Best fighter? RJJ, Benn or Eubank?

[Master]

Ah yes, I was a big fan of Glen's for sure. Very humble, hard worker. Road Warrior was a great name for him, he was on the wrong end of more than a few home town decisions.

But to be realistic, Johnson and Tarver were never even close to being in the same class as a prime Jones, so it was sad for me to see him losing to guys he would have obliterated 2-3 years previous IMO.

If Roy retired after Ruiz he would be regarded as one of the ATG with Robinson et al.

[vidgil]

Ah yes, I was a big fan of Glen's for sure. Very humble, hard worker. Road Warrior was a great name for him, he was on the wrong end of more than a few home town decisions.

But to be realistic, Johnson and Tarver were never even close to being in the same class as a prime Jones, so it was sad for me to see him losing to guys he would have obliterated 2-3 years previous IMO.

If Roy retired after Ruiz he would be regarded as one of the ATG with Robinson et al.

You're probably right. It is a shame. I remember him talking about retiring back then, he wanted to set up a Tyson fight and then retire. Shows his heart was no longer in boxing.

It's a shame such a great talent made such a mockery of his career. Most of these greats fight a few fights too long. Roy has now fought over a decade too long

[mikeeod]

This question depends on how you are defining "fighter". Roy was the most naturally gifted of the three, and would be my favorite in head to head match ups (understanding that this is boxing and all three could bang, so anything can happen). Benn was the meanest, best defined "fighter" of the trio (vice "boxer"). Eubank was, in my opinion, the most cerebral and awkward of the three, with arguably the biggest punch (all three were beasts in my opinion, but the shot Eubank landed on Watson was scary).

When looking at level of competition, I feel like Roy takes it with wins over Hop, Ruiz, Tarver, and Toney. Benn has G-Man and Barkley on his resume, while Eubank has Watson and Benn. Looking st the style match ups, Roy's natural gifts/speed are a nightmare for both, while Eubank probably gives Roy the harder fight than Benn.

Now for the controversial part of my post: I think Roy ducked both fighters and I started to lose respect for him for not fighting Benn after Nigel beat G-Man (Roy's friend). This was the period where Roy started to look at boxing as purely business and risk vs reward, and stopped chasing greatness. Seeing Gerald crippled definitely had an affect on Roy, and while I don't blame him for looking out for his and his family's best interests, I have to be honest and say it affects his historical rankings on many lists. The most frustrating aspect of this is that I'm pretty sure he could've run through Benn, Eubank, Darius, Collins, Frankie Liles (Collins/Liles would've been toughest style match ups of that group, but I still think Roy wins)...etc., and would've retired as one of the top two or three p4p ATGs EVER. Instead, we have to watch the most talented boxer ever lose to people who shouldn't even be his sparring partners. Sad.

[Master]

You are tough on Roy, who was a marvel in the ring which we have never seen before.

Benn, who was the smaller fighter, was a vicious hitter with either hand whereas Eubank had a sharp/heavy right hand.

[mikeeod]

You are tough on Roy, who was a marvel in the ring which we have never seen before.

Benn, who was the smaller fighter, was a vicious hitter with either hand whereas Eubank had a sharp/heavy right hand.

Agree that I'm tough on Roy, but feel I am consistent/fair. I have four kids now (I'm old) and I'm much harder on my oldest daughter than I am on the others. She's three grade levels above where she should be, and in honors classes on top of that. She is in trouble with me if she gets a B+. One of her brothers is the opposite, where he gets "B"s from time to time and I don't punish him at all, I reward him. Roy is like my oldest daughter, he's a phenom who the sport will likely never see the likes of again. Head to head I would pick Roy against anyone in history, to include Robinson. Roy didn't fulfill that potential. He had a phenomenal career, but when you are that gifted, a phenomenal career is a given. Had he possessed Manny's desire for greatness and audacity, Roy would've beaten everyone at or near his weight class, to include guys like Tyson, Jirov, Holyfield...etc.

[Master]

You are tough on Roy, who was a marvel in the ring which we have never seen before.

