Roy Jones Jr. vs. Thomas Hearns/Roberto Duran at 154-160

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Roy isn't fighting anybody at 154lbs. At 160, he would outspeed Duran with movement in a near shut out stinker and I'm betting he catches Tommy at some point after being down on the cards.

[gilgamesh]

Roy isn't fighting anybody at 154lbs. At 160, he would outspeed Duran with movement in a near shut out stinker and I'm betting he catches Tommy at some point after being down on the cards.

My Thoughts exactly, not sure if he'd be behind or not against Tommy but it'd be close. Duran would be doing well to stay in there the whole distance against Jones, but I agree it'd be all Jones.

[jezzamundo]

Jones fought at 154lb a few times, but never against top opponents, so I think this weight is fairly irrelevant. Regardless, Jones beats Duran at either weight by a very wide decision or late stoppage.

At middleweight vs Hearns, I think we have a very interesting fight which could go either way. If it goes to the scorecards, my money is on Hearns for his greater activity, but either fighter could knock the other out. Ultimately I have to give it to Jones by late stoppage, whereas Hearns would have the edge at 154lb.

[Syntax Error]

Roberto Duran: At these weights, he gets nowhere near Roy Jones Jr. He loses an embarrassingly lopsided decision.

Thomas Hearns: Tommy opens up a lead with his piston like jab, but I can envisage his stamina depleting due to the fact that he'd missed a number of big Right hands during the contest & Jones Jr would use his counter punching & his equally blistering handspeed to wear Hearns down & stop him in about 10 rounds or so.

[Idisagree]

I don't know why Barry insist on Jones fighting Duran at 154, that fight would have never happened. At 160 Roy destroys Duran and stops him late or wins wide UD.

vs Hearns I think Hearns KO Jones. If Jones get hit with the same kind of punches that Hagler got hit its lights out for Jones. Granted Jones had great reflexes and was very fast, but Hearns power was the equalizer and Hearns was a pretty good boxer too. Don't under-rate his boxing skills. My pick is Hearns by KO.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Hearns was a superior boxer to Roy, Jones would have to be the aggressor to win. He couldn't outbox Tommy on his best day.

[gregor]

Hearns was a superior boxer to Roy, Jones would have to be the aggressor to win. He couldn't outbox Tommy on his best day.

That is also what I think. While RJJ has decent chance to KO Hearns, outboxing him is quite different thing. Hearns fought the best of his era, and no one outboxed him (in his prime).

[dempseyfire]

Roy beats Duran easy at 160.

Vs Hearns, I can see this going either way. Hearns could get stopped early or he could take Roy out. One big thing Hearns has going for him here (as it did in every fight) is his ranginess and most importantly vs Jones, handspeed. Forced to pick I give Jones a slight edge.

[Diamond WEAPON]

Jones stops them both. He just has so much Christian faith that to go against him is to go against the laws of the universe, just impossible.

[Goodnight, Irene]

Jones stops them both. He just has so much Christian faith that to go against him is to go against the laws of the universe, just impossible.

Pernell beats them all

[Diamond WEAPON]

Jones stops them both. He just has so much Christian faith that to go against him is to go against the laws of the universe, just impossible.

Pernell beats them all

Only if he ducks Manny "Lord of Lords, and King of Kings" Pacquiao, who I heard destroyed the entire Sinaloa drug cartel with one Manila Ice.

[Diamond WEAPON]

Vs. Duran Jones plays hit & run with ease and wins an easy wide decision over a bloodied Duran

Vs. Hearns he tastes Tommy's power early and decides to try to play it safe by using short bursts of attacking and moving. Hearns catches him a few times and rocks him but Jones is able to fight/evade through it and return the favor to Hearns later in the fight, winning a very close decision.

[Ezzard]

Jones beats Duran easily.

Hearns KOs Jones in the early to mid-rounds. He has all the gifts Jones has plus more skill.

There is no way Jones is going to eat the right hands Leonard and Hagler had to keep down in order to beat Tommy.

Jones will never have been hit so hard or so often.

[Jaywheel]

There is no way Jones is going to eat the right hands Leonard and Hagler had to keep down in order to beat Tommy.

x2

[IRLangmaid25]

At 160lbs Roy Jones would utterly break Roberto Duran mentally and physically the same way Sugar Ray Leonard broke Duran in their 2nd fight. Jones would be constantly moving and just nailing Duran with his jab and right cross and I could see Jones stopping a broken and disheartened Duran down the home stretch who would be way behind on the cards and trying to get the knockout walks on to a RJJ left hook the jaw which sends him to the canvas. As for against Tommy Hearns, Jones is forced to counter punch due Hearn's longer reach and goes to the body to slow Hearns' down and drags him into a brawl where Hearns' is unable to use his reach fully and Hearns' freeezes after RJJ nails with a right hook to the body similar to the one he flattened Virgil Hill before a left upper cut puts Hearns on the floor.

[Goodnight, Irene]

At 160lbs Roy Jones would utterly break Roberto Duran mentally and physically the same way Sugar Ray Leonard broke Duran in their 2nd fight. Jones would be constantly moving and just nailing Duran with his jab and right cross and I could see Jones stopping a broken and disheartened Duran down the home stretch who would be way behind on the cards and trying to get the knockout walks on to a RJJ left hook the jaw which sends him to the canvas. As for against Tommy Hearns, Jones is forced to counter punch due Hearn's longer reach and goes to the body to slow Hearns' down and drags him into a brawl where Hearns' is unable to use his reach fully and Hearns' freeezes after RJJ nails with a right hook to the body similar to the one he flattened Virgil Hill before a left upper cut puts Hearns on the floor.

Jones lures Hearns into a brawl, where he beats him!?

