And it started here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vdHJFJeijw
James Toney was a monster when this fight went down. Roy Jones was known only by some real hard core mfers. I was one of those hardcore mfers. Im going to be honest, Roy had knocked everyone out but one to this point. I thought if he dont get him Toney is going to walk him down. I watched a star born on this night, i saw a legend born. There will be many who disagree with me but I dont think there is any one who can beat Roy at his best. I truly think at his best there has never been any one who could beat him.
I mean anyone you can name from the beginning, Roy would make a fool out of them. P4P Roy makes them look dumb, there really is no argument.
We get it you like roy
Summed it up, I apologize for my drunken rattlings.
Wait an hour or so and Im gonna start posting my favorite memories of Sweet Pea. Ive been drinking Myrcenary double IPA for about an Hour. Im about to load up Sweet pea vs Chavez.
If it weren't for the disqualification of the first Jones-Griffin bout, he would've easily been undefeated and had a record of 49-0 before losing to Antonio Tarver..
RJJ was a complete fighter, one of the best we've seen. I miss his fights. Now I think he needs to stop boxing for the sake of his health and legacy.
Not that I disagree with your overall post, but Roy was much more known in general, and to casual boxing fans, than Toney ever was. Toney was the boxing nerd guy, while Roy had been looked upon as a huge future star since the Olympics gave him mass PR.
I remember that whole period very well, and Roy was without any doubt one of the biggest boxing stars of that time, despite his relative lack of experience and big fights.
Apart from having that bit ass backward, I would probably agree with nearly everything else.
Ive been out of town since I posted this. Im gonna have to disagree with you on Roy being more known than Toney. At the time Toney was pretty much universally recognized as the P4P #1 and probably deservedly so and Roys dad kept him locked up in Florida and off of TV for far too long for him to have the same kind of recognition Toney had. My opinion is my own of course and I was deep in the drink and feeling nostalgic the night I posted this but I stand behind what I said. Roy is the best fighter Ive ever seen and i would pick him over any fighter Ive ever seen all things being equal.
And it started here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vdHJFJeijw
James Toney was a monster when this fight went down. Roy Jones was known only by some real hard core mfers. I was one of those hardcore mfers. Im going to be honest, Roy had knocked everyone out but one to this point. I thought if he dont get him Toney is going to walk him down. I watched a star born on this night, i saw a legend born. There will be many who disagree with me but I dont think there is any one who can beat Roy at his best. I truly think at his best there has never been any one who could beat him.
I mean anyone you can name from the beginning, Roy would make a fool out of them. P4P Roy makes them look dumb, there really is no argument.
Not that I disagree with your overall post, but Roy was much more known in general, and to casual boxing fans, than Toney ever was. Toney was the boxing nerd guy, while Roy had been looked upon as a huge future star since the Olympics gave him mass PR.
I remember that whole period very well, and Roy was without any doubt one of the biggest boxing stars of that time, despite his relative lack of experience and big fights.
Apart from having that bit ass backward, I would probably agree with nearly everything else.
Lmao... Roy was not a star to casual fans pre-toney. It's not even really debatable
Who said he was a 'star'? Strawman much?
The argument I've made it that he was 'known' to casual fans, and not just to boxing nerds. Not really sure what it is you are disputing here. And only someone who wasn't around during that time would even attempt to make the argument you are making.
But do you.
Wow.
With a statement like this, it is obvious that you are, again respectfully, in all likelihood too young to remember that timeframe. To compare the 'name recognition' of Roy Jones amongst casuals going into the Toney fight to those dudes is silly. Come on.
Appearances on HBO were not a determination of whether casuals knew who fighters were. It was not uncommon to see big named contenders and young champions fighting on non-HBO channels.
Pernell Whitaker, Evander Holyfield, and for that matter most of the '84 Olypmic Team (Breland, Taylor, Tyrell Biggs, etc - CBS had Paul Gonzales IIRC) and young Mike Tyson was fighting on ABC Wide World of Sports long before getting on HBO. De La Hoya's first HBO fight was Paez (IIRC), but casuals knew who he was because of the Olympic hype and his other televised fights, including ESPN and CBS (John Avila).
You can't simply apply the last 10 years of HBO-defines-Boxing paradigm to the late 80s to mid 90s boxing landscape. A lot of those guys were known to casuals, ESPECIALLY Olympians, regardless of their count of HBO appearances.
