Who will be remembered as the better fighter???

[sugarshanenas]

Sigfried and Roy

[rebmogul]

Roy Jones Jr or Bernard Hopkins?

easily rjj

[Bhopreign]

HBO saw Roy almost like many see Floyd today, a guy with great talent who isnt fighting the best and whom we are paying a boatload of money to. I think HBO wasnt sad at all when Roy hit the canvas twice. A great talent, who did it his way.

[THE REED]

Most will pick Roy, but when you compare the two Roy always used his great reflexs to win fights and never took the time to master any of boxings fundamentals. While Bernard mastered his fundamentals and is still beating up 27 year old champions at 43. While Roy no longer has amazing handspeed and his technical shortcomings have got him beat up several times over the last 5 years.

Its not about what you learned and what you didnt... its about what you accomplished in the ring... when you're talking about all time great status.. who did you beat, how long did you reign, how many weight classes, how many belts....

Not did you learn good boxing fundamentals or not.



The difference is, Roy sealed his legacy by the time he got KOed in his mid 30's.... Roy has done well in his 20's and early 30's.. bernard did well in his 30's to early 40's...

[THE REED]

Roy, because he did it more effortlessly.

Hopkins was more of a grinder, even when he was easily winning..

That also doesnt make ones all-time great status better or worse.... its about your accomplishments...

[THE REED]

HBO saw Roy almost like many see Floyd today, a guy with great talent who isnt fighting the best and whom we are paying a boatload of money to. I think HBO wasnt sad at all when Roy hit the canvas twice. A great talent, who did it his way.

Yeah they didnt care when they saw one of their house money makers hit the canvas

[street bully]

I'm going to have to go with Bernard Hopkins. They are bothe first ballot HOFers and ATGs. but to me what makes a boxer is how he redefines himself when his natural youth based talents erode, and with Hopkins we saw him change his style to suit his age, while without his superhuman speed Roy Jones could not do much. Based on that, and how well he has been doing when he is so past his prime I will say Hopkins is the greater fighter. But in Roys prime he was simply breath taking.

[!! Shawn]

Roy is the much more talented and versatile fighter, but Nard is the better schooled, but he had to be, he doesn't have a 10th of the athleticism of Roy.

[DarchinyFAN]

That also doesnt make ones all-time great status better or worse.... its about your accomplishments...

It does figure into perception of a fighter. Thats part of what sticks in peoples minds.

When you are speaking of accomplishments only the very best names on a resume will stick out, in 20 years unless you are a hardcore boxing fan you think people will remember John David Jackson or Kieth Holmes were very
good wins of Hopkins' resume? They will basically remember him for a handfull of fighters he beat De La Hoya, Trinidad and Wright and Pavlik to a lesser extent.
Same thing when speaking of Jones. They will only look at the biggest nights of his career, and not look at the totality of his accomplishments.

They both have their share of big wins, and one of the things people will have is their memories of how these and their lesser fights were won.

Main thing I am saying is that how people percieve these guys and the ease with which they fought will have a bearing on how they are remembered.

[street bully]

Roy is the much more talented and versatile fighter, but Nard is the better schooled, but he had to be, he doesn't have a 10th of the athleticism of Roy.

Thats why it is so hard to compare the two. You know Ali in his prime was a lot like RJ no one could touch him he was too fast did everything based on speed and athleticism, but what seperates him from Roy Jones is the fact that when age got the better of him he developed his technical skills and his ring smarts to get him the W against younger stronger fighter, and RJ just couldn't do that. On the other hand Hopkins has proven that he can **** with the best of them at 44, which in my book places him just a tad bit over Jones on the ATG list.