Bernard Hopkins feels there is one fighter in particular who was unstoppable during his prime years.
Hopkins had a successful career of his own, become undisputed champion at middleweight during the early 2000s before then going on to claim world honours at light heavyweight.
It is a man he previously shared the ring with that he believes was unbeatable at his very best though, telling Ring Magazine about just how highly he rates fellow legend Roy Jones Jr.
“He was smart enough to neutralise my best weapons and smart enough to not get hit by my big shots. Even though I got my shots in he wouldn’t get hit by more than one. Like if I got one in … and that’s the thing about fighting unique guys … if a guy lands that one shot, normally there’s another coming behind that.
“He was an all-around thing – best boxer, best defence, offence…. Early career Roy Jones Jr. – speed, reflexes, unorthodox, that type of thing. No one, no one would have beat Roy Jones at that level, where he was at right there and then.”
Hopkins and Jones met twice in their career, with Jones winning the first bout by unanimous decision back in May 1993 to claim the vacant IBF middleweight title, before Hopkins won their rematch at 175lbs in April 2010 when both fighters were past their best.
Jones’ achievements include becoming a four-weight world champion at middleweight, super-middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight, claiming wins over the likes of James Toney, Mike McCallum, John Ruiz and Antonio Tarver along the way.
