I had never heard of this episode before..and it certainly shows another side of the guy...but why even inject race into the picture at all, like he did with Calzaghe...to further cheapen the image of boxing..racist sentiments do nothing to promote the sport...and why Bernard's taunting of Donovan McNabb? That had nothing to do with the promoting of a fight..the buildup of the gate..perception is often reality I guess is what I'm saying...and if you aren't aware of a human interest story such as what you posted, then all you have to go on is the higher profile negative crap about "white boys" and all that stuff thast Hopkins spews out from time to time. All I'm suggesting is that perhaps Hopkins should let the classier stuff he does be his signature output, and maybe he would serve better the sport he performs so well in. I get so tire of the damned bufoonish trash talk...not just from Hopkins...ALL athletes....but thanks for that link and I concede to the point you're making regarding Hopkins.

 

bump

 

Even if his chin is made of glass, his reflexes are good enough that 90% of lhw's in history would have trouble catching him clean and flush.

 

So nothing.

Just a statement.

But Jones did fight some old school fighters with great fundamentals like McCallum, Toney and Hopkins.

 

Yeah I think jones victories over hopkins and toney often get forgotten about. That's two victories over fellow atg's. His lhw rein is like dempsey's/wills depending on how you view championship status. He cleaned up that division aside from one man. I think history will ignore everything after beating tarver and he'll be remembered quite fondly. Fighter of the decade speaks volume.

 

Roy would have been forced out of his comfort zone. Against a guy like Braxton, he wouldn't want to lay against the ropes. To win, he has to fight out of his skin. Saad would out last him but then again could get stopped with the wrong referee.

 

That be the only chance agaisnt any of the fighters back then, crowd Jones keep him on the ropes but what do think happens in the center of the ring ?

 

He did not clean out the division, he also didn´t fight Rocchigiani for example.

The wins over Toney and Hopkins aren´t forgotten about, they just look so much better at first glance than they really are.

 

More disingenous posting here by Bodhi on Jones, it's been proven time and again Rocchigiani turned down the Jones Jr fight and what's more the Nunn and Malinga fights were controversal ones, if Jones was avoiding anyone it was much more likely to be Nunn

http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/21/s...-any-and-all.html?scp=2&sq=Rocchigiani&st=cse

Roy Jones Jr., has another ring date on Aug. 15 and it is one that he wants to keep no matter whom he has to fight, according to his promoter, Murad Muhammad. That is in keeping with the attitude of the new Roy Jones Jr.
In the past, if Jones could not find a suitable opponent he would not enter the ring. Although several opponents are pricing themselves out of a fight with Jones, Muhammad said Jones would not scuttle the Aug. 15 date that HBO Sports is holding for him.
''He had the right, under his contract, to wait until November or December to fight,'' Muhammad said yesterday. ''But when HBO asked him when he wanted to fight next, Roy said August and they got him a date. He wants to fight.''
Among the opponents Jones is eyeing are Lou Del Valle, the former World Boxing Association light heavyweight champion, and Reggie Johnson, who stepped up in weight to defeat William Guthrie for the International Boxing Federation light heavyweight championship (178 pounds) two months ago. Del Valle will fight on the undercard of the Evander Holyfield-Henry Akinwande heavyweight title bout at Madison Square Garden on June 6.
It even looks as if Jones will have his World Boxing Council light heavyweight championship when he steps into the ring in August. The interim champion Graciano Rocchigiani decided to step aside rather than fight Jones, thus returning the title to Jones. Jones lost the title because of inactivity last year.
No site has been selected yet for Jones's Aug. 15 bout, but Muhammad said there's a good chance that he could return to Biloxi, Miss., where he defeated Virgil Hill last month.
Day of Reckoning of Ayala
Tony Ayala Jr. has his parole hearing today at Bayside State Prison in Leesburg, N.J. After meeting with two members of the New Jersey Parole Board, he will know whether he will be granted parole or have to spend at least another year in prison.
If Ayala is granted parole, he will remain behind bars for 30 days until his parole papers are processed. Ayala, 35, was a promising young junior middleweight (154 pounds) before he was convicted of raping a West Paterson, N.J., woman on Jan. 1, 1981. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison with a stipulation that he serve 15 years before becoming eligible for parole.
Although no one is certain how much of Ayala's boxing talent remains, Bob Arum of Top Rank Inc., is expected to promote him once he is released from prison.
A Faux Heavyweight
One of the criticisms of the heavyweight Chris Byrd is that he is really a blown-up middleweight with knockout power. Byrd does not argue with the assessment, saying he prefers to use all the skills of a middleweight (160 pounds), including speed, agility and footwork.
''I don't feel like I'm a true heavyweight,'' Byrd said. ''But there are a lot of heavyweights who don't want to fight a blown-up supermiddleweight.''
Byrd will fight Ellicer Castillo at Atlantic City on May 30 as part of a young heavyweights card that also features Michael Grant versus Obed Sullivan. Bill Kozerski, Byrd's promoter, said all top 10 heavyweights have been contacted in the last nine months about fighting Byrd and all have declined. And why did Castillo, a defector from Cuba, take the fight?
''He didn't know any better,'' said Mike Boorman of Main Events, which is promoting the card.
Bout Over Birth
Prince Naseem Hamed, the World Boxing Organization featherweight champion (126 pounds), has apparently overcome his concerns about leaving England to fight in the United States on July 18, about the time that his wife is supposed to deliver their first child.
Hamed is scheduled to fight Kennedy McKinney on that date. Negotiations are continuing as to the site, which could be Madison Square Garden, Las Vegas, Nev., or Atlantic City. There is also a possibility that Arturo Gatti and Kevin Kelley could meet on the undercard, with the winner facing Hamed in October.

