A long-time rival of Roy Jones Jr. has backed the iconic star’s career when matched against emerging enemy, Floyd Mayweather, due to one key factor.
Jones Jr. a former super middleweight champion all the way to heavyweight, enjoyed a roughshod run through contenders at the prior limit, leading him to one of the greatest careers in modern boxing history.
For Mayweather, the Michigan pugilist went unbeaten, boasting a 50-0 record by the time his 2017 retirement rolled around.
But with the duo flapping gums at each other on social media, Jones Jr. has seen his career cast into the limelight when compared to Mayweather.
Antonio Tarver claims Roy Jones Jr. may edge Floyd Mayweather for overall career
A three-fight rival of Floridian favorite Jones Jr., former light heavyweight star Antonio Tarver, was the first fighter to legitimately beat Jones Jr. in the ring.
Turning in a shocking knockout win in their 2004 rematch, Tarver claims that when it comes down to résumés — Jones Jr’s. unbeatable factor when compared with the smaller Mayweather, may get him the nod when comparing both directly.
“When you look back on their (Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather’s) career, it’s competitive,” Tarver told Seconds Out. “It’s competitive. I would say this — and I love Floyd, he’s undefeated. He did it his way.
“But I don’t think at any time in his career, he was viewed as unbeatable,” Tarver continued. “He beat everybody. But I don’t know if he was viewed as unbeatable.
“Roy Jones (Jr.); he was unbeatable until he met me. Until he met me, he was unbeatable, bro. That’s how they looked at it.
And amid goading from Mayweather at his career losses — including his defeat to Tarver, Jones Jr. has made quite the offer to the outspoken icon.
Roy Jones Jr. challenges Floyd Mayweather to professional fight
Seeing footage of him suffering knockout losses littered across Mayweather’s social media in recent weeks, Jones Jr. — understandably — did not take kindly to the Grand Rapids star’s goading.
So much so that he’s now ruled out a rumored exhibition match, instead challenging Mayweather to lace up gloves in a professional fight.
“There ain’t gonna be no exhibition [fight],” Jones told Seconds Out. “We both fight for real. What are we gonna play for? We need to make it real.”
Retiring eight years ago, Mayweather recently fuelled rumors of a spectacular return to the ring in the form of a rematch fight with incoming WBC title challenger, Manny Pacquiao.