A former light-heavyweight world champion has revealed his toughest ever opponent, overlooking the legendary Roy Jones Jr.
Jones is widely considered to be one of the greatest fighters of his generation, beginning his professional career back in 1988 after his success at the Olympic Games in Seoul where he won a Light-Middleweight Silver Medal, though many felt he was robbed of the Gold.
He would go on to become a world champion in four weight classes along the way, taking the sport by storm during the 1990s where he defeated the likes of Mike McCallum, James Toney and Bernard Hopkins.
Jones eventually made the move up to heavyweight in March of 2003, defeating WBA world champion John Ruiz via unanimous decision in what is regarded as being one of the best victories of his tenure.
He did suffer his fair share of defeats during his career however, one of which came in September 2004 when he was stopped in the 9th round of his clash with IBF light-heavyweight champion Glen Johnson. Though Johnson was a 6/1 underdog stepping through the ropes, he largely dominated proceedings against a Jones that had lost some of his shine after dropping back down in weight.
In a resurfaced interview with Boxing Scene, Johnson revealed that his toughest ever fight came when he locked horns with Bernard Hopkins, who stopped him in the penultimate round of their showdown in 1997.
“My toughest fight is always going to be Bernard Hopkins. At the time I was a young, undefeated fighter and you think you can’t be beat. I learned a lot from that fight and I was humbled to go back to the gym and train harder. I’ve never been hurt like that before. I think it was the first or second punch.”
Johnson’s career would continue until the summer of 2015, announcing his retirement from the sport with a record of 54-21-2, shortly after he was beaten by Avni Yildirim.
Hopkins would go on to set a record as the oldest world champion in boxing history, winning titles at ages 46 and 49. Among his most notable victories were dominant wins over Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya, and Tarver. He lost to Jones in 1993 but would avenge that defeat almost two decades later in 2010.
