Roy Jones's prime competition... exactly how good was it?

[GEOFFHAYES]

YOu cann turn 40 pounds of fat into 7 pounds of muscle.

No comment.

[GEOFFHAYES]

Hopkins didn't really reach a scarey level until the Joe Lipsey fight, his peak performance IMO was against Glen Johnson.

[Left2body]

Yeah. I mean, maybe "green" is a little harsh, but you must admit, he improved and got wilier after he fought Roy, no?

Yeah, I think Hopkins did improve after that fight also. He wasn't in his personal top form but neither was RJJ. I think while his physical abilities slipped somewhat he compensated for this by fighting smarter. But RJJ beat him so soundly that I dont think a even the tricky/dirty Hopkins would've had a chance against a prime physical freak RJ.

I also would change the Ruiz from an A to a C+/B fighter.

The Toney rating for me is the hardest to quantify due to JT's well documented weight issues. But then again JT was ranked #1 or atleast to #3 p4p when he fought RJJ, this is just my recollections I might be wrong. Anyway its hard to quantify how good Toney was for that fight so I'll steer clear of debating that one.

[Kendo]

Bernard Hopkins: A
Fermin Chirino: D
Danny Garcia: D
Thomas Tate: B
James Toney: A(roy was a blown up heavyweight and won toney was P4P best in the world at the weight he was cant use weight drained)
Antoine Byrd: B (very fast on his feet)
Vinny Pazienza: B (roy just made him look bad bc he was so much faster than the paz)
Tony Thornton: C
Merqui Sosa: B ( wasnt he supposed to give roy a hard fight)
Eric Lucas: C
Bryant Brannon: C
Mike McCallum: B (age dont matter look at hops)
Montell Griffin: B ( he was an very hard to figure out and crafty)
Virgil Hill: B-C border line the man can fight
Lou Del Valle: C
Otis Grant: C
Richard Frazier: D
Reggie Johnson: B
David Telesco: D ( this guy was a joke but i think roy needed to fight him bc he kept calling roy out and ****)
Richard Hall D
Eric Harding: A ( i think at the time harding was a very good fighter and he was giving roy ALOT of problems it was a close fight until they had to stop it)
Derrick Harmon: D
Julio Gonzalez: B-C ( he was very young when he fought roy but you seen his potential bc he didnt back down
Glen Kelly: F
Clinton Woods: B ( he was a good fighter than but not A worthy still isnt but none the less a tough fighter
John Ruiz: C (he was a HW and he did have a title yes the HW is weak but the fact that he did have a title gives him a decent grade.

[GEOFFHAYES]

There's an article on Tony 'Punching Postman' Thornton in The Ring in 1987 where he's hailed as the 'next big thing' and noted for his right hand punch that ended almost all his fights.

I know Thornton broke his right hand at some point and never used to full effect again.

I thought he was robbed against Collins, Collins was cut to pieces and almost lost his ear. There was actually excellent footwork on display in this fight with Collins moving side-to-side effectively and Thornton cutting off the ring well, it was Collins on the move for 12 rounds and Thornton on the hunt. Collins proved his chin in this fight.

Thornton was a peek-a-boo styled swarmer-type, very sturdy and always looking to deliver those right hands over. I was suprised Jones dealt with him well and treated him like that, though Thornton was shop-worn, rusty and had a shoulder injury.

[GEOFFHAYES]

Anyway, Anorak, Jones looked very lacklustre in '93.. '92 was a far better year for him.

He was a lb4lber in '92, but not in '93.

[NexBesThang]

That is a solid ranking.
Id just change B-Hop to an A.
Yeah he was young, but he had more pro fights than roy, and he had 96 amatuer fights. Jones is just a better fighter.

Preciate it, bro, I changed it.

Now, for all ya'll who is given James Toney mercy(weight-drained) because of his loss to Roy, notice, that ya'll aint hearin that **** with Roy's loss to Glenn Johnson and Tarver, and Roy was much, much worse than Toney. Ay, Anorak, take a gander on that (I aint' pointin fingers at you but just think about that) and to all ya'll other second-guessers, just think about that a little.

[astrosfreak]

Bernard Hopkins-A
Fermin Chirino-C
Danny Garcia-C
Thomas Tate-C
James Toney-A
Antoine Byrd-C
Vinny Pazienza-B
Tony Thornton-D
Merqui Sosa-B
Eric Lucas-C
Bryant Brannon-B, until Jones
Mike McCallum-A
Montell Griffin-B
Virgil Hill-B
Lou Del Valle-C
Otis Grant-C
Richard Frazier-D
Reggie Johnson-B
David Telesco-B, until Jones
Richard Hall-D
Eric Harding-B
Derrick Harmon-B
Julio Gonzalez-B
Glen Kelly-C
Clinton Woods-B
John Ruiz-B

[daggerdeux]

Let me put it this way. He fought and handily beat better competition than Eubank, Calzaghe, and Benn and freaking Ottke.

[GEOFFHAYES]

Let me put it this way. He fought and handily beat better competition than Eubank, Calzaghe, and Benn and freaking Ottke.

"I really couldn't care less how you rate me as a boxer. All I care about is how much money is in my bank account" - Eubank

"When I beat Eubank, I achieved my lifetime dream of becoming world champion and anything on top of that would of been a bonus" - Calzaghe

"I won't be remembered as the greatest fighter ever, but I bring more X-rated violence than any ****er" - Benn