A four weight world champion and the pound for pound king of boxing in the 1990s, few would argue that Roy Jones Jr is one of the greatest fighters of all time.
However, the Florida native left himself out of the equation when asked to reel off who he believes are the four best boxers in the history of the sport.
In a recent feature with RealLyfe, ‘Captain Hook’ named Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, Roberto Duran and Mike Tyson as his personal pugilistic “Mount Rushmore”
“It’s real hard to say, but if I had to pick my own Mount Rushmore. I’d put Ali first. I’ll take myself out because I’m the one doing it.”
“I’d put Sugar Ray Robinson second. I’ll probably put Roberto Duran third, he beat Julio Cesar Chavez and Salvador Sanchez so he’s got to be three.”
“I’ll probably put Mike Tyson somewhere around number four.”
Though Jones’ inclusion of Tyson might raise eyebrows to some, it might be swayed by the fact he shared eight rounds with ‘Iron Mike‘ – albeit in an exhibition contest – back in 2020.
Ali, Robinson and Duran are staples in such lists and as such their inclusion should come as no surprise.
Despite the weight classes that separate them, all three have one thing in common: deep resumes that include fights against all the other best fighters of their era.
For all the advances boxing has made since then, this is one area where fans, pundits and even fighters themselves would agree that the sport has seriously regressed in.