Roy Jones Jr. - "Who is Greater? Me or Bernard Hopkins?"

[fighterforjc]

Heres the thing people don't get about Roy Jones Jr. weight drain going into the Tarver fight in 03. People scream he had 8 months to do it!!!!!!!!!!! True, but he didn't use all 8 months. He wait until the last minute, thinking he would get a fight with Tyson. Plus it wasn't just weight he was draining, it was muscle.

Excses, excuses. Fanboys will rant about RJJ's highlight reels, but boxing historians and knowledgeable boxing fans know that Hopkins is a true all-time great. RJJ will be known for handpicking bums and getting KO'd by one punch twice. He beat Hopkins in a boring match. It makes RJJ greater than Hopkins as much as Buster Douglas' upset over Tyson makes him greater than Tyson. Hopkins has fought everybody and when they were in their primes. He's able to adapt to most styles and find a way to win. He is consistent and while not as physically gifted as RJJ, is by far the more complete fighter. Great fighters lose and come back. How did RJ come back from his loss to Tarver? By getting KO'd by Glen Johnson and losing an embarrassing decision to Tarver in their 3rd meeting. So what does RJJ do? He resorted to fighting bums and dug Trinidad out of the grave and couldn't even knock him out. In the meantime, Hopkins continues to fight the best available. He dominated Tarver, Wright and Pavlik, got screwed by the judges against slapper Calzaghe.

[Haglerwins]

Hopkins. I'm compiling their entire body of work, not when they were just at their best. Outside of Jones the man doesn't look like he can be beat. And what has really cost Hopkins being on the wrong side of a decision...his opponent or BHop himself? To negate losing a decision to Roy, he has destructive victories over Jones' conquerors. Does anyone think Hopkins couldn't manage getting a piece of the HW belt right now?

Head to head it's Roy, but overall, right now, I don't see how BHop doesn't win this argument...............

[dondi330]

Theyre just different but great!

Listen Roy Jones in his prime was a once in a lifetime fighter, a gifted, talented fighter, his overall skill, speed, stamina, power combination was almost super human. Bernard Hopkins is also great, though he wasnt the fastest, the most exciting, or even the most powerful, his knowledge and knowing how to pull out a win is special as well. I would liked to have sat in as he watched his future foes and planned how he would defeat them, because he is like a general with the master plan.

I have to say they both are great in their own way!

[fightnews55]

BHop is greater. He mopped the floor with the two guys that knocked Roy out cold. Now Roy is saying anyone can dominate Pavlik. Roy would have got KTFO again. He ain't no heavyweight champ either. All he did was beat John "I'm the worst heavyweight in history" Ruiz. By the way Roy, you and BHOP BOTH stunk out the joint the night you fought so calm down. I believe Larry Merchant's exact words where "This is the most boring title fight I ever saw" Ring a bell? You musta forgot.

[kingfaze19]

come on dog, since when having speed means that you're great? thats all RJJ fans say about him when they're trying to defend him. look at his resume, compare that to hopkins opponents, you still think roy is better? all great fighters lose, thats right. but great fighters come back. how did roy come back after his ass whoopin by tarver? he took a fight that was suppose to be a tune-up vs glen johnson and he almost lost his head in the 9th round.then he fought prince badi-ajamu(WHO??)and the fight actually went 12 rounds.then he fought anthony hanshaw(LOL!)this fight went 12 rounds too.then he fought felix trinidad, which is a big name to have on your resume.but tito was clearly taking the fight for the money,he was overweight(look at the back of his neck, wow!)he look like he was eating ice cream during training camp, and roy couldnt knock him out.another thing about roy i hate is how he makes excessive excuses when he loses.when he lost to tarver TWICE,he said he wasnt motivated.than when he beat the "prince" guy,he said he was really motivated.i think those KO losses ****ed his head up seriously.look at bernard hopkins. he fought taylor(who was undefeated, an up-and-coming lion that HBO crowned the next best thing)lost a controversial dec. that came down to the last round which hopkins clearly won but one judge went against him. he didnt have to take that fight, he couldve retired as one of the best at 160 of all time.then he fought him again and lost another controversial dec. you would think he would fight a easy fight after 2 "losses" but no he moves up to 175 to fight the champion tarver(the man that KO'd jones,then embarrassed him in the 3rd fight).bhop dominated tarver with ease.you would think he would retire after this great accomplishment but no he fights winky wright(a guy that hadnt lost a fight in nearly 10 years,one of the best defensive fighters in history,taylor couldnt beat him)bhop dominated him.then he fought joe calzaghe(undefeated champion)and anyone with eyes could see he beat calzaghe(his prefight "whiteboy" comment is what lost him the decision, cause the judges were white and they wanted that "black guy" to eat his words)then he fought kelly pavlik(everyone thought he was unbeatable,evryone avoided him, including calzaghe,undefeated champion,young,with incredible power)bhop mopped the ring with him.........if you still think jones is better, explain your case

