He didn't stick around long at middleweight to say he inexcusably ducked anyone. He wasn't at 168 long either, but while there he dominated Toney, which was good enough to excuse the names he didn't fight. He pretty much fought everyone at light heavyweight, where he spent the majority of his "p4p best" years.
The reason Jones deserves a lot of credit for Hopkins is that it was the first title fight for both guys. Jones may not have been as green as Hopkins, but he was close enough that both guys were basically at the same point of their careers. Considering Hopkins didn't clearly lose a fight until this year after that, it's a very good win.
Roy's career has many what-ifs at 160 and 168, but what he did do is plenty impressive.
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