FIGHT OF FANTASY: ROY JONES JR.
Could Jones’ elite speed and skill set keep Benavidez honest? Or would Benavidez’s pressure pay dividends in the second half of the fight, where he typically breaks down opponents?
like [Dmitry] Bivol and see if he can step up to another level. “[Against Jones,] he’d have to put pressure on – intelligent pressure. Don’t fall in, come forward, use your jab – try to back Roy up onto the ropes and let your punches go and not get caught with them fast punches. It’s a tricky one. I don’t think he could outbox Roy from the outside. [He’d need to use] controlled aggression. “I don’t think anyone can ever go against Roy Jones in his prime. I think points for Roy Jones. Benavidez might win a couple of rounds. If he got careless, he might get stopped. Possible knockdown and wide points margin or late stoppage for Roy Jones.” Prediction: Jones
smarts, IQ, timing, power and stronger in the light heavyweight division – everything in his favor. Jones has a better defense. Benavidez will take a punch to land one, and that’s not something that would work in his favor. Jones’ speed and power would hurt Benavidez. “I don’t see Benavidez winning a round. I see every round competitive because Benavidez thinks he can win and will bring out the best in Roy Jones Jr. “In an entertaining fight, while it lasts, I believe that Jones would KO Benavidez within eight rounds. And as fans, we’d hold nothing against Benavidez, who fought like a true warrior.” Prediction: Jones TKO 8 Bernard Fernandez Hall of Fame boxing writer “Picking a winner of a prime-on-prime light heavyweight fantasy bout between Roy Jones Jr. and David Benavidez is not a simple task, mostly because of a career-dividing line for Jones at 175 pounds that blurs the undeniable greatness he exhibited as a middleweight and super middleweight. “RJJ was as dominant, or very nearly so, at light heavy as he had been at 160 and 168 pounds, but one of his signature victories –
his only heavyweight bout, in which he came in at a bulked-up 193 and easily outboxed the 33-pounds- heavier John Ruiz, led to a precipitous decline when he opted to pare back down to 175. His first fight back at light heavyweight was a disputed majority decision over Antonio Tarver, followed by a three- bout losing streak with two defeats against Tarver sandwiched around a brutal knockout to Glen Johnson. “At his best, Jones was the closest thing to a young Muhammad Ali the sport had seen, in that he did a lot of things wrong, technically, but they turned out right because of his extraordinary physical tools. But Jones doggedly refused to make alterations to his style post-Ruiz, and the things he once did wrong but turned out right started coming out too often wrong. “Benavidez is another former super middleweight- turned-light heavyweight, and his place at or near atop the division is evident not only by his performance at the heavier weight but by Canelo Alvarez’s seeming aversion to sharing the ring with him. “If forced to choose, I’d pick the pre-Ruiz version of Jones over Benavidez, but my choice would be Benavidez over the post- Ruiz Jones.” Prediction: Jones Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at elraincoat@live.co.uk, and you can follow him on X @AnsonWainwr1ght.
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Joe Calzaghe Former Ring/unified super middleweight champion and Ring light heavyweight champion “The first time I watched Roy Jones was at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. I must have been about 16. I remember watching it when he got robbed. I remember watching him and thinking I’d never seen a boxer like this – his speed, how good he was – and following him. I remember when he beat James Toney, [who] was a great fighter, and [Jones] made that look quite comfortable. He was just an amazing one-off athlete in his peak – reflexes, speed, footwork. He could punch. “I have been impressed with Benavidez the more I’ve seen him. I watched him against Anthony Yarde. He’s powerful and fast; he’s a big, rangy guy with a good engine on him, Benavidez. He’s still improving. He’s potentially a great fighter. I don’t think he’s at his peak yet; [we’ll] see how much he can improve. I’d like to see him in a fight with someone
DAVID BENAVIDEZ By Anson Wainwright
T his would be a dramatic clash of styles and mentalities. Roy Jones’ otherworldly speed and athleticism set him apart from his rivals in his prime, even at light heavyweight where he didn’t have the advantage in size and power. David Benavidez is a relentless grinder who brings the action with intelligent pressure and dynamic volume punching. Jones was robbed of Olympic gold at Seoul 1988 when his Korean opponent was given the decision in the final. So outrageous was the result that Park Si-Hun gifted the medal to Jones in an emotional reunion in May 2023. As a professional, he won the vacant IBF middleweight title against Bernard Hopkins (UD 12) in May 1993, then dominated James Toney (UD 12) to win the IBF super middleweight championship 18 months later, earning praise as one of the best pound-for- pound fighters in the world. The native of Pensacola, Florida, was also dominant at light heavyweight, where he achieved undisputed champion status by June 1999. Jones bulked up to heavyweight and bossed John Ruiz (UD 12) to win the
WBA title in March 2003, but he may have made a mistake in dropping back down to 175 pounds, as weight issues played a part in his 12-round struggle with Antonio Tarver. Jones fought on, suffering back-to-back knockout losses to Tarver and Glen Johnson and never recapturing his elite form, but he had already left his mark on the sport. Benavidez first gained attention as a pudgy 15-year-old phenom who sparred with Gennadiy Golovkin and Kelly Pavlik. The Arizona native lost the baby fat and made his professional debut in Mexico at 16. After working his way up the ranks, he claimed the vacant WBC super middleweight belt against Ronald Gavril (SD 12) to become the youngest- ever 168-pound titleholder. Victories against Anthony Dirrell, David Lemieux, Caleb Plant and Demetrius Andrade followed. However, when he was unable to get the superfight with then-undisputed super middleweight champ Canelo Alvarez, he headed to light heavyweight and has continued to rack up impressive victories against Oleksandr Gvozdyk (UD 12), David Morrell (UD 12) and Anthony Yarde (TKO 7).
Rudy Hernandez World-class trainer “I like Benavidez and Jones. They’re both good, entertaining fighters and are winners. They perform and give the crowd what they want: KOs. Like my friend said, ‘Don’t leave it up to the judges, cause they’ll make you cry.’ “If they would’ve fought, I would lean in favor of Roy Jones Jr. Benavidez is a fighter – he fights – but the advantages would be with Jones. Faster, ring
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