Roy Jones Jr.
49th fight: Tarver I
Record after fight: 48-1
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
49th fight: Andre Berto
Record after fight: 49-0
NOT a hypothetical "who wins head to head assuming same size" question..just looking at their standing and how both were regarded after these fights. Assume both retire after #49 (which coincidentally marked AN end (not THE end) for both fighters).
Factoring controversial fights, dominance over opponents, quality of opponents, etc.: Who is the more impressive fighter after 49 fights?
Personally would have to favour B-Hop. Who would you go for?
What do you think of Roy Jones Jr. winning a title at HW? I think it's a great accomplishment. After all, he was the first fighter in a century to win titles at middleweight all the way to heavyweight. That said, there's a reason Roy fought Ruiz instead of Lewis or even Byrd.
He had the personality in and outside the ring, the style, the KO's, went undefeated for almost 50 fights (minus the DQ) , everything you'd expect from a PPV giant... and yet wiki shows his average PPV was a paltry 300k with 600k being the biggest. This guy should have made 1 billion from boxing, not Mayweather(who made more $ in many single fights than Roy made in his 30 year career). I mean they both had the dbag factor going on but Roy was actually likeable and fun to watch for everyone, not just the ''purists''.
The battle of the aged was...sort of OK? Not a bad scrap really.
Scorecards had it a draw, somehow.
I was recently watching replay of Roy Jones jr vs James Toney. Toney was getting schooled and Toney was one of the slickest and best boxers of his time. Roy was so unorthodox and had such great reflexes. What style of boxing would give trouble to Prime Roy Jones Jr. Who do you think would have historically the best chance of beating prime RJJ?
Edit: What do you guys think the outcome would be if Calzaghe and RJJ fought each other in their prime?
I think we can all agree he decimates Duran. Too much of a reach difference and even a speed difference so Duran can’t even surprise him there. 99/1 Roy (1 maybe Roy might lose by DQ lol)
I think he could beat Hearns. If he could handle the range difference against Ruiz then he can definitely beat Hearns imo. 70/30 Roy
I think Hagler would be the second toughest opponent for Roy imo. Hagler could potentially be one of the few who could take Roy’s power and speed and maybe counter back with a few hard shots. He could even switch stance to change tactics and gain the upper hand. 60/40 to Roy imo
Now against Sugar Ray Leonard, one of the few guys who could match Prime Roy Jones in terms of speed and explosiveness. This is such a tough fight as they both have similar tools tbh. Sugar has better fundamentals and footwork. He probably has a higher boxing IQ too. But Roy had probably a lot more power and has creativity on his side which not many boxers have. Honestly, a tossup for me. 55/45 to Roy for me
