During the 1990s, Roy Jones Jr was not only the best fighter in the world but virtually untouchable. His hand speed, mobility, reflexes and footwork were other-worldly, leaving opponents struggling to lay a glove on him.
As with so many greats, time eventually caught up with Jones. His prolonged run as a professional in the later years of his career was difficult viewing, but fans prefer to remember the version of Jones whose superhuman gifts left opponents bewildered and questioning whether he was even of this earth.
After his fighting days, Jones became a well-respected analyst for HBO, casting his eye over the generations that followed as they tried to match — or surpass — his achievements from middleweight to heavyweight.
When asked by The Ring to name the best fighter he ever faced, Jones looked back to November 1994 when he moved from middleweight to super-middleweight to challenge the IBF champion. Despite going into the contest as a slight 7/5 underdog against the menacing James Toney, Jones picked Toney as the best opponent of his career.
“James Toney probably had the best defence of all of them. You couldn’t hit him flush; he was so elusive. The hip movement and the shoulder roll made it very difficult to land a clean shot.”
Despite Toney’s threat, it quickly became clear who would win once the bell rang at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Jones’ superiority was evident throughout as he boxed circles around the unbeaten champion, cruising to a wide points victory. Toney later blamed the performance on having to lose 30 pounds to make the 168lb limit, but the night belonged entirely to Jones.
Toney moved up to light-heavyweight in his next fight but tasted defeat once again — this time at the hands of Montell Griffin.
