WHAT IF...Roy Jones had stayed at heavyweight?

[porkypara]

People forget now that after Jones beat Ruiz there was talk of him fighting Tyson,Holyfield and even then champ Lennox Lewis.

I remember reading an artical asking is Jones greater than Ray Robinson.


WE all know of course that he dropped back down to LHW and got KOed and beat a few time.

But what would have happened to Jones and the HW divisoin if he had stayed at HW.

[GAME]

He would have got knocked out

I rate Roy Jones as one of the greatest fighters that have ever lived but he wasnt a heavyweight .

Ruiz wasnt anywhere near good enough to land on Jones and thats why Roy fought him instead of the better guys.

[Kel]

He could have beat a select few of the poorer heavies

[JonesJrMayweather]

He would have made a lot of money beating maybe holyfield, byrd, rahman, moorer, botha and tyson. Then if the money was right he could have possibly been beaten by lewis or one of the klitchs. Hell he might have even went to cruiser to beat Jirov just to add another belt to the collection.

I still believe had he retired after the first tarver fight he would have been top 5 all time easily on most historians lists. I remember in the 90's bert sugar had him 2 behind SRR. Me personally I still rate him greatest and best ever since SRR.

[paddy448]

for me roy jones is the most naturally gifted fighter to ever grace the sport, he made some bad decisions in his career moving back down from heavyweight the way he did. if he would of stayed at heavyweight it wouldnt surprise me if he beat any of the top ten heavyweights at that time, i just watched some of his highlight vids again, and it is just unreal the way he went about his business in the ring

[El Kabong]

Roy could have beaten a couple decent heavyweights, I think he could have worked over Evander and the old Mike Tyson simply because of his handspeed.

I think Chris Byrd (of the smaller heavyweights) would have been a very tough fight for him though. A rematch with James Toney would have been interesting OR even more interesting a fight with Vassily Jirov which had been talked about for quite some time.


No way he would have been able to hang with the big boys though, Lennox, Wlad, Vitali....all too big, too strong, too skilled for Roy to be able to use his skills to his advantage.

[JT Rock]

Roy could have beaten a couple decent heavyweights, I think he could have worked over Evander and the old Mike Tyson simply because of his handspeed.

I think Chris Byrd (of the smaller heavyweights) would have been a very tough fight for him though. A rematch with James Toney would have been interesting OR even more interesting a fight with Vassily Jirov which had been talked about for quite some time.


No way he would have been able to hang with the big boys though, Lennox, Wlad, Vitali....all too big, too strong, too skilled for Roy to be able to use his skills to his advantage.

I hate to pick on Wlad, but at the time Jones was at Heavy Klit was not the more composed seasoned fighter he is now. Jones would have been elusive, Wlad would have gassed and Jones had enough power to stun and create a TKO.

[El Kabong]

While that COULD have happened, there was no point in time in his career where Wladimir wasn't an accurate and powerful puncher...and honestly nobody knows how Roy would have handled a power punch from any heavyweight, much less a guy with power like Wladimir.

Roy would have tried to use angles and speed but hell that's what Chris Byrd tried to do 2 times vs Wladimir and both times he failed to bother Wlad.

Roy would have had easier times with Evander and Tyson mainly because they were older and not what they used to be.

[Spicoli]

Roy loved his trinkets and I think the politics would keep him from meeting fellow champs.Probally at first go the route of defending a beatable but visable lower tier guy.Maybe a ranked Joe Mesi and then look for an aged Holyfield...and I dont think that would be a given.Would have been interesting to see how that weight would have stayed on Jones,through a training camp etc.Think the quicker sorts...like an Oquendo might have given him probs.

[holmcall]

Quite possibly, he would have won a few more fights and then retire instead of his disasterous weight loss which resulted in disaster for him. I always thought he could beat an aged Tyson with his in and out movement.

[generalbulldog]

While that COULD have happened, there was no point in time in his career where Wladimir wasn't an accurate and powerful puncher...and honestly nobody knows how Roy would have handled a power punch from any heavyweight, much less a guy with power like Wladimir.

Roy would have tried to use angles and speed but hell that's what Chris Byrd tried to do 2 times vs Wladimir and both times he failed to bother Wlad.

Roy would have had easier times with Evander and Tyson mainly because they were older and not what they used to be.

Agreed. Roy would never be able to stop any of the 2 brothers while at HW, at any point in time. For one he was 34 years old when he was fighting at HW at this time and did not possess the handspeed at this weight and age. And as you mentioned, could he take a hit from a good HW?

Wlad was not the fighter he is now, but a 2003 Wlad was no scrub.

[littlebif]

Roy was a great fighter his skills were second to none in his prime but at heavyweight he never proved much he beat Ruiz which doesnt prove much.I think he relized it would be suicidal if he fought the big men in the division.He would'nt have the power to stop them he might of got the first few rounds with his speed but he would get caught sooner or later and gets ko'ed.

Instead he moved back down and got ko'ed by Tarver.

[Master]

Remember Roy wanted 100 million to fight Lennox but against Tyson he had a realistic shot.

[littlebif]

Remember Roy wanted 100 million to fight Lennox but against Tyson he had a realistic shot.

I'am not sure if he had a shot at an ageing Tyson.I dont think Jones would of been able to discourage Tyson with his punches although Mike didnt like taking shots i just dont think Jones would hurt him and Tyson would of hit him in the end and hurt him and stop him.

[Master]

Remember Roy wanted 100 million to fight Lennox but against Tyson he had a realistic shot.

I'am not sure if he had a shot at an ageing Tyson.I dont think Jones would of been able to discourage Tyson with his punches although Mike didnt like taking shots i just dont think Jones would hurt him and Tyson would of hit him in the end and hurt him and stop him.

Yes Tyson could have done a Glenn Johnson on him.