A former rival of Roy Jones Jr and Thomas Hearns once revealed which of the legendary duo was the better fighter overall.
With his imposing and endlessly watchable fighting style, Jones took the sport by storm during his career, capturing world titles in four weight classes and defeating the likes of James Toney and Bernard Hopkins along the way.
‘Hitman’ Hearns made his mark a decade prior to Jones, becoming the first fighter in boxing history to win world titles in four divisions. The Memphis native was one part of ‘The Four Kings’ during his tenure, alongside former opponents Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler.
One man who would end up facing both Jones and Hearns during his own career is two-weight world champion Virgil Hill, who was a member of that legendary 1984 USA Olympic Boxing Squad.
In a resurfaced interview, Hill made no mistake in naming Jones as the best opponent that he ever fought, paying homage to the speed and power of his countryman.
“Roy, he broke my rib. It was exciting to match wits and speed. I wouldn’t change it for the world except for the outcome.”
Jones stopped Hill in the 4th round of their non-title clash at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in April of 1998 in what was the 36th victory of his campaign. It was seven years earlier that Hill had lost to Hearns via unanimous decision, losing his WBA Light-Heavyweight World Title.
Hill would go on to regain world honours two and a half years after this defeat however, defeating Fabrice Tiozzo to capture the WBA world cruiserweight title in December of 2000.
