Those of you who are old enough to have watched Roy Jones Jr in his prime, just how good was he?

[STREET CLEANER]

He was a special fighter. Too bad he came late to the party when Benn, Eubank, etc. were on the end of their runs. He was so fast and precise and fought in an unorthodox manner.

Going up to HW and then back down was the begging of the end. He could not secure another fight at HW and went down to face his mandatory in Tarver, that was the first time I have ever seen him having to suck it up and win rounds to win the fight.

[elfag]

Probably the best fighter around currently is Usyk, and he's excellent.

But you compare Prime Roy to Usyk, I mean Roy didn't get hit, like he did not get hit.

Roy was a lifetime talent, 2 or 3 of him in my lifetime.

There isn't a lifetime talent in the sport right now, we have "era talents" like Usyk, inoue and lomachenko.

You don't see fighters like Roy every era, he was special.

Yeah the question in the OP was what was it like watching roy fight back then and the best I could think of is it would be like watching Usyk or lomachenko fighting a guy their size (for usyk another cruiserweight) that was ranked like number 30 or something in the division. It was just so easy and effortless for roy, like he was just toying with his opponents even the top 10 guys he made them look like they were top 30 or top 40.

[real raw]

Roy was a great FIGHTER, with hyper fast reflexes which gave him an advantage over opponents. He was not a very good boxer, but that wasn't evident until he lost speed advantage, he had nothing to fall back on. Duran is a good contrast, he was able to adapt and rely his skills as he aged. Jones seemed lost as to what to do once his reflexes were gone. But prime Jones was like watching a movie where one character is moving so fast that the other characters look like they are moving in slow motion.

[real raw]

Maybe. 160 Tommy Hearns is capable of starching Roy.

Nah. nope

[Dr. Z]

I know a lot of fans weren't born yet or too young to remember him in his prime, but how good was he exactly?

He was on steroids, very talented, and was accused of ducking several guys.

From 1990- 2001, is resume was a little thin,

He fought better fighter from 2002-2011 and was KO'd often and out pointed.

A mixed legacy or all time speed, skills, a shakey / bad chin and PED use where one time he tested 5x the testesrone limit.

[billeau2]

Pacquaio-Cotto is the exact same scenario.

Two fighters who had fought at 147, fighting at 145. Cotto coming off an arguable loss to Clottey.

Yet that fight is highly praised (rightfully so)

These guys that nitpick do not realize that it is not just Floyd (in this case) or whomever the fighter being scrutinized may be. And they fail to see the real impact of the difference. It is a two pound difference and both fighters know up front in both fights. It is good you brought this fight up lol, I forgot about the weight it was fought at but it happens to be a great example of something Floyd gets accused of.

[real raw]

He was on steroids, very talented, and was accused of ducking several guys.

From 1990- 2001, is resume was a little thin,

He fought better fighter from 2002-2011 and was KO'd often and out pointed.

A mixed legacy or all time speed, skills, a shakey / bad chin and PED use where one time he tested 5x the testesrone limit.

I'm not commenting on the steroid point, i dont know enough about it. But calling his resume from 90-01 is a stretch! All fighters with many wins and few losses. And it's not just that jones won, it's how he won.

Hopkins
Tate
Tony
Paz
McCallum
Griffin
Hill
Harding

[Dr. Z]

I'm not commenting on the steroid point, i dont know enough about it. But calling his resume from 90-01 is a stretch! All fighters with many wins and few losses. And it's not just that jones won, it's how he won.

Hopkins >> not close to as good as he would become.
Tate
Tony - A good win here
Paz - Lower weight guy moving up
McCallum - How old was he, 39.
Griffin - Jones lost via DQ as well.
Hill - He was washed up and folded early with a body shot
Harding - A soild win, no more

My comments are above. As stated from 1990- 2001, is resume was a little thin.

You say you don't know about his ROID abuse? He tested positive in 2000, and was likely on steroids before that time.

Back in 2000, Roy Jones really did test positive and admitted to using steroids, however the mainstream sports media barely touched that red-hot story, for mysterious reasons.

The Jones situation only came to light after his 2000 Indianapolis opponent Richard Hall inadvertantly revealed the fact in a 2003 interview with Braggingrightscorner.com’s Alladin Freeman. I picked up on the story, contacted Indiana State commissioner Jacob Hall, who unequivocally stated Jones did indeed test positive, but the blockbuster story never really broke big like you might have expected, compared to the Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Ben Johnson, Shane Mosley and Marion Jones controversies.