RJJ was considered the 'Next' to carry that Sugar Ray Leonard torch, particularly after Nunn lost to Toney. He was always being groomed for stardom. Don't get it twisted, HBO was tickled pink that he whooped Toney. They knew who the 'star' was, regardless of who YOU think was the 'A-side'.
Lmao... Roy was not a star to casual fans pre-toney. It's not even really debatable
Lol Didnt Roy get caught using steroids?
Yeah, iirc it was after the Hall fight. They both pissed dirty.
But as to the OP's point, I will say this:
Roy looked great in his prime, and so did Floyd. P4p, it would've been close when they were 25-30 y.o.
After that, Floyd's phenomenal skills and dedication to the fundamentals of pugilism began to defy his age and define his legacy, and he surpassed Roy in the ranking of ATGs.
What?? Roy was hardly ever touched. Y'all musta forgot.
The guy was very defensive minded and called boring at the time, but if he wanted to he could certainly finish, switching instantly into offence from defence.
Casual spotted.
Roy Jones defensive minded? Hahaha ha. Wtf? Roy Jones was called boring at the time?
Foh
This has to be the stupidest post on this forum.
Troll harder.
roy had like 4 appearances on hbo,,, he was like how Andrade or charo brothers are now.. Been televised but not a star or well known...
Yes roy had a lot of recognition coming out of 88 Olympics but all that was wasted by his dad and all the bums he had roy face from 89-92..
Toney was the A-side when they fought
Wow.
With a statement like this, it is obvious that you are, again respectfully, in all likelihood too young to remember that timeframe. To compare the 'name recognition' of Roy Jones amongst casuals going into the Toney fight to those dudes is silly. Come on.
Appearances on HBO were not a determination of whether casuals knew who fighters were. It was not uncommon to see big named contenders and young champions fighting on non-HBO channels.
Pernell Whitaker, Evander Holyfield, and for that matter most of the '84 Olypmic Team (Breland, Taylor, Tyrell Biggs, etc - CBS had Paul Gonzales IIRC) and young Mike Tyson was fighting on ABC Wide World of Sports long before getting on HBO. De La Hoya's first HBO fight was Paez (IIRC), but casuals knew who he was because of the Olympic hype and his other televised fights, including ESPN and CBS (John Avila).
You can't simply apply the last 10 years of HBO-defines-Boxing paradigm to the late 80s to mid 90s boxing landscape. A lot of those guys were known to casuals, ESPECIALLY Olympians, regardless of their count of HBO appearances.
RJJ was considered the 'Next' to carry that Sugar Ray Leonard torch, particularly after Nunn lost to Toney. He was always being groomed for stardom. Don't get it twisted, HBO was tickled pink that he whooped Toney. They knew who the 'star' was, regardless of who YOU think was the 'A-side'.
Respectfully, you appear to be conflating 'resume' with 'recognition'. I'm not disputing whether Toney had the better resume at the time they fought. I'm disputing the notion that RJJ was just someone known to hardcore boxing fans only at the time.
RJJ was THE crown jewel of the 88 Olympic Team at a time when that was still the primary launching point for a boxer's career and the main introduction of a fighter to the public. Everybody on the planet, including casuals, knew his name based on his performance and that robbery. If you weren't around then, it's hard to explain just how big that story was, even outside of boxing circles.
RJJ was already being talked about as the 'next big thing' in boxing and outside of it before the Toney fight, in the vein of a Sugar Ray Leonard combo type of skill, power, flash, in-ring charisma, looks and 'marketability'.
Hell, I saw the RJJ/Hopkins fight with my girlfriend and her aunt because they wanted to see the 'cute dude' fight. Gave no fucxs about the Bowe fight that night.
Again, I'm not disputing that the Toney performance launched RJJ into another stratosphere. But it was more like the Mayweather Corrales fight: the fulfillment of expected promise of a fighter people already knew rather that some 'who's-that-guy' deal. Everybody, including casuals, knew RJJ had 'supernova' potential from day 1.
For all of Toney's accomplishments, it's no accident that RJJ was (IIRC) his first PPV. (FYI - Toney was ranked p4p #2 going into that fight. RJJ was #3. )
roy had like 4 appearances on hbo,,, he was like how Andrade or charo brothers are now.. Been televised but not a star or well known...
