Former four-division world champion Roy Jones Jr. says he would have beaten light heavyweight champions Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol if he’d fought them during his prime at 175.
Roy Jr. 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 have eventually gotten to Bivol as well and beaten him. He feels he would have knocked out Bivol and Beterbiev.
Looking back at Jones Jr’s best fights at 175, it’s difficult to believe he would have been competitive against Beterbiev or Bivol because he was a potshot fighter with a very low work rate. Jones Jr. (66-10, 47 KOs) only threw single shots during his career, and he had a similar style 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 outworked him. Jones Jr. had no inside fighting ability and would mainly try and hold.
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 possess the chin to take the kind of punches that Beterbiev would have been hitting him with.
Eventually, Jones Jr’s career fell apart when he fought the puncher Antonio Tarver and was knocked out repeatedly 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’s not as easy to catch as people think he is because of his mobility and his legs,” said Roy Jones Jr. to talkSport Boxing when asked how he would have performed 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 a lot 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 shots because he’s a different type of puncher,” Jones Jr. continued.
Beterbiev would have forced Jones Jr. up against the ropes and knocked him out. In looking at Roy’s fights against McCallum and Griffin during his prime at 175, he was backed up to the ropes frequently. He took a lot of big shots from those fighters. His only defense to clinch. That wouldn’t work against Beterbiev because he wouldn’t let Jones Jr. hold.
“I think I would have gotten him quicker than I would have gotten Bivol, but he would have been a problem in another way. I would have gotten Artur a little quicker than I would have gotten Dmitry,” said Jones.
It would have been interesting to see how Roy Jr. would have gone against Bivol and Beterbiev, but it doesn’t seem likely that he would have done well. His low punch output, poor inside skills, and weak chin would have made him vulnerable against either guy if they had fought.
“No way, but he would have lasted a long time,” said Jones when asked if Bivol would have outsmarted him. “I would have gotten to him, too, but it would have taken a little bit more time. Artur would have come right into my front door.”
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