A prime Roy Jones Jr is, for many, the greatest fighter of all time, but even the man himself has admitted to being second-best to one extraordinary individual.
Whether Jones reached his peak at super-middleweight or light-heavyweight is perhaps up for debate, but his performances in both divisions nonetheless cemented him as a pound-for-pound legend.
The American secured arguably his most notable win at 168lbs against James Toney, when his sheer explosiveness and athleticism was enough to claim a unanimous decision in 1994.
Even prior to that, Jones had captured the world middleweight title against Bernard Hopkins, outpointing him with just one hand, before eventually campaigning at a more comfortable weight of 175lbs.
It was there where stunning victories over the likes of Antonio Tarver and Virgil Hill established him as perhaps the greatest light-heavyweight of all time, his incredible speed often making for a largely one-sided affair.
But still, Jones believes that one man – and one man only – should be regarded as the more well-rounded competitor in his prime.
While speaking with ATSFight, the former multi-weight world champion was asked whether Pernell Whitaker was a better fighter in his prime, to which he said: “[It’s] close.”
Then, after dismissing the likes of Lennox Lewis and Oleksandr Usyk, Jones interjected as soon as he heard the name ‘Muhammad Ali’.
“Now you can stop – that’s the only place you can stop at. The rest of them are awesome, they’re great fighters, but [not better than him].
“In the ring, it’s still questionable, but [Ali’s] always going to be the greatest to me, because he laid the platform for me.
“Without that platform, I’d have never been me, so he’ll always be the GOAT in my eyes.”
Indeed, Ali is widely regarded as one of the all-time greats, especially when considering his legacy-defining triumphs over heavyweights such as George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and Sonny Liston.
