Former pound-for-pound great Roy Jones Jr once credited a legendary rival as being the smartest opponent of his professional career.
The Florida-native is widely considered to be one of the greatest fighters to have ever graced the sport, winning world titles in no less than four weight classes along the way.
Jones enjoyed the majority of his success during the 1990s where he produced victories over the likes of Mike McCallum, James Toney and Bernard Hopkins to name just a few.
Perhaps the most impressive win of Jones’ career came in 2003 when he made the jump up to heavyweight to dethrone countryman John Ruiz of the WBA world heavyweight title by unanimous decision at the conclusion of their showdown in Las Vegas.
In a feature with The Ring Magazine, Jones spoke highly of former rival Hopkins as he claims the two-weight world champion was the smartest fighter he ever faced during his tenure.
“He had a real good ring IQ. He was able to study the first fight and get it right for the second fight and use the IQ to keep it where it was harder to attack the second time.”
Jones prevailed in his first encounter with Hopkins back in 1993, defeating his countryman by unanimous decision to claim the vacant IBF world middleweight title in Washington.
Hopkins got his revenge over Jones when they crossed paths for the second time in April of 2010, defeating his domestic foe via unanimous decision in their non-title 175lb showdown in Las Vegas.