Benn, who was the smaller fighter, was a vicious hitter with either hand whereas Eubank had a sharp/heavy right hand.

Agree that I'm tough on Roy, but feel I am consistent/fair. I have four kids now (I'm old) and I'm much harder on my oldest daughter than I am on the others. She's three grade levels above where she should be, and in honors classes on top of that. She is in trouble with me if she gets a B+. One of her brothers is the opposite, where he gets "B"s from time to time and I don't punish him at all, I reward him. Roy is like my oldest daughter, he's a phenom who the sport will likely never see the likes of again. Head to head I would pick Roy against anyone in history, to include Robinson. Roy didn't fulfill that potential. He had a phenomenal career, but when you are that gifted, a phenomenal career is a given. Had he possessed Manny's desire for greatness and audacity, Roy would've beaten everyone at or near his weight class, to include guys like Tyson, Jirov, Holyfield...etc.

Roy was never a heavyweight and would have been obliterated by Tyson.

Give your eldest daughter a break and praise her.

[vidgil]

It's natural to look at Roy as the naturally talented boxer, but we forget he had a big punch in both hands! Especially at 168.

He knocked Sugar Boy dead with one punch, something Eubank and Benn failed to do.

He knocked out the iron chinned Tony Thorton in 3 rounds, something Eubank and Toney couldn't do. Tony was at the end of his career but still, impressive.

Merqui Sosa in 2, not a great fighter but a very hard out.

At 168 I would put Roy's power up there with either man. Perhaps Benn had a bigger wallop overall but RJJ was not far behind IMO.

[smashup]

So where's my hero Michael Watson in the list?
How can he not be included....?
Beat Benn by KO with a single Jab and 100% beat Eubank on points in the first fight which every journalist and pundit agreed was the right result. (should never have been that fateful second fight)
Would he have beaten Jones..? Who Knows but maybe and

Anyway out of the 3 the best boxer was easily RJJ then Eubank then Benn.
But in a War RJJ would have got smashed by Eubank and Benn which is why he swerved them both

[ross]

Best fighter - Benn

Best Boxer - RJJ

Agreed.

RJJ can fight when he's ready.

Benn most exciting fighter but not best when Eubank stopped him in a fight!

Eubanks chin and will would leave him a danger to anyone. Check out the Calzaghe fight. He was due to fight for the European title at light heavy and got about 10 days notice to face Calzaghe for the WBO super middle and always had some weight to shift so went in not in the best circumstances for himself. Calzaghe has said that was his toughest ever fight and watch the last seconds of it, Eubank cracks him and has Calzaghe out on his feet!

Bothe Benn and Eubank would have put Calzaghe under the most pressure he's ever been in. I think the difference is Eubanks chin would be a better bet.

Jones opponents weren't the best quality. Was Toney really that great? Look how Benn dealt with Barkley. That's probably Jones bet win.

[Master]

Watson got outclassed by McCallum so it shows you the USA fighters were a level above our British fighters. On their best day, Roy, Toney and Nunn beat Benn, Watson and Eubank.

[X]

I think the Body Snatcher was Jamaican, but I take your point.

I loved the Benn/Eubank years and still am a massive Benn fan. Met both guys several times and liked Benn (but was wary of him as he is still something of a nutter). Eubank was really polite and pleasant to me and my sister.

Jones was something else though. A once in a generation talent. I don't swallow most of the 'multiple weight' crap as there are so many weights so close to each other that it's easier to move around them nowadays.

Back in the day he would have starved down to middleweight for a while, before mainly campaigning at light heavy. Going up and defeating a genuine (albeit horribly limited) heavyweight in Ruiz cements his legend. He did what Bob Foster and Archie Moore couldn't do.

I really respect Jones' talent, skills and accomplishments in the ring.

Unfortunately (?), he was such a freakish physical talent that he didn't really have solid pro technique to fall back in when his reflexes started to go. That's why his success didn't last as long as Moore, Joe Walcott or even Floyd.

All time world great fighter in my opinion. Whereas Benn and Eubank are all time national greats.

