Roy Jones a fraud: John Conteh

Funny article from a few years back. By PAT SHEEHAN in Portland, Oregon JOHN CONTEH says Roy Jones Jnr's tag as the world's best pound-for-pound boxer is a myth. Former WBC world light-heavyweight champ Conteh insists Sheffield star Clinton Woods will face nothing special here tomorrow night. Woods, 30, boldly chases Jones' WBC, WBA and IBF world crowns but has been given no chance by many boxing pundits. Yet Conteh argues Jones has made a career out of beating no one in particular. Liverpool legend Conteh, who held the title from 1974-77, said: "Jones is a one-trick pony who is one of the most over-rated fighters I have seen. Okay, he has fast hands. However, he's been getting away with it because of the calibre of opponents he's faced in recent years. "I don't see anything special. Any boxer in the world can look good against the guys he has been fighting. "(Nigel) Benn and (Chris) Eubank would of beaten him. Benn would of cut him off and Eubank would of ground him down, and those guys were just celebrity boxers more than anything else. "There's absolutely no question that legends like Bob Foster and Michael Spinks would of taken him apart, putting Jones in that bracket is a joke. "As for me, I try to be modest. But with all due respect I'm leagues above any of these guys he fights. A good jab and timing beats all that 'fancy dan' stuff, he's terribly flawed." Yank Jones, 33, gained legendary status after winning world titles at middle, super-middle AND light-heavyweight. He has lost just once in a 47-fight career - and that 1997 defeat, by Montell Griffin, was avenged by a first-round KO in the rematch. Yet Jones has also taken flak for the quality of his opponents and other fight fans talked of a 'Roycott' because they were so fed up with his diet of stiffs. Conteh is one of the unconvinced and added: "If I had fought boxers like he's been defending against, I could have done all that fancy stuff. "Instead, I met REAL fighters, properly-prepared challengers who brought something to the ring." Conteh added: "Woods has a chance. He's got the talent and heart, though fighting Jones in America is going into the lion's den. "He has to have a positive mental attitude so he's confident enough to use all of his armoury."

Comments (10)

did anyone see the clinton woods fight? this guys was more than proven wrong eubank and benn just 'celebrity boxers' at their time these were two of the best boxers around and are 2 of the best british boxers ever IMO royjones was p4p the best and IMHO was probably in the top 10 of all time

19y ago

wmute

John Conteh is actually right folks. Roy is 16-4 at 175 and lets take a look at the people he beat from this wieght class. conteh is better than the following guys roy beat: lou del valle richard hall prince badi ajamu david telesco otis grant richard frazier derick harmon glenn kelly eric harding reggie johnson julio cesar gonzales clinton woods Conteh is in the same league as montell griffin. Tarver and Virgil Hill are the only 175ers that are better than john conteh, that roy beat. 16-4 is counting jones' campaign after he moved down from LHW, his first loss after griffin came at 35. Only one of the great LHWs did anything worth noting at that age, i know you and i know i do not need to tell you who that is. and btw mike mccallum had been figthing at 175 since his second fight with toney, so you should probably count him in. (I know he was 39 by then, but he should be on the list anyway). that been said michael spinks would have cleaned the floor with jones, but jones would have cleaned the floor with conteh just as much. I do not rate jones very high at 175, but this conteh guy is just eaten away by jealousy. benn and eubank just tv stars? come on...

19y ago

Hyperion

19y ago

astrosfreak

"Former WBC world light-heavyweight champ Conteh insists Sheffield star Clinton Woods will face nothing special here tomorrow night." Obviously, Conteh wrote that before the Woods fight. And after the fight, he probably wadded it up and threw it in the trash. lol.:nonono:

19y ago

The_Surgeon

All i know is Roy Jones Jnr is a better fighter than John Conteh, EVEN @Light heavy!

19y ago

brownpimp88

Conteh just sounds bitter. He not only calls Jones a one trick pony (which trick is that? Going from Middleweight to Heavyweight?), but Conteh also calls Benn and Eubank 'celebrity boxers'. WTF does that mean? Its easy to look at the few fighters Jones should have faced, and ignore the good fighters he did face, and beat with such ease. He stepped up to fight the undefeated top supermiddleweight, James Toney...and look wat happened. That one must have slipped Contehs mind. Bob Foster and Spinks would also of taken Conteh apart. He claimed Woods has talent and heart...but Jones pissed on him. Conteh can really only dream of achieving what Jones did. dude conteh fought in a deep era, do uthink roy would be champ for 7 years if he fought when spinks, galindez and foster were around, i dont think so pal.

19y ago

pr20

I thought it was just me who caught that journalistic misstep. bottom line is that roy fought a lot of fighters that people were applauding for their skill and talent until they were taken apart by roy.

19y ago

kayjay

Geoff made those quotes up kids. You can tell by the way he uses 'of' in the perfect. No journalist would HAVE transcribed it that way. He did this shit all the time.

19y ago

The_Noose

19y ago

brownpimp88

19y ago