Who will history judge as the greater fighter - Roy Jones or James Toney?

Question

In 1994, Roy Jones, a 3 -1 underdog, exploded onto the scene with his magnificent, one sided dismantling of then pound for pound king, James Toney.
For the next ten years, Jones was recognised as the best fighter on the planet as he steamrolled through three divisions; 168, 175 and culminating with his historic win over John Ruiz at heavyweight.

Toney, on the other hand, toiled in relative obscurity, as he lost his next fight after Jones, to Montell Griffin, also losing a rematch with Griffin and scoring another loss against unknown, Drake Thadzi.

Their respective places in boxing history seemed set.

Then Jones ran into Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson, and was the victim of two brutal KO's.
At just about the same time, Toney exploded back onto the scene with his scintillating win over Vassiliy Jirov for the IBF Cruiserweight title. He followed that with a destruction of a past his prime Holyfield, his own, later nullified, win over Ruiz for the WBA Heavyweight title.

He followed that up with a draw with Hasim Rachman for the WBC title and a disputed loss, at age 37, against a much bigger Samuel Peter.
Toney, at almost 40, is able to hang with the big boys, whilst Jones is back at 175, looking very shaky indeed.
When all is said and done, who will be recognised as the greater fighter, Jones or Toney?

Answer 1

Roy Jones

Answer 2

Kudos to you Brad for coming up with such a great, tough question. All the points you made are valid ponts. Both of these men will be considered all-time greats when their careers are over. But the one thing that most people will look at when judging their careers is that Jones beat Toney head to head. They are just about equal in accomplishments. Both were Middleweight champs, both were Super Middleweight champs, Jones won the Lightheavy title and Toney won the cruiserweight belt, and both beat Ruiz for the Heavyweight title(with Toney's being nullified as you stated). So i think one of the main reasons why people will rate Jones higher is that one head to head victory. And he beat Toney pretty easily also. But if Toney can some how get in good shape, get on a roll in the heavyweight division and beat these present champions and unify the title, then he may make some people change their minds. But time is running out for James so he'd better get going now and beat Peter in the rematch. As of right now, i'd have to say Jones will be considered the greater fighter.

Answer 3

I agree with Pancho completely, when comparing these two fighters they are both definitely hall of famers and their accomplishments do look pretty similar on paper although i would say Toney was the better Middleweight as he fought and beat Nunn and McCallum and was probably the best p4p after those wins. Even though Roy beat B-Hop at Middle, Roy became a great by ruling the Super-Middle and Light-Heavy divisions for 10 years that dont really have the strength in depth of the middleweight division which is why Jones dont get the respect he deserves, but you can only beat who they put in front of you and i cant remember him ducking people as such.
The one thing that comes to mind though when trying to split the two fighters was the one sided beating that Jones Jr handed Toney that night so i would have to say that Jones Jr is the better fighter head to head, i would also say that Toney was in his prime then so you couldnt make any excuse for that defeat.
I dont think Toney has got it in him to do anything at Heavy, i think time is running out fast for him he hasnt been in great condition for years, he was a little unlucky against Peter in the last fight but i think that was his last chance i cant see him winning the rematch.
So to sum up i would have to say that Jones Jr is and will be remembered as the greater fighter.

Answer 4

The greater fighter i think would go to James Toney because he is more tactical then Roy Jones would depends on his reflexes too much that is why i believe he losts those 3 fights in a row. The more accomplished one is Roy Jones hands down who dominated the Light Heavyweight division... a lot of people said he fought nobody, but he still beat the holders of those belts at those divisons. History will judge in my opinion as the better fighter as James Toney ,but the more accomplished as Roy Jones Jr.

Answer 5

It should Toney just based on the quality of opposition...The head to head match up shouldn't factor in when you look at their respective career opponents..Toney would fight anyone, anyplace, anytime (His 3 fights with Mike Mccallum were awesome!!) Jones jr. is a great fighter!! No doubt about it!! But not too many fighters get into to the record books as great when they play it safe as he did for his entire career.

Answer 6

Brad, you bring up valid points. But it's just so hard to overlook Jones Jr.'s brilliance. I think you would agree. Two fighters that I believe belong in the hall of fame once their careers are done. Toney was an excellent middleweight.

Answer 7

To Brad - Holyfield's career in be on ESPN Classic tonite at 8.

I will give you the short version. At Middle wt, I would rank Roy at #4 and Toney at #7.

Answer 8

Jones will be regarded by boxing aficionados as the better boxer and the most renowned fighter of the two. I believe Roy's legacy speaks for itself. Tomey just did not have the luster that Roy had.

Answer 9

Roy Jones, its disgusting to see James Toney with rolls of fat hanging over his boxing trunks. That in itself is enough to give my vote to Roy Jones Jr.

Answer 10

Unfortunately, Roy