Roy Jones Jr is heralded as an all time great due to his enthralling fight style, knockout power and willingness to take on all comers, but he believes that there is one current fighter who reminds him of himself.
Jones became the first fighter in 106 years to win both a middleweight and heavyweight world title, joining Bob Fitzsimmons in an extremely elite and exclusive club in boxing history by defeating John Ruiz to claim the WBA heavyweight crown.
Although, despite that astonishing achievement in 2003, it is Jones’ prior fights that are often more appreciated, recognised as one of the most accomplished fighters in boxing history when campaigning at super-middleweight and light-heavyweight.
These days, it is unlikely that a middleweight will ever achieve world honours as a heavyweight, but in terms of his fight style, Jones told Sean Zittel that Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis reminds him of himself ‘a lot’, when discussing a potential showdown with Xander Zayas.
“I see Jaron as a guy that knows what he is doing and knows how to fight, he has talent too but he knows how to use his talent. Therefore, there is nothing [for Zayas] to break down and I think we will find that out in this next fight.
“[He reminds me of myself] a lot. He has got so many things that he can do, he knows how to change things up on the spot. When you can adapt and change up on the spot, that is what you don’t find in many fighters nowadays.”
Ennis has enjoyed an almost perfect start to his career, remaining undefeated in 36 fights, 31 of which ended by knockout. The 28-year-old is a former welterweight champion and is now aiming to capture world honours at 154 lbs.