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/15/s...eals-nothing.html?scp=3&sq=Rocchigiani&st=cse

If David Telesco was concerned about his match tonight against Roy Jones Jr., the undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world, his eyes did not betray him.
When he met with reporters earlier this week, Telesco kept on a pair of sunglasses. His words did not betray him either. He was clipped in comments about the fight, about himself and about Jones.
Like the singers and the musical artists who have appeared at Radio City Music Hall before him, Telesco (23-2) is saving his act for the stage. He will have to be spectacular to steal the scene.
The place will twinkle with stars. Michael Jordan plans to attend the fight and Whitney Houston will sing the national anthem. But make no mistake, this is Jones's show.
Jones (40-1) is to boxing what John Coltrane and Miles Davis were to jazz. Jones creates riffs in the ring that other boxers can't even conceive. And if he is inclined, he will play a tune on Telesco's head that will bring the house down.
''He's a strong puncher,'' Jones said. ''I have to give him much credit for that. But other than that, there's nothing.''
The fight will be broadcast on HBO's ''World Championship Boxing'' at 10 p.m. Derrick Jefferson (22-0-1) and David Izon (24-3) will meet in a 10-round heavyweight bout on the undercard.
Telesco was upset that he is second banana to Jones, who is the only fighter on the posters advertising the bout. Telesco, of Port Chester, N.Y., felt he should have at least received equal billing and should have gotten more publicity, because he is a New York fighter. So, Telesco enters this fight with a chip on his shoulder the size of the Empire State Building.
When asked his assessment of Jones, Telesco said: ''He's a man with two hands, just like me. That's my evaluation.''
Someone asked if Jones's reputation as the best boxer in the sport today was legitimate. Telesco paused for a long time and then said, ''Next question.''
As for how he measured himself against Jones, Telesco did not hesitate.
''It's a pit bull against a cat,'' he said. ''The cat will scratch and run. The pit bull ain't going nowhere. He's a cat and I'm a dog.''
Then, Telesco got cryptic.
''I had a dream,'' he said regarding the outcome of the bout. ''I won't tell you until the end whether it came true.''
Telesco said that only he and his mother know the outcome of the dream. His mother, Mary Teresa Telesco, died while Telesco was serving a prison sentence from 1993 to 1996 for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He said it was his mother's desire that he fight for the world championship.
After getting out of prison in Utica, N.Y., Telesco doggedly pursued his title shot. He fought six times in 1997 and won all the bouts, four by knockout. In 1998 he defeated Frank Tate, a former world champion, on a sixth-round technical knockout. In his last bout on Oct. 22 Telesco beat Will Taylor, a tough challenger, on an 11th-round technical knockout to win the United States Boxing Association title.
Jones, who will turn 31 tomorrow has walked through the stiffest competition in the light heavyweight division. Jones dismantled Reggie Johnson, whom most boxing experts considered second only to Jones in the light heavyweight division. Jones has shown a compassionate side in the ring against some recent opponents that he liked.
That probably won't be the case against Telesco, who hounded Jones for a title shot and then tried to publicly embarrass Jones into fighting him. At the post-fight news conference following Jones's victory last year over Rick Frazier, a New York City police officer, Telesco showed up and called Jones out, saying Jones was afraid to fight him.
Jones vowed then that he would never fight Telesco, because he was being disrespectful. But Telesco's number came up after Graciano Rocchigiani of Germany backed out of a fight against Jones. And since Jones has dispatched most of the top light heavyweight contenders in the United States, Telesco is the next one in line.
Telesco is a puncher-boxer and has a shot at rocking Jones. But Telesco, like all of Jones's opponents, will have to contend with the champion's skills: speed, power and unpredictability.
If Telesco can hold onto to his anger, and if Jones can maintain his distaste for Telesco, then the fight could turn into a slugfest. But it will not go long if Jones is on top of his game

 

Had he fought and defeated dm we'd say he cleaned out the division.

