Former four-division world champion Roy Jones Jr. says he would have beaten lightweight champions Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol if he had beaten them during his prime at 175.
Roy Jr. he says Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) would have been a tougher fight for him than Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) because of his mobility and boxing skills. But he says he would eventually reach Bivol as well and beat him. He feels he would have KO’d Bivol and Beterbiev.
Looking at Jones Jr’s best fights at 175, it’s hard to believe he would have been competitive against Beterbiev or Bivol, because he was a pot fighter with a very low work rate. Jones Jr. (66-10, 47 KOs) only landed one punch during his career, and had a style similar to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Roy was a good fighter, but this potshot style wouldn’t have worked against Bivol or Beterbiev because they would have outmatched him. Jones Jr. he had no internal fighting skills and was mainly trying to hold on.
Beterbiev’s inside game would have been a nightmare for Jones, who would have been forced to take heavy shots in close. He didn’t have the chin to take the kind of punches Beterbiev would have hit him.
Eventually, Jones Jr’s career took off when he fought puncher Antonio Tarver and was repeatedly knocked down from that point on.
Jones Jr. was taken the distance against these fighters at 175: Reggie Johnson, Mike McCallum, Lou Del Valle, David Telesco, Erik Harding and Julio Cesar Gonzalez.
“Bivol, because of his boxing skills and his feet, would have been a difficult task. He is not as easy to catch as people think because of his mobility and his legs,” said Roy Jones Jr. talkSport Boxing when asked how he would have done if he had fought Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol during his career.
Roy was a good fighter for his era, but the sport has evolved, and the fighters are much better now than when he was fighting. If you had a time machine to bring guys like Montell Griffin, Mike McCallum and Antonio Tarver to this era, they would be no match for Beterbiev, Bivol and David Benavidez.
“Artur, because of all the punching power he has, he’s one of the hardest punchers the division has ever seen. You can’t let him hit you with punches because he’s a different kind of puncher,” he continued Jones Jr.
Beterbiev would have forced Jones Jr. against the ropes and knocked him down. Watching Roy’s fights against McCallum and Griffin during his prime at 175, he was backed up to the ropes often. He took a lot of big shots from those fighters. His only defense to hit. That won’t work against Beterbiev because he won’t let Jones Jr.
“I think I would have gotten him faster than I got Bivol, but it would have been a problem in another way. I would have gotten Artur a little faster than I got Dmitry,” Jones said.
It would have been interesting to see how Roy Jr. he would have gone against Bivol and Beterbiev, but it does not seem likely that he would have done well. His low punch output, poor inside skills and weak chin made him vulnerable against either of them if they fought.
“No way, but it would have lasted a long time,” Jones said when asked if Bivol would have outsmarted him. “I would have reached him too, but it would have taken a little longer. Artur would have arrived right at my door earlier.
