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No, 
He did some impressive things and I would say he belongs in the HOF but no where near top 20 ATG, god no.
He did some impressive things and I would say he belongs in the HOF but no where near top 20 ATG, god no.
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In his prime Roy Jones Jr. easily makes the top 20 Atg............. Rockin'
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Roy didn't have any plans to fight Tyson before he fought Ruiz. Also, he spoke to Holyfield in 97, but Holy wasn't interested. I've seen a few links where a member of Holy's team said that he wasn't interested in fighting 5'10 LHW's. I guess at the time, he thought that he was in a no win situation.
But four years later at the back end of 2001, according to Roy, they held talks to discuss a potential fight for 2002. This was just prior to Holy's final fight with Ruiz. Apparently talks had gone well, but Holy was unable to beat Ruiz and win back the WBA belt. So Roy backed out and remained at 175 to weigh up his options. He then had the opportunity to sign for Ruiz late in 2002.
After he beat Ruiz in 2003, he was only prepared to stay at HW for a mega money fight. He didn't want to fight Tua, Vitali and Sanders etc. Because they were all high risk fights for what he classed as only decent money. You have to remember that he was a LHW who was nearly 35. According to Murad Muhammad his promoter at the time, he made Roy around $17m for the Ruiz fight. Roy actually had a Corrie Sanders contract on the table, but he walked away from it.
He then held talks with Tyson in Miami, for a mega fight in 2004. I've seen two separate links regarding this. They both had huge respect for each other, and they both wanted the fight. But Tyson's life was in a mess at that point. He was out of shape, he had no trainer, he was up on an assault charge, as well as being tied up in a huge legal battle with King. Tyson was pretty much done at that point, and in my opinion, fights with Tua, Sanders and Vitali would have been much riskier. A Tyson fight would have been huge, and Roy would have received the mega money that he wanted. But Roy's losses to Tarver and Johnson, as well as Tyson's loss to Danny Williams, killed the fight from ever happening.
I've also seen numerous links where Lennox Lewis was very interested in a fight with Roy. That would have been a huge fight. At the start of 2003, Lennox gave a Roy credit, but said that fighting him would be a bridge too far. But just prior to his fight with Vitali, he said that he was looking to fight possibly another three times and Roy could be an option. But after he struggled with Vitali, everything changed. He did contemplate rematching Vitali and fighting Roy, and Roy and Murad spoke to Lennox and his team. But Lennox said he wasn't sure if he was going to fight again. Then the following year he announced his retirement issuing a statement that said he'd lost the hunger and the motivation to carry on. If you can post links on here, I'll try and upload them for those who haven't seen them.
Personally, I think Roy could have beaten Tyson and Holyfield. Not when they were in their prime, but the versions that lost to James Toney and Danny Williams. As for Roy vs Lennox, it may not have been the foregone conclusion that everybody thinks. Everyone says Lewis would win a few rounds, after the first jab, and Roy would have had no chance etc. But Lennox was old, and not in great shape at that point. Roy could have caused that version some major problems. Lennox also must have seen him as a threat, because again, he was up for the fight pre Vitali, but afterwards he never fought again.Comment
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I agree to a certain extent. Roy relied heavily on his speed and reflexes. But I think his skills are also underappreciated. There's lots of great athletes in boxing, but you don't see them throwing 5 punch combos with double and treble hooks, and uppercuts from each hand, while backed on to the ropes etc. Roy did posses some great skills. He also had great balance, timing and footwork, that went hand in hand with his great physical attributes.Last edited by robertzimmerman; 02-01-2014, 06:19 AM.Comment
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I think this is a little unfair. Roy wasn't all mouth, because he actually went up to HW and fought Ruiz. According to his long time trainer Alton Merkerson, Roy kept his Ruiz physique, in the hope of fighting at HW again.
Roy's father is on video saying he stopped the Douglas fight. Roy walked from the Sanders fight to pursue a Tyson fight, that would have been a much bigger fight, for a huge amount of money. As mentioned in an earlier post, Lewis was interested in fighting Roy and possibly rematching Vitali, before changing his mind and and hanging up his gloves.Comment
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