Here’s the original story which was posted at *************.com in 2003. Note the double standard in how the media has avalanched on the Pacquiao-Mayweather war of words, yet virtually ignored the fact of Jones testing positive. (Don’t believe it? Google search Roy Jones and Steroids and see what you find.)

Roy Jones Did Test Positive, Steroids

By Scoop Malinowski (Story was originally posted in 2003.)

Richard Hall’s astonishing claims – that Roy Jones, possibly the greatest fighter in ring history – tested positive for steroids after their May 2000 fight, have now been confirmed today by Jacob Hall, the Commissioner of Indiana Boxing.

Here is our exclusive interview.

*************.com: Did Roy Jones test positive after his fight against Richard Hall?

Jacob Hall: “Both of them did. Roy Jones tested positive for steroids. He was five or six times over an acceptable level. Hall was about ten times above an acceptable level. He didn’t mention that in his interview (the now infamous interview of July 18 with Bragging Rights Corner and Doghouse Boxing).

A letter was sent to both (Jones and Hall). The Indiana Boxing Commission followed up – I talked to Jones’ people and said we were going to declare the fight a no-contest, suspend and fine him. And at that time, Jones’ attorney Fred Levin and the Indiana Attorney General’s office got involved.

Indiana has no law on drug testing as probably the majority of the states in the U.S. do not. The drug testing company sent us the results. Most states that don’t have drug testing laws, the test results go back to the sanctioning bodies. I think most people are surprised at that. What do the sanctioning bodies do when they get positive test results? Suspend? Fine? They didn’t in this case. And there’s no way you’re going to know about it.

Through his attorney, Jones admitted he had been taking an over-the-counter product called Ripped Fuel. That’s not illegal but it is an anabolic steroid according to the IBF and other other sanctioning bodies.

So he did test positive. He did take Ripped Fuel.

Whether that’s what he took or not we don’t know, but he did test positive and admitted to taking a steroid.

The IBF chose to do nothing. They wanted a second test to be done. But why take a second test when he failed the first one and admitted to taking a steroid? That’s where it ended.

No action was taken. Nobody did anything.

We couldn’t take action (because there is no drug testing law in the state of Indiana) but what we agreed to was before his next two fights, Roy Jones would submit the results to more drug tests to Indiana. One fight was in Louisiana and those results were negative. And the other was in California, and those results were negative.

What surprised me about this is that the IBF chose not to do anything. And I have documents…what I’m saying, I can back-up. So I’m not concerned with that.

Roy Jones’ people were very cooperative and very easy to work with to reach a settlement. Also, I did tell Roy Jones that there are some amateur boxing clubs here in Indiana and he did send a check in the amount of $250 for the Indianapolis PAL.”

*************.com: How many people have called you since the Richard Hall interview?

Jacob Hall: “Brad Jacobs, now an advisor for Jones, and a reporter from some paper in France, and that was it. Brad Jacobs called to verify if the facts were true about Roy failing the test. He wasn’t involved with Roy Jones back in 2000. He just wanted to know what the facts were, like you.”

*************.com: Wow, that’s hard to believe – that only one media outlet from France has called you about this.

Jacob Hall: “All I saw on any of the websites was that Murad Muhammad said Roy Jones tested positive for take some (nasal decongestant). But that was innaccurate. This was not a nasal decongestant.”

*************.com: Does the state of Nevada have a law on drug testing?

Jacob Hall: “Yes. Most states do not. Nevada does have drug testing. I think most people are surprised at that…they think all boxers are tested. For some time I’ve tried to get a law passed similar to Nevada but we haven’t got that done yet. If the sanctioning bodies choose not to take action, there isn’t a lot the state commissions can do. That’s why I’m in favor of a Federal Commission like the one Senator John McCain is proposing.”

[IronDanHamza]

These guys that nitpick do not realize that it is not just Floyd (in this case) or whomever the fighter being scrutinized may be. And they fail to see the real impact of the difference. It is a two pound difference and both fighters know up front in both fights. It is good you brought this fight up lol, I forgot about the weight it was fought at but it happens to be a great example of something Floyd gets accused of.

Definitely mate.

Hope you’re well.

[CPNUTKnockoutFreshMart]

He was basically Super Man. His speed and reflexes were superhuman. His athleticism allowed him to do whatever he wanted and succeed. He could hit you with shots that you never saw coming from unbelievable angles and you couldn't hit him back , unless he let you.