Do you guys think Kovalev coulda beaten Roy Jones Jr in his prime?

[jas]

No Roy jones is exactly the type of fighter that would cause kova problems

Guy who beats kovalev has to be athletic or have really good boxing ability coupled with the ability to pressure and fight off back foot

Even Kovalev's trainer John David Jackson said after the fight that the middleweight version of Hopkins would beat kovalev...

[Cinci Champ]

i dont think he would have a chance against rjj were talking about one of the greatest of all time here guys

[UpInThisYo]

I guess RJJ by a comfortable decision, but let's see Kovalev's chin tested and let's see him improve. He crushed Cleverly's career, he outboxed Hopkins and he has destroyed some undefeated fighters, he is undefeated himself, he got monstrous power, it's all cool, he got potential. But he got a long way to go before I would start making these comparisions. If he beats Pascal, which I think he will and I like that fight, I think he should fight either Braehmer (go to Germany if neccesary) or Stevenson (although I somehow doubt Stevenson wants that fight). If Ward returns and moves up to LHW, that would be a fantastic fight, although I doubt it will happen.

[Cinci Champ]

Kovalev has a punchers chance. But other than that, no.

his only chance would be jones jr getting to ****y but if jones stays smart he might win every single round in his prime and im a fan of both but i think jones in his prime is about as underrated a fighter in the history of this sport

[GhostBlade]

Both are a nightmare matchup to one another so it's really a toss up. Both could get dropped and stopped at any given moment.

[LoadedWraps]

No Roy jones is exactly the type of fighter that would cause kova problems

Guy who beats kovalev has to be athletic or have really good boxing ability coupled with the ability to pressure and fight off back foot

Even Kovalev's trainer John David Jackson said after the fight that the middleweight version of Hopkins would beat kovalev...

Kovalev is exactly the type of fighter that would cause RJJ problems you mean. A guy who won't get frustrated or fooled by the showboating and has the ring IQ and intelligence to figure his speed, power, and habits before adjusting and finding him with multiple consecutive power punches. RJJ drops his hands alot even when in trouble, by the time he figures out Kovalev can really hurt him it will be too late, Kovalev won't be landing lucky punches and just counters he will put together combinations and RJJ will break.

[CJRock]

I was watching RJJ fight Clinton Woods on YouTube and Woods was able to get RJJ back against the ropes on at least a couple of occasions.

Though you think a murderous puncher like Kovalev would be able to KO RJJ with a brutal body shot or break him down gradually if he was able to get Roy Jones Jr near the ropes fairly regularly?

Kovalev could not beat Jones jr because Jones would never risk getting in with Kovalev

[mathed]

I've never seen a more dominant fighter than a prime RJJ. Kovalev maybe could have challenged him but Roy was like lightning in a bottle with enough pop to lay you out with either hand if he touched you. I'd favor him over Kovalev.....I mean the guy beat the primest Hopkins and Toney available.

[mathed]

i dont think he would have a chance against rjj were talking about one of the greatest of all time here guys

Man, I agree, the Roy of today is a million times less of a fighter than what he once was. Every Jones fight was a virtual PPV event, the guy was AMAZING. I'm not trying to embellish either, he was head and shoulders above EVERYONE.

[Weebler I]

Man, I agree, the Roy of today is a million times less of a fighter than what he once was. Every Jones fight was a virtual PPV event, the guy was AMAZING. I'm not trying to embellish either, he was head and shoulders above EVERYONE.

To be fair, Kovalev has been pretty amazing too so far. If he was American he'd probably be PPV already and on all the talk-shows etc. He's blitzing guys with seemingly other-worldly levels of power and no shortage of boxing ability.

It's way too early for this comparison though, we don't know Kovalev's ceiling and we've only seen him in with 3 top ten fighters in his division.

Give it two years, and then see where he's at. He may be down a peg or two or he may still be on top.