Roy Jones Jr, the former four-weight world boxing champion and Hall of Famer, has branded WBA champion Rolando Romero a “knock-off version” of Prince Naseem Hamed while weighing up how dangerous Romero could be if he lands early in a potential fight with Devin Haney.
Speaking to Fight Hub TV, in comments reported by Boxing News, Jones said the comparison was about Romero’s unusual timing and one-punch threat, not his résumé.
“I told people the same thing when he fought Ryan, I told guys that you got to look at it like this, Rolly is a lot lesser version, a knock-off version, of Prince Naseem Hamed,” Jones said.
“If he hits you, you’ll know that you have been hit because he has got unusual punching power. It’s a watered down version [of Hamed] but it isn’t as watered down as y’all think it is.”
The Haney angle
Jones’s remarks came while he was assessing whether Romero could make a Haney fight competitive. His answer was conditional: Romero’s best chance depends on catching the former undisputed lightweight champion cold.
“If he can catch Devin early or hurt Devin, it can become a 50/50 fight,” Jones said.
Jones was not predicting an upset, but pointed out that Romero’s awkwardness and power create a narrow but real window of danger, the same kind of window Hamed used to exploit throughout his career at featherweight.
Why Hamed remains the reference point
Prince Naseem Hamed, the former WBO featherweight champion, retired in 2002 but remains boxing’s go-to comparison whenever a current fighter mixes showmanship with unorthodox movement and concussive power. A Yahoo Sports feature described Hamed as one of the sport’s “greatest showmen,” crediting him with making the featherweight division must-see television through a blend of somersaults, taunting, and genuine dominance.
Hamed himself has been back in the public conversation recently. In a January 2026 interview with Sky Sports, he reflected on his career and his relationship with trainer Brendan Ingle, coinciding with the UK release of the film Giant.
Hamed is not just a name from the past; he is an active cultural reference in boxing. When Jones invokes him, the audience knows exactly what he means, and exactly what Romero falls short of.
Compliment and insult in one shot
Jones is dismissing Romero’s overall quality by calling him a reduced copy of the original while warning that Romero’s power is real enough to change a fight’s complexion if a technically superior opponent like Haney takes him lightly.
We also reported the same comments, corroborating the Fight Hub TV interview and placing the quote squarely in the context of a Romero-Haney matchup that remains a talking point rather than a confirmed booking.
Whether that fight materialises, Jones’s comparison has added a new layer to Romero’s public profile: a fighter who is easy to dismiss on paper but carries enough odd-angle danger to keep better opponents honest, at least for the early rounds.
