To those who say "Jones should've fought Eubank/Benn/Collins"...

The accusation that Jones ducked/avoided/did not pursue fights with Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn and/or Steve Collins seems to be gaining popularity these days.


And it simply isn't true.


Benn lost his title to Sugarboy Malinga in March 1996 (FYI Jones had dominated and stopped Malinga years earlier). Eubank lost his title to Steve Collins in March 1995. Jones only moved up to supermiddleweight in November 1994 when he fought a far bigger name and more highly rated fighter, James Toney.


So really he could probably never have fought Eubank. There was 5 months between Jones-Toney and Eubank-Collins. For all we know, Eubank-Collins could have been arranged prior to November, thus meaning the fight could never have happened. Even if the fight wasn't planned until a while after the Jones-Toney fight, is it really right to criticize Jones for not taking a unification fight in his very 1st defence at a new weight? Is it really right to criticize Jones when we don't know how much money Eubank, as an established star in Britain, would have been looking for to leave his comfort zone in the UK or to consider losing in the UK against Jones (p4p#1 or 2 immediately after the Toney fight)? Jones was not huge box office back then remember. He was a rising star, but not a superstar with a huge following of fans in 1994, so he didn't have massive funds behind him.


To mention Benn is similarly short-sighted. It was well-known at the time that a superfight between Jones Jr and Gerald McClellan was under discussion. McClellan challenged Benn to win his title and make a Jones-McClellan fight a huge unification bout at 168. Was McClellan thought to be a more dangerous fighter than Benn at the time? Undoubtedly he was. Therefore, Jones was waiting to secure a more dangerous fight than Benn. The Benn v McClellan fight was in February 1995 - 4 months after Jones v Toney. Jones was already involved in a bigger, better fight than Benn, and by the time he had beaten Toney, McClellan-Benn was scheduled.


Benn didn't read the script, but that was hardly Roy's fault. Do you think Benn wanted a fight with Roy Jones right after the McClennan fight? Of course he didn't. And then he lost to Malinga. So that fight wasn't viable either. There was a tiny window where it could've happened (Feb 95-Mar 96), and Benn didn't leave the UK in that time, nor show any interest in fighting the world p4p#1.


Collins first won the supermiddle title in March 1995 by beating Eubank, then he fought Eubank again, then he settled for two routine hometown defences in Ireland, then he fought Benn twice, and by this time Jones had moved up to light-heavyweight. Does this sound like a guy who was dying to come over to the USA and fight peak Roy Jones? Apparently he called out Jones, but nothing happened. An empty gesture??

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I severely doubt it.


Jones moved up to light-heavyweight in Nov 1996. Therefore, he had an 18-month window to fight Collins, and Collins filled this by fighting Eubank and Benn twice each for big money at home. Again, is it fair that Jones is criticized for not fighting him when you actually examine the situation? I say it's a genuine no.


It's a myth. :deal

 

collins Benn Eubank were never in the top 2 supe rmiddle when Jones was about.

Nunn, Toney and Jones were better....Eubank vs Benns was a great rivalry though.


There have been 3 Eras in the super middle.

1st. Jones, Eubank, Nunn, Collins, MBenn, Mcullum ,Reggie Johnson, Toney.

2nd Calzaghe, Beyer, Kessler,Reid, CatleyBrewer, Lacy, ottke

3rd. Froch,Kessler, Ward, Bute Dirrell, Abraham, etc.


the Jones era was the strongest ,....imagine a super 6 then??? Wow.

Calzaghes era was ****...no wonder he stayed undefeated

 

Nah, Eubank was years past his best by '97, and had already been beaten twice by Collins. And Hill was more highly ranked in '98 than Nunn was, undoubtedly. You're evidently only concerned with 'big name' fighters, rather than the circumstances of the times in reality.