[fightnews55]

Here is the thing that you Roy tards don't accept. The fight with Tarver where Jones got KTFO was 14 months after the Ruiz fight. His 2nd at 175 after the Ruiz fight. AND he had MACKIE SHILSTONE to get him in shape for the fight. And still got KTFO cold!

[darkman]

Truth

I was going to post a long essay about Hopkins being greater than Jones. Ready to write but then I read Kingfaze19 comment and sighed a breath of relief knowing somebody out there knows what the deal is. Great post man, You speak for all the people that know what the **** is going on in boxing.

[roundingace]

Listen Roy Jones in his prime was a once in a lifetime fighter, a gifted, talented fighter, his overall skill, speed, stamina, power combination was almost super human. Bernard Hopkins is also great, though he wasnt the fastest, the most exciting, or even the most powerful, his knowledge and knowing how to pull out a win is special as well. I would liked to have sat in as he watched his future foes and planned how he would defeat them, because he is like a general with the master plan.

I have to say they both are great in their own way!

This was well said but my only addition is this: wait until after the 8th to answer this question. When (if), no WHEN, Roy defeats JC and defeats him convincingly, you ask this question again and throw up the poll. Hop is comign off a schooling of my boy Pavlik so he is all hyped right now, wait until Roy comes off the same kind of win, then let's see what people say. Also, I think Roy beating JC and beating him convinvingly would be bad for Hop, meaning, do you really think RJJ would accept anything less than a 65-35 after that fight lol? As for this thread, RJJ all around IMO.

[gabossboy]

Roy has the better Resume. How many Potential Hall of Famers has hopkins beat. Oscar and Trinidad. Who else? Maybe I leaving someone out. Roy Jones's wins over Toney, Griffin, Woods, Lou De Valle, Hill, and Hopkins himself solidifies him as the better fighter. In recent Hopkins has been doing things to improve his legacy which gives him the spotlight for this questions to be asked. Hopkins has a great legacy, but he was never a Roy Jones. I'm a fan of both, my opinion is based on my beleifs.

[Benny Leonard]

Here is the thing that you Roy tards don't accept. The fight with Tarver where Jones got KTFO was 14 months after the Ruiz fight. His 2nd at 175 after the Ruiz fight. AND he had MACKIE SHILSTONE to get him in shape for the fight. And still got KTFO cold!

Did you see Roy in the first fight?
His legs weren't there and he was breathing hard; he looked pale which is worrisome since he is caramel/brown.

He was in his mid-30's and went on the concentration camp diet to lose muscle weight since the only way to lose muscle, unlike fat, is to basically eat one medium size meal a day and train for hours in hot climate.

Starving your body and adding intense training destroys the equilibrium of your body...it ruins your hormones. Your body's stress level goes way up.

Did you see Tarver in his match with Hopkins?

Did you see Chris Byrd?

Chris took shots from WlAD and Vitali but all of a sudden, couldn't take **** from a LH. He even took shots from IKE.
Some people never recover and if they do, it takes a long time for the system to get back on track…and there is no guarantee it gets back on track like it was.
You have to remember that all three, Jones Jr., Tarver and Byrd were in their 30’s…an age range where the body is susceptible to going down hill.



I thought Mackie was only there for the Ruiz fight?

Jones said, according to a reporter I talked to, that Mackie knows how to put on weight but doesn't know how to take it off. Roy lost the weight for Tarver on his own. And, if he did use Mackie for the second fight, it really doesn't matter because as long as Roy's body is ruined, there is no guarantee of you getting better just because you have Mackie.