They are forgotten about, when I sit back and think how the current legends near retirement will go down in history I think of hopkins, toney, jones, holyfield, floyd, pac, mab, em, jmm and hoya.

Now hopkins, em, jmm, pac, floyd all still have something to offer I feel.

Jones, toney, mab, holyfield and hoya do not so I feel they can now be placed in history.

Holyfield and hoya make my top 25. Mab makes my top hundred.

Toney makes my top 50 with victories ranging from nunn to holyfield is brilliant.

Which brings us to jones: at first glance he seems like a fraud and someone who was untested he never faced the best middleweight(jackson), lightheavyweight(dm) nor heavyweight (lewis). He also never beat a lineal champ and obviously went on a horrendous run after beating tarver.

But then digging deeper he seems much greater. He beat the two greats who competed in his weight class and he beat them with dominant ease. He never beat benn but he beat the guy who would beat benn. He never beat dm but he beat the guy who would beat dm. He didn't beat lewis and never would have but he did impressively beat a top 5 heavyweight coming off some impressive victories.

Without his wins over toney and hopkins he wouldn't crack my top 50. But to be the only man to dominate them throughout their careers is amazing. I keep forgetting he was proven and was tested and did face some of the best boxers of his era. Top 50 for me.

 

Jones on Dariuz Michalczewski:

Another possible opponent is Dariuz Michalczewski, who was working at ringside Saturday for a German television network. He and Jones greeted each other coolly at the weigh-in before the Hill bout on Friday.

''If it's got anything to do with me, you know we'll get together,'' Jones said. ''I don't run, duck and dodge for nothing. I'll fight them all, I don't care. They just have to pay me for me to perform. They pay me, I'll fight. It's as simple as that. But I don't see anybody who can really beat me.''

Jones said he had not decided what he was going to do, because he had a lot of options. He said he might even go to Germany to fight Michalczewski on his home turf. All Jones's fans are waiting.

Photo: Virgil Hill, left, missing a left cross in Round 2 against Roy Jones Jr. Two rounds later, Jones knocked him out. (Associated Press)



http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/19/sports/plus-boxing-jones-set-to-defend-against-australian.html

. .Roy Jones Jr. will defend the W.B.C., W.B.A. and I.B.F. light-heavyweight titles against Glen Kelly of Australia in Miami on Feb. 2.

Jones, 45-1 with 36 knockouts, said he wants to remind W.B.O. champion Dariusz Michalczewski, undefeated in 45 fights, that he's waiting for him in the United States for a title bout.

Michalczewski, a Polish-born fighter who trains in Germany and fights in Europe, has defended his title 20 times. Kelly is 28-0-1 with 15 knockouts

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/17/sports/boxing-jones-prevails-over-injury-and-telesco.html

After dispatching Telesco, who was probably the strongest of the light-heavyweight challengers Jones has faced, the question for Jones now becomes, what next?

''Whatever shows up; I hope it's that Dariusz Michalczewski,'' Jones said, regarding the World Boxing Organization champion from Germany. ''I have to let my hand heal up, because I'm going to beat him worst.''

Jones, who turned 31 yesterday, believes it will take a month for his hand to heal properly. If Jones does not meet Michalczewski or Graciano Rocchigiani, the World Boxing Council No. 1 contender, also of Germany, then there is a chance he could drop down from the 175-pound weight class to 169 pounds and fight Bernard Hopkins, the International Boxing Federation middleweight champion. Jones defeated Hopkins on a 12-round decision at 159 pounds in 1993.


http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/26/s...rs-are-few.html?scp=1&sq=Michalczewski&st=cse

Actually, there is Dariusz Michalczewski of Germany. Representatives from HBO, which just signed a three-year deal with Jones that pays him about $4 million a fight, have made inquiries to Michalczewski to try to persuade him to come to the United States to fight Jones. Michalczewski (42-0, 34 knockouts), the champion of the lightly regarded World Boxing Organization, has been reluctant to do that because he is paid handsomely to fight in Europe. But Jones is adamant about fighting Michalczewski only in the United States.

''I ain't going to Germany to fight no German,'' said Jones, the only undisputed champion in boxing. ''That don't make sense. That's just a dumb business move. Why would I take my titles over there? How much more enticing could that be? If it's a good fight, you know you'll lose. You don't know what a guy's got until you get in front of him, but, over there, beating him ain't good enough. I'd have to kill him, and they still might take it.

''If he wants me that bad, it ain't hard to find me.''

 

RE: Benn - Jones tried to fight him but didn't want to get into an abusive contract with Don King, this thread is worth reading: http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=224734&highlight=jones

Also Malinga beat a shot Benn (the 1 Jones would have faced) BUT he also fought BEnn prior to that in 92 and all the British comentators had Malinga winning and called it a robbery. Malinga was shafted a fair few times in his career, ran Eubank very close too