Steve Collins: "I first met Roy 20 years ago when he came to Ireland to represent the USA, he was over - powered by my team - mate and it was in the category below me ( light - middleweight ). I was fighting there too and I won my fight and I offered to have a friendly sparring with Roy if he wanted and he refused. Roy Jones is an ectomorph, always was an ectomorph. I'm an endomorph or mesomorph, I have big bones. I even fought at heavyweight in the junior's. Now this is one reason I would of beaten Roy Jones. If I made it rough and tumble, it would be like a man against a boy. Why do you think Roy Jones has failed to knockout light - heavyweights? It's because he is an ectomorph and shouldn't of been boxing in as high a weight - category as that. Just look how small his waist is, look how skinny his wrists are."

Collins beat John Reid in 1986 at 165 in the Irish middle final, Jones lost to John Reid a few weeks later at 156.

source: http://www.geocities.com/pedrinet/jones.html


Freddie Roach: "Roy was only fighting guys who he knew didn't truly want to fight him, he wouldn't fight anybody who would stand up to him and believed they would beat him. That's why Steve (Collins) would of beat him, he'd of roughed him up. He'd of been at Roy's chest, sticking to Roy like glue. He'd of won the fight on infighting."


Steve Collins: "Oh no. He's a tough b******, Vinnie. I'd fight [former world super-middleweight, light-middleweight and heavyweight champ] Roy Jones before I'd fight Vinnie Jones."

source: http://sport.guardian.co.uk/smalltal...359507,00.html


QUESTION: Steve, Roy Jones Jnr showed absolutely no interest in fighting you for a unification fight at super-middleweight. It's difficult to believe that the man who has been the best pound-for-pound fighter for the past 10 years or more would have been scared of you in the slightest. What was the real reason the fight never even got to the negotiation table?
James Slattery
STEVE COLLINS: Well James, I travelled to Pensacola to see Roy Jones fight and I actually climbed into the ring after his fight. I accused him of avoiding me and I challenged him live on national TV. At the post-fight conference I spoke to Jones and the press, I called him a coward and a yellow dog and I offered to fight him, winners take all. I would have beaten Roy Jones and he knew it!

source: http://www.skysports.com/skysports/a...160284,00.html


Ian Darke: "Now you have beaten Chris Eubank twice and now Nigel Benn twice, Who do you want now?"

Steve Collins: "The fight I've been looking for, for a long time is Roy Jones. But Roy Jones is running scared, he fights nobodies, he fights men with prison records not boxing records. If Roy Jones doesn't fight then people will remember him as the man who was afraid of Steve Collins."


Collins first wanted to fight Jones after Jones beat Hopkins, because Collins was IBF number-one contender.