Roy Jones Jr or Sugar Ray Leonard

Who was the better fighter prime for prime?

Personally I pick Jones

 

Leonard, and in time, this poll won't be close

 

jones was a beast. but leonard proved himself in his prime, jones wasted it so it's hard to tell.

 

A little more time to that, and the poll is close again

 

if we are talking about at middleweight, jones jr wouldve won decisively

 

I wonder what grade reading level looks at this topic and thinks, you know what I bet they were talking about at Middleweight.

 

This is tough for me, both guys were so f'n good.

 

Roy Jones may be the most gifted boxer I have ever watched. In his prime, there aren't many boxers I'd take over him.

However, I choose Leonard. SRL was a great boxer. Fast, Agile and the heart of a lion. SRL fought some of the greatest fighters boxing has seen and in most cases, came out on top.

Jones was awesome but his level of competition counts against him severely here. We never got to see prime Jones fight all the other top guys around him for various reasons. In some cases, it wasn't Roy's fault but that's irrelevant. We'll never know how good he might have been or conversely, if DM, McClellan or even Benn or Eubank could have beaten Jones.

This isn't a who beats who scenario, it's who is the better fighter. Based on the evidence we have, it has to be Leonard.

 

Leonard had a chin

 

Leonard would pick Jones:mj:

 

Leonard

 

Leonard was the greater fighter with the greater legacy.

But Jones wins.

 

Hard to tell.

Jones was seemingly incredible in his prime, but he didn't prove himself to the extent that Leonard did.

Leonard not only proved his ability, but he proved great heart/chin/toughness.

I prefer Jones to Leonard, but I pick Leonard.

 

I'm a big Roy fan..

but I think Sugar Ray "for me" is lb for lb better, and one of the very best of all time

 

Leonard.

While Jones Jr. was more gifted, he never faced a real opponent in his prime. Leonard fought everybody that was worth mentioning in his prime and beat them.

 

Leonard and it's not close. The 3rd or 4th best win in Roy's career was over Virgil Hill, a man a completely shot Tommy Hearns beat. I think if the two fought Roy wins, but who was the better fighter, Leonard by a country mile. He at least fought a high level of comp unlike Sir Ducksalot, Mr. I won't go overseas to fight the real champion, but will go to Australia to fight Danny Green.

 

Agree.

 

there are alot of RJJ groupies on here.

Roy never fought anyone half as good as Tommy Hearns at 147.

His wins over "elite" fighters are not tainted. But Toney and Hopkins are absolutely made to order for his style.

He is the most talented guy in history by a country mile, but a better fighter than Ray Leonard?...easy now.

 

rOY MIGHT NOT HAVE BEATEN TOMMY HEARNS.

 

Jones was the better athlete. Leonard was better is every single other respect and by far the better fighter overall.

 

Roy Wins Head-to-Head, but Sugar Ray ACCOMPLISHED MORE...Roy SHOULD'VE & COULD'VE Accomplished More, but DIDN'T...Therefore Sugar Ray MUST B Treated More Favorably, Historically Speaking...



REED:hammert:

 

Leonard was GREATER & ACCOMPLISHED a Great Deal More, but U're EXAGGERATING the Issue...Roy had BETTER Handspeed, was BETTER Defensively & Hit a TAD Harder...



REED:hammert:

 

Yeah but all those things were down to his athleticism. I meant in terms of actual boxing skills, Ray was better in every department.

 

Defense ISN'T a "Boxing Skill"???...It's DEBATEABLE who the Better Bodypuncher was as Well...

Roy Jones was MORE than just an "Athlete"...Zab Judah was an Athlete...Andre Dirrell is an Athlete...Roy Jones APPLIED his Athletic Ability to Boxing UNlike Any Other Fighter Ever...That CAN'T B Minimized....




REED:nono:

 

At his best, there isn't a fighter in history within his weight range I could say would be 100% certain to beat Roy Jones. Put it down to athleticism, skill, whatever, end of the day he was just ridiculously good. Such a shame he didn't make the most of it and test himself against all who were around at the time, one of the biggest tragedies in boxing imo.

Saying that, if we're talking about who goes down in history as better, then Leonard no doubt about it, because he did test himself continuously, think I misread the question, apologies.

 

Roy had better reflexes and slightly faster hands. That is all. His negative style made for solid defense, but he wasn't outwardly skilled at defense the way...say Floyd is. Power is arguably a wash, but the way Roy fought its very hard to assess his abilities. Without his reflexes he was a B fighter, as evidenced by what happened once his reflexes slowed just a bit.

 

Reflexes were PART & PARCEL of WHO Roy Jones was as a Fighter Though....So U CAN'T just Gloss that Over & Minimize it....w/out his FEROCITY, Duran is Probably a "B-Fighter" as Well...w/Out his Power, Manny Pac's a "B-Fighter" OR WORSE...

Moreso, who Gives a Shit HOW Roy Played Defense???...The FACT is, he Got Hit LESS than Ray Leonad Did, N their Respective Primes...




REED:hammert:

 

Name the best offensive fighter Roy fought in his prime.

 

What Purpose will that Serve???...



REED

 

::

I was actually wondering that myself. I mean when you have superior reflexes, and the only good fighters you ever face are counterpunchers, you're bound to have a solid D.

Whitaker has a good D, Floyd has a good D. By and large, I think Roy's defense is VERY overrated.