Yes roy had a lot of recognition coming out of 88 Olympics but all that was wasted by his dad and all the bums he had roy face from 89-92..
Toney was the A-side when they fought
Tarver lost the first fight and there really isnt any debate, it was close yes but he didnt win for fuk sake. How many times has Tarver been popped for doping you dumb twat.
I came back here to say that I dont have anything in the world against Floyd, this dude is is the best business man we have ever seen in boxing. That being said he isnt in the same league as Roy when it comes to pure talent. Roy would have beat the brakes off Floyd in the ring but Roy could have never pulled off the money grab Floyd did.
So Roy never got caught for doping???????
Toney was 220 weeks before the fight and had to loose 20lbs days prior to the fight. He wasnt eating or hydrating properly. Thats no excuse though he's a professional and shoild have been at a healthy fight weight the time of the fight but you cant act like this didnt affect his performance
Roy also tested + for peds against hall so..... your point is invalid
When was that ever not the case for Toney?
What makes the Roy Jones fight any different?
And it started here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vdHJFJeijw
James Toney was a monster when this fight went down. Roy Jones was known only by some real hard core mfers. I was one of those hardcore mfers. Im going to be honest, Roy had knocked everyone out but one to this point. I thought if he dont get him Toney is going to walk him down. I watched a star born on this night, i saw a legend born. There will be many who disagree with me but I dont think there is any one who can beat Roy at his best. I truly think at his best there has never been any one who could beat him.
I mean anyone you can name from the beginning, Roy would make a fool out of them. P4P Roy makes them look dumb, there really is no argument.
Toney was 220 weeks before the fight and had to loose 20lbs days prior to the fight. He wasnt eating or hydrating properly. Thats no excuse though he's a professional and shoild have been at a healthy fight weight the time of the fight but you cant act like this didnt affect his performance
Tarver lost the first fight and there really isnt any debate, it was close yes but he didnt win for fuk sake. How many times has Tarver been popped for doping you dumb twat.
.
Roy also tested + for peds against hall so..... your point is invalid
Roy Jones was known only by some real hard core mfers. I was one of those hardcore mfers.
He was 1/2 of a huge scandal at the Seoul Olympics that was covered pretty much everywhere.
Roy was well known since before he turned professional, jus sayin.
I totally disagree..... When they fought, toney had been around for years in high profile fights vs nunn, mccallum, Barkley, and headlined a lot of major televised cards and was very high on every p4p list? And if memory serves me, he was the betting favorite over roy. Roy really hadn't beaten any "name" fighters or had been in any real big fights.. The hopkins fight wasn't big at all as hopkins and jones were both hardly known.. It was on the undercard of bowe-fergeson, to show how little of a fight it was.. Everyone knew roy had amazing potential, but he really hadnt fully realized stardom yet
Toney-roy was much like manny-barrera... A legit p4p champ getting dethroned by a faster more exciting fighter just hitting the big time.. The toney fight turned roy into a star, much like how manny became a star after beating barrera
Respectfully, you appear to be conflating 'resume' with 'recognition'. I'm not disputing whether Toney had the better resume at the time they fought. I'm disputing the notion that RJJ was just someone known to hardcore boxing fans only at the time.
RJJ was THE crown jewel of the 88 Olympic Team at a time when that was still the primary launching point for a boxer's career and the main introduction of a fighter to the public. Everybody on the planet, including casuals, knew his name based on his performance and that robbery. If you weren't around then, it's hard to explain just how big that story was, even outside of boxing circles.
RJJ was already being talked about as the 'next big thing' in boxing and outside of it before the Toney fight, in the vein of a Sugar Ray Leonard combo type of skill, power, flash, in-ring charisma, looks and 'marketability'.
Hell, I saw the RJJ/Hopkins fight with my girlfriend and her aunt because they wanted to see the 'cute dude' fight. Gave no fucxs about the Bowe fight that night.
Again, I'm not disputing that the Toney performance launched RJJ into another stratosphere. But it was more like the Mayweather Corrales fight: the fulfillment of expected promise of a fighter people already knew rather that some 'who's-that-guy' deal. Everybody, including casuals, knew RJJ had 'supernova' potential from day 1.
For all of Toney's accomplishments, it's no accident that RJJ was (IIRC) his first PPV. (FYI - Toney was ranked p4p #2 going into that fight. RJJ was #3. )
9y ago
The greatest fighter of our generation | BoxingScene Community