Smoother than butter and sweeter than sugar, Roy Jones was the one of the slickest boxing stylists you may ever see in your life.
A combination of defensive wizardy and real power in his hands, Roy was able to cover distance and deflect shots faster than most men could throw punches. Roy just saw things before anyone else, and his ability to capitalize on the smallest mistakes made him one of the most lethal champions of all time.
The initial three year span of Jones' career lasted from 1989-1992, and he had accrued a perfect, undefeated record of 17-0 with 17 knockouts!
An amazing fact many don't realize is that besides a disqualification in 1997 against Montell Griffin (in a fight he was dominating but lost due to punches thrown after the bell rang) Roy went 50-0 from 1989 to 2004.
His first true loss was against Antonio Tarver at heavyweight, a rematch to a fight he had won by very controversial decision.
Many discredit the wins over legends in James Toney and Bernard Hopkins as some say they were either out of their prime, or had not reached it yet (in BHop's case), but that is a complete farce. Toney and BHop were some of the slickest boxers of the late 80s and early 90s era, but they couldn't handle the speed or the ring intelligence of such a fast and lethal specimen.
Bernard later rematched Roy in 2010, but that fight was a mess in it of itself. Nobody really even knows if the outcome or shots landed in that fight were truly legit, it almost felt like a one off and a cash grab. These two men aren't thought of as lesser for the exhibition, but we know that Roy was the greater fighter of both their primes.
Roy Jones was the real deal, and the fact that he is still fighting and winning is a testament to the ring IQ and overall heart of this man.
Roy is an absolute legend, what's your favorite moment from 'Jr.'?
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