[I Feel Fine]

The young Jones was (obviously) very flashy at 154. But its pretty risky to pick him there, given the lack of experience and the fact that he was fighting stiffs at that weight. At the very least I'll say that young 154 lbs Roy beats the unmotivated Duran who lost to Laing; not much of a risk in that pick.

Anyway, I pick him to beat Duran at 160. I think he beats Hearns at 160, though I wouldn't be stunned if Tommy pulled out a close decision. Hearns with that jab was pretty good against mobile boxers but he would have to watch out for that left hook or he'd go to sleep.

[NazNaci1]

There is no way Jones is going to eat the right hands Leonard and Hagler had to keep down in order to beat Tommy.

x2

x3

[I Feel Fine]

Hagler is irrelevant; Roy isn't going to try to steamroll Tommy and won't take as many punches as Marvin did. And while SRL is a better boxer than Roy and indeed had a better chin, Roy is a bigger man with a bigger punch. Leonard had to land many punches over the course of many rounds to stop Tommy; the difference in power will make it a shorter fight if Roy lands the big one on Hearns.

But, as I said, it wouldn't surprise me if Tommy pulled out a decision and it is of course true that Jones would have to avoid some bombs himself. I think Jones is a slight favorite but, again, no result really surprises me here.

[Ezzard]

The only advantage Jones has is foot speed, other than that Hearns is better at everything.

Hearns is much, much more liklely to land a KO shot than Roy is.

[I Feel Fine]

Hearns was a better fighter, but his best weights were south of 160. At 160 he was rocked by the likes of Roldan and Barkley, who were slower than Roy. You're telling me Iran Barkley was a better counter puncher than Jones in his prime? And Jones was pretty hard to hit, certainly harder to get to than Hearns was. Jones was stronger and I would say faster than Tommy; Leonard was able to get to Hearns' chin and hurt him, and if Roy hits him with similar shots (which he will) Tommy's chin won't hold up as long as it did with Leonard because Roy hits harder than Ray.

I lean towards Jones, and while I think his jab makes it a tough fight and while I certainly don't rule out him stopping Roy, I don't see it as being easy for the Hitman if he does win. As I said, I don't make either fighter a big favorite, I think Hearns would be a big challenge for Roy, more so than a relatively green Hopkins or a drained Toney. I see it as something of a toss up, but I lean towards Jones.

And I won't mention Virgil Hill for obvious reasons, but suffice it to say that Hearns wasn't better at "everything." Better, but not at everything.

[Ezzard]

Jones was bigger, but he didn't have Leonard's chin. Jones' chin will not hold up for 15 rounds. It won't hold up for 10.

Hearns was more skilled and more accurate. He will hit Jones early on and Jones either topples over or decides he's going to go the distance.

Yes, Roy has a chance.

[Idisagree]

Hearns was a better fighter, but his best weights were south of 160. At 160 he was rocked by the likes of Roldan and Barkley, who were slower than Roy. You're telling me Iran Barkley was a better counter puncher than Jones in his prime? And Jones was pretty hard to hit, certainly harder to get to than Hearns was. Jones was stronger and I would say faster than Tommy; Leonard was able to get to Hearns' chin and hurt him, and if Roy hits him with similar shots (which he will) Tommy's chin won't hold up as long as it did with Leonard because Roy hits harder than Ray.

I lean towards Jones, and while I think his jab makes it a tough fight and while I certainly don't rule out him stopping Roy, I don't see it as being easy for the Hitman if he does win. As I said, I don't make either fighter a big favorite, I think Hearns would be a big challenge for Roy, more so than a relatively green Hopkins or a drained Toney. I see it as something of a toss up, but I lean towards Jones.

And I won't mention Virgil Hill for obvious reasons, but suffice it to say that Hearns wasn't better at "everything." Better, but not at everything.

That is the key point. You seriously think that Jones chin is going to be able to take Hearns shots in order for him to hit Hearns? Hagler and Leonard took huge shots from Hearns, do you think Jones could withstand that? Jones would not outbox Hearns who was an equally capable boxer. We are not talking about an average puncher here. We are talking about an elite puncher here in Hearns and I don’t see Roy being able to take Hearns power shots. The more likely scenario is Hearns by KO or TKO, or if it goes the decision then Hearns takes it too. Roy would have been on survive mode most of the fight.

[elmersalsa]

Jones vs Duran at 154 or 160lbs: Jones wins by decision. Duran was not the same guy after the "No Mas". Duran is fighting 20 pounds over his best weight and is about 2 or 3 years out of his prime. While Jones never fought somebody as good at 154lbs, still, he had the speed and the reflexes, and the movement. Duran north of welterweight did not had no movement. Was in his 30s, his reflexes were not the same, and got slower while going up in weight. At 160lbs, the fight would be worse for Duran....All said and done. Jones wins these 2 fights by UD.

Now Jones vs Hearns would be more competitive, especially at middleweight because none of the two had the best of chins. At 154lbs, I don't think that Jones would beat this monster. Hearns was at his best weight by far and in his prime. I see Hearns stopping Jones in 8 rounds or less. At 160lbs, I still pick Hearns. Why? Because Jones would be intimidated by Tommy's height. This fight would be another version of Hearns vs Benitez, but much faster. Jones would be in very SAFETY FIRST FIGHTING APPROACH because he will not be fighting to win, but, fighting to survive so that he does not get KO'd.

To beat Hearns, you gotta be very aggressive like the greats Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard and the underdog Iran Barkley did. Jones was not that type of boxer to risk for a nocaut. He won't outspeed nor outbox Hearns, so he will play it safe. Not aggressive enough.

[crusader]

The only advantage Jones has is foot speed, other than that Hearns is better at everything.

Hearns is much, much more liklely to land a KO shot than Roy is.

Hearns did not have faster hands.