Where does Roy Jones rank?

[VG_Addict]

Now that his career has ended, where do you rank Roy Jones Jr. all time?

[Master]

Has he retired again? How many comebacks is he going to have? I think he said he would only comeback to fight Silva.

Roy Jones Jr retires but leaves door ajar for Anderson Silva bout



ormer four-weight world champion Roy Jones Jr has retired after ending his 29-year career with a victory.

The 49-year-old scored a unanimous points win over cruiserweight Scott Sigmon in his hometown of Pensacola in Florida on Thursday.

Jones Jr said only a bout with suspended UFC fighter Anderson Silva could bring him out of retirement.

He said: "That's the only other fight Roy Jones will return to the ring for. Other than that, chapter's closed."

Jones Jr claimed world titles at middleweight, super-middleweight, light-heavyweight, and heavyweight during his career.

His first professional fight was in May 1989 at the same Civic Center venue in Pensacola where his career closed against Sigmon.

In compiling a record of 66 wins and nine defeats, he beat stellar names such as Bernard Hopkins and James Toney. He lost to Joe Calzaghe at New York's Madison Square Garden in 2008 in what was the Briton's final fight of an unbeaten 15-year career.

In defeating John Ruiz at heavyweight to land the WBA world title in 2003, Jones Jr became the only man in history to land a world title in the top division having started a career at light-middleweight.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/43001739

[Alpha]

Yea I remember him talking about the Silva fight about a month ago. I hope he stays retired. Depends how you rate your fighters, on pure ability he is right up there, but when he should have been fighting the best, he wasn't.

[imp]

Yea I remember him talking about the Silva fight about a month ago. I hope he stays retired. Depends how you rate your fighters, on pure ability he is right up there, but when he should have been fighting the best, he wasn't.

Like who.?

Roy gets a lot of flack for not fighting overseas but wasn't he the top dog at the time?

[Master]

Yea I remember him talking about the Silva fight about a month ago. I hope he stays retired. Depends how you rate your fighters, on pure ability he is right up there, but when he should have been fighting the best, he wasn't.

Like who.?

Roy gets a lot of flack for not fighting overseas but wasn't he the top dog at the time?

Roy fought 2 ATG in Toney and Hopkins but there were gaps at light heavy. The clue that the opponents were not that good was when Roy was playing basketball before the fight. I am sure he could have got the ring belt by beating the liniel German champion Dariusz Michelcheski.

[Alpha]

Yea I remember him talking about the Silva fight about a month ago. I hope he stays retired. Depends how you rate your fighters, on pure ability he is right up there, but when he should have been fighting the best, he wasn't.

Like who.?

Roy gets a lot of flack for not fighting overseas but wasn't he the top dog at the time?

Roy fought 2 ATG in Toney and Hopkins but there were gaps at light heavy. The clue that the opponents were not that good was when Roy was playing basketball before the fight. I am sure he could have got the ring belt by beating the liniel German champion Dariusz Michelcheski.

Exactly, Michalczewski is the perfect example at 175. I would have liked to see him face Rochigiani, Michael Nunn, Gerald McClellan, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, Steve Collins, Joe Calzaghe. I think Jones beats them all but that's not the point, I would have liked to have seen the fights.

[ykdadamaja]

Has to be in the top #5 of all time. Perhaps top #3.

My top guys of all times.... in no order... Julio Cesar Chavez... Roy Jones... Ali... Ray Leonard... Ray Robinson... Jack Johnson... everyone else is sorta muddle in there somewhere afterwards....

[mikeeod]

I place Roy in the top 50-60 of all time if we are talking historical ranking and accomplishments. If we are talking talent I place him much higher. I agree that Roy didn’t fight many of the top names at and around his weight during his prime. Not all of that was Roy’s fault, but the fact remains that he just didn’t get the big fights. I place him behind Hop, Floyd, Evander, Sweet Pea, Manny, and potentially Barrera/Morales/JMM when compared against his contemporaries.

[powerpuncher]

Jones is probably the toughest fighter to rank. Talent wise, he is honestly top 10 easily. He didn’t have the best resume and did miss a few big fights that he should have had. Because of that, I rank him around 20-25.

[brocktonblockbust]

jones woulda destroyed calzaghe in his prime

[Hulk]

He is the best ever. Untouchable in his prime.

[imp]

jones woulda destroyed calzaghe in his prime

No one destroys Calzaghe.

I give Jones the win in his prime but it's a close one.

[imp]

Yea I remember him talking about the Silva fight about a month ago. I hope he stays retired. Depends how you rate your fighters, on pure ability he is right up there, but when he should have been fighting the best, he wasn't.

Like who.?

Roy gets a lot of flack for not fighting overseas but wasn't he the top dog at the time?

Roy fought 2 ATG in Toney and Hopkins but there were gaps at light heavy. The clue that the opponents were not that good was when Roy was playing basketball before the fight. I am sure he could have got the ring belt by beating the liniel German champion Dariusz Michelcheski.

Exactly, Michalczewski is the perfect example at 175. I would have liked to see him face Rochigiani, Michael Nunn, Gerald McClellan, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, Steve Collins, Joe Calzaghe. I think Jones beats them all but that's not the point, I would have liked to have seen the fights.

Fair enough.

At what point was RJ in the same weight class as the above names...which one would have been the more viable choice weight related.

[Alpha]

Yea I remember him talking about the Silva fight about a month ago. I hope he stays retired. Depends how you rate your fighters, on pure ability he is right up there, but when he should have been fighting the best, he wasn't.

Like who.?

Roy gets a lot of flack for not fighting overseas but wasn't he the top dog at the time?

Roy fought 2 ATG in Toney and Hopkins but there were gaps at light heavy. The clue that the opponents were not that good was when Roy was playing basketball before the fight. I am sure he could have got the ring belt by beating the liniel German champion Dariusz Michelcheski.

Exactly, Michalczewski is the perfect example at 175. I would have liked to see him face Rochigiani, Michael Nunn, Gerald McClellan, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, Steve Collins, Joe Calzaghe. I think Jones beats them all but that's not the point, I would have liked to have seen the fights.

Fair enough.

At what point was RJ in the same weight class as the above names...which one would have been the more viable choice weight related.

Wasn't Nunn Jones' mandatory in late '97? I doubt Warren wanted that fight.

I think there was only slight window for a fights with Collins and McClellan at 160 in' 94.

Collins and Benn at 168 in '95 and' 96.

Obviously Dariusz at 175 from '97 to '03. Nunn at 175 in '88 and '89.

I also remember Jones pulling out of the Buster Douglas fight in '88.

[Boxer4life]

Jones is a bit like Tyson to me in the sense that, p4p, speaking purely from a skill perspective, they are both top 5 in my opinion. I think they beat someone like Mayweather. Resume wise, however, things get tricky. Personally, just because im a fighter, I judge fighters by how well they can fight and not statistics, I'll leave that to analyst.

So that being said, he is top 5.

That isnt to say his resume isnt impressive. He did beat Hopkins, he did beat Toney, fairly easy. He beat a lot of top contenders and champions.

ALSO, please let's not forget the man went from 154 to heavyweight in his career and WON the heavyweight belt. I don't care how subpar of a heavyweight you think Ruiz was, he was the champ.

So even as an analyst, i'd rate him top 10, i think he tops guys like Chavez and JMM for sure. Guys like Robinson, Floyd, Ali, topple him but his career was impeccable until he got old, and i don't think any fighter should be judged on old age performance, thats a rule in boxing.

As far as who he didn't fight, he would've sparked those guys just the same and then we would've listed them under the "they were nobodies" just as we do with his other solid, but not great opponents.