Where Do You Rate Roy Jones Jr In The All Time Rankings At Light-Heavyweight

1993 Hopkins vs James Toney, Mike McCallum, Sumbu Kalambay, Gerald McClellan, Michael Nunn, Reggie Johnson, Julian Jackson, Benn, Eubank... I very seriously doubt he would beat them all. He struggled with Mercado.

I have also seen Ali call Jack Johnson a primitive fighter among other things. That he ever said Johnson would beat him is a new one for me I must admit.

 

It doesn't even matter how you think a prime for prime match-up would go, it was like Sanchez vs Nelson. No way in hell was that Nelson anywhere near the fighter he'd later become, and Hopkins would later develop into a world class fighter...when Jones beat him, he wasn't. He hadn't fought anyone worthy of note, and had barely had a 12 rounder at that point. I realize that a lot of you really like Jones,and it's easy to see why he is considered one of the best ever on film, but he didn't have the resume at Light Heavyweight to be anywhere close to a top 5 in the divisions all-time rankings.

 

Your starting to make less and less sense. Neither had fought anyone of note at that point. Jones in fact had never gone 12 rounds until the Hopkins fight. Hopkins had gone 10 three times and 12 once winning the USBA title. They were fighting for a vacant world title with Hopkins really having the more pro experience so I dont know what your talking about. I dont care how many amatuer fights youve had, that doesnt necessarily make you a better pro. To say with 22-23 fights, and the distance fights he had, he wasnt a seasoned pro, is ridiculous.
Did he improve? Yes, did he improve enough to beat Jones, not in my opinion. He never punched hard, wasnt the quickest guy, and really had a style that gave guys he could get close to trouble. Jones was never there to be hit, nor would he be outmuscled by Hopkins in my opinion. Jones was tangling with 200 pounders come fight time and was never overwhelmed by anyone until he started slowing.
Either way, beating Hopkins wouldnt have done much for Jones, in fact I dont think any other fighters would have done much for Jones. Maybe beating Lennox Lewis would have.:hey

 

Refer to my earlier post. There were many reasons as to why Jones was a far far better fighter at that point than Hopkins, athletic reasons in addition to Jones Olympic pedigree.

I said Hopkins was nowhere near the fighter he'd later become, and only a Jones dickrider, which you may be, would dispute that.

Talking to a god damn brick wall. A prime for prime match-up is completely irrelevant. The fact is, and this isn't speculation, Hopkins would improve far more drastically than Jones ever would. Jones relied on his physical attributes, throughout his entire career, and he always had them from the get go. Hopkins, in contrast, needed to learn his craft because he didn't have the athletic ability Jones did.

:dead ...Sour grapes.

 

BTW you'll never see me get involved in a top ten or ATG list in numerical order. In my opinion, its impossible.

 

Roy Jones had fought future MW champ Jorge Castro, former title challenger Glenn Wolfe, undefeated Glenn Thomas, former welterweight champ Jorge Vaca.

Hopkins had fought Gilbert Baptist.

Roy Jones KO'd the unknockoutable Thulani Malinga in his next fight.

 

Lefthook is just a really big Jones admirer. Bernard Hopkins is a good win for Jones, but he wasn't the fighter he'd later establish himself to be. That much is certain.

 

Not really. You just compare the resumes, longevity, and dominance of each fighter during their respective era's. Jones was dominant, and for a fairly long time, but his resume doesn't stack up at 175lbs.

 

see above comments

 

I'll leave this alone. You're a big Jones fan, we'll leave it at that.

 

Im actually a big admirer of Hopkins too. He did it the hard way. I admire the way he came up through the ranks and defended his title while King and Lewis were always trying to take it away. He beat every guy they put in front of him, but as early as the Echols and Allen fights, I saw some holes in his game, of which led me to believe he would have never been able to defeat Jones, but he did an excellent job selling himself that he would. Even Jermain Taylor who turned out to not be that great, gave B-Hop troubles, and thats because of his style. Jones was the master of that style.

 

Up until the point they fought how many 10 rounders and 12 rounders did Jones Jr go?
Like I said, I agree B-Hop improved, but in my opinion it was not enough to beat Jones, nor was it ever proven, because he never faced another fighter even close to Jones to prove it with did he?

 

Speculation.

What we do know, and all we've been saying, is that Hopkins was not a great fighter when Jones beat him. How can you dispute that?

 

atsch ...We haven't said that Hopkins could have ever beat Jones, only that when they fought, Jones was an athletic beast out of the Olympics, whereas Hopkins was learning his trade.

Not a great victory.