Roy Jones Jr can be considered one of the greatest fighters in history. He regards Muhammad Ali as number one, and will not stand for anyone diminishing the heavyweight legend’s achievements.
With wins over the likes of James Toney and Bernard Hopkins, ‘Captain Hook’ from Pensacola, Florida was inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in 2022.
He is well-placed, then, to rate the records of other boxing legends. Speaking on the MH Podcast, Jones was asked where he placed Floyd Mayweather in his greatest of all time list and made his feelings clear when responding.
“Who? Who? If you don’t respect Muhammad Ali, how can I respect you?”
Jones’ words were in response to Mayweather’s past comments on Ali’s status in the history books. He once passionately argued that he should be considered the best ever over the heavyweight enigma.
“What are we judging fighters on? If we’re judging them on standing up for a cause, then it’s Ali, hands down. But if we’re talking about taking less punishment and breaking all records then it’s Floyd Mayweather.
“Muhammad Ali paved the way for me to be where I’m at today. He’s a legend. But if we’re talking about record-breaking, we have to look at Ali losing his world title to a fighter with only seven fights [Leon Spinks].
“So, these are the things that we don’t look at. We only look at him standing up for a cause, which is the great thing because if Ali didn’t stand for that cause, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today. So, I have to take off my hat to Ali. But I didn’t get into this sport for forty years to say there’s another fighter better than me.”
Just as Mayweather – who famously retired with a perfect 50-0 record – picked apart Ali’s campaign, Jones did Mayweather’s. In an interview with Real Lyfe Productions
“Is it a 50-0 that I think he’s the greatest fighter of all time? Nah. [Julio Cesar] Chavez went 80-0 at one point. 80. You gonna ever top that? No. He just didn’t stop. [Floyd] got to 50-0 and stopped because of Rocky Marciano. Rocky died. If he wouldn’t have died he probably would’ve kept going too.”
Both men, as well as Ali, are widely considered some of the best ever for different reasons.
