Roy Jones Jnr was a multi-weight champion, but he did much of his best work at light heavyweight.
Though Jones was unable to land the fight with his then-rival Dariusz Michalczewski, who held the WBO title, the Hall of Famer won and defended the remaining titles before moving up to heavyweight to dethrone WBA titleholder John Ruiz.
Today, two Russians lead the way at 175lbs in Dmitry Bivol, the undisputed champion, and Artur Beterbiev. They are 1-1 after two excellent fights that both ended in majority decisions but talk of a tie-breaking trilogy has quietened in recent weeks.
“Both of them are very good fighters, very good fighters,” Jones told BoxingScene. “Two of the elite right now in that division. Very good fighters in a very good weight class.”
Jones was never fully tested in his 175lbs prime. He was disqualified in his first fight with Montell Griffin, knocking him out when he took a knee in the ninth round, but then in the return starched Griffin in Round 1 to silence any doubters.
Jones, however, admits the Russian duo of Beterbiev and Bivol would have given him plenty to think about if he had come up against them.
“Yeah, they do,” said Jones. “Both of those guys do, just as Andre Ward does. They all give you something to think about, because when a guy gets to that level, it’s something special about him, or he wouldn’t be able to get to that level.”
