With all due respect to
Terence Crawford and
Naoya Inoue,
Oleksandr Usyk is viewed as the consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Back-to-back victories over Tyson Fury and his recent
fifth-round KO win against Daniel Dubois solidified his case, with the Ukrainian becoming a three-time undisputed champion.
Being on top of the pound-for-pound mountain is a summit not many have reached.
Roy Jones Jr., however, knows what it looks like.
During his heyday, the Hall of Famer made it look easy as he sliced and diced his way through the competition. Of course, Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) came along roughly a decade past Jones' best.
He has studied Usyk. When asked if he could solve the bemusing puzzle he presents in the ring, Jones gave a confident answer.
“I would have found a way to beat him, that’s just who I was,” Jones said to Ade Oladipo of DAZN. “I was not losing to nobody in my prime. I would have a way to beat him.”
After violently stopping Dubois on July 19 at Wembley Stadium, Usyk's list of viable opponents is shrinking. Jones, 56, isn’t eyeing a comeback. Although he last made an appearance in 2023, against Anthony Pettis, losing a majority decision, he hasn’t been his pound-for-pound self in nearly 20 years.
His career is littered with countless big-time wins and titles. But he achieved legendary status following his heavyweight title win over John Ruiz in 2003. If Jones could, he would love to jump into a time machine and square off with Usyk.
Instead, Jones will continue to sit back and watch. As for the current crop of contenders looking to pick his brain to figure out a way to beat Usyk, Jones will keep his lips zipped in that regard.
“I kind of know what I would’ve done, but I’m not gonna explain that because that’s for them to figure out.”