[smashup]

I think the Body Snatcher was Jamaican, but I take your point.

I loved the Benn/Eubank years and still am a massive Benn fan. Met both guys several times and liked Benn (but was wary of him as he is still something of a nutter). Eubank was really polite and pleasant to me and my sister.

Jones was something else though. A once in a generation talent. I don't swallow most of the 'multiple weight' crap as there are so many weights so close to each other that it's easier to move around them nowadays.

Back in the day he would have starved down to middleweight for a while, before mainly campaigning at light heavy. Going up and defeating a genuine (albeit horribly limited) heavyweight in Ruiz cements his legend. He did what Bob Foster and Archie Moore couldn't do.

I really respect Jones' talent, skills and accomplishments in the ring.

Unfortunately (?), he was such a freakish physical talent that he didn't really have solid pro technique to fall back in when his reflexes started to go. That's why his success didn't last as long as Moore, Joe Walcott or even Floyd.

All time world great fighter in my opinion. Whereas Benn and Eubank are all time national greats.

There's always been the rumour that Jones ducked Benn after seeing how his old mate Gerald Mcclellan ended up, Read the Jones interview from 2008 below - Jones was definitely way more conscious of what could happen to any fighter after that night and it definitely affected him but he doesn't go deeper into the subject.
There is also stories that Benn priced himself out of a potential fight with Jones in 1993 but also stories that Jones was too inexperienced back then
Don King was promoting Jones back then so anything could have stopped the fight happening
Would love to know the real story of why they never fought

Seems weird that our UK elite never faced the US elite (barring Ben v G-Man) back in the day
Wonder if @Scrap might know something


But having fought professionally in three decades he admits to being sickened at what his sport can produce. 'You wouldn't want to watch a bad situation,' he says, conceding he could never see a tape of a boxer being seriously injured. 'You don't want to see that happen to no other fighter.'
Jones, a deeply religious man who describes his relationship with God as 'the only thing that kept me going through this whole thing', understands that potential disaster is always near.
'Every fighter is close to that every time they go in the ring. It can happen any time. You don't know when it could.'
In February 1995 it happened to his friend Gerald McClellan, when he lost to Britain's Nigel Benn in a particularly brutal WBC super-middleweight title fight. Stopped in the 10th round, McClellan, a dog-fighting fan who had beaten Jones as an amateur, slipped into a prolonged coma. He lost his eyesight, could not walk and is now almost completely deaf. At 27 his life had changed forever.
Has Jones ever watched the bout? 'You would never watch that fight again. You wouldn't want to watch it,' he says, quietly.
Had he visited McClellan since the bout? 'I don't need to - it would make me quit boxing.'
Quit? 'Yeah.'
Why? He repeats: 'Cos it'd make me quit boxing.'
Pressed further he says: 'My reason would be more because I don't want to do that to nobody.'
Is it a worry that he has the potential to do so? 'You wouldn't want to be the one who did it.'
Jones's quiet manner can make him seem uninterested, but he is actually thoughtful and open to most subjects. And, despite having taken his share of blows during 134 amateur and 52 professional fights, he is still of clear mind.
'That's my strong point. With me I come in the ring and start thinking right away,' he says. 'My thought process is just to put a guy down. I'm like a technician and learn to break it all down - from head to toe.'
But he returns to what can happen to even the very best of fighters.
'I don't think Nigel Benn was the same after he did that to Gerald. I fought
Gerald once,' he says. 'He was a very good fighter.'

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...portinterviews

[smashup]

Think this was one of the first times they'd been seen together in public in years after all the hate, Was when Witter beat Corley for the title in 2006 at Alexander Palace in London.
Tried to get closer to both and blag an interview but was in the press section working for some Boxing Website and couldn't get near them.



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[El Kabong]

Watson got outclassed by McCallum so it shows you the USA fighters were a level above our British fighters. On their best day, Roy, Toney and Nunn beat Benn, Watson and Eubank.

and Collins

[vidgil]

With all due respect to Eubank, Benn, Collins and Watson, I think Toney would have whipped all of them. Grand Rapids representin!