FOUR-DIVISION world champion Roy Jones Jr. has declared that he would have had little issues overcoming pound-for-pound superstar and reigning undisputed super-middleweight world champion, Terence Crawford.
Crawford, 42-0 (31 KOs), registered a legendary win over Canelo Alvarez last month to cement his legacy in the sport, simultaneously becoming a five-weight world champion and the first three-division undisputed champion of the four-belt era.
Yet, in an interview with Boxing News, Roy Jones Jr., 66-10 (47 KOs), who held the IBF super-middleweight title between 1993 and 1996, claimed that he would’ve been able to hand Crawford a first career defeat.
“I like Terence, Terence is a very good fighter, but Terence grew up on Roy Jones Jr.
“It is hard to tell you that these guys would’ve whooped Roy Jones when they grew up on [me], and are still asking questions to Roy Jones about how he did things. So, they don’t fully understand Roy Jones yet either.
“It is hard to beat Roy Jones if you don’t fully understand him yet.
“He is a great fighter, don’t get it wrong, and it would have been an intriguing fight because he has heart and he has confidence and he is a very challenging guy, that is what I like about him the most.
“That is why I knew he would beat Canelo, because he stands up to the challenge.
“So, he would have been something to deal with for a few rounds early [in our fantasy fight], but I was a different guy. I was much faster than 90% of people that I fought, so with my speed level and my precision, [I would have come out on top].
“You have got to have talent, but you have got to have knowhow, with talent.”
Jones then went on to outline his belief that the 38-year-old will now drop down to the middleweight division and look to conquer a sixth weight-class.
“I think that he may want to go and get a middleweight title because he skipped over that, he went from junior-middleweight to super-middleweight.
“So, he may go back to capture the middleweight title to close the gap, like I wish I would’ve done with the cruiserweight title.
Crawford has been linked with a move to 160lbs, and the upcoming three-belt unification clash between Janibek Alimkhanuly and Erislandy Lara means an undisputed middleweight title contest could be on the cards next year.
