by Jim "Boxadamus" De Pierro

28.03 - I was recently asked in an e-mail by a boxing fan from Australia two questions. One was of what I thought of Roy Jones power as a heavyweight as he displayed in his fight with John Ruiz. The simple answer to that is that I think his power at heavyweight is roughly what it is at light heavyweight. I hate quoting Sean O'Grady as all his sayings are so cliche but in Jones case it is especially true, "speed is power". I thought Ruiz was clearly stung by some of those hooks that he took when he tried to close the distance on Jones which explained his reluctance to try and mix it up more wih Jones as the fight wore on.

I had stated in my previous column that I thought Jones punching power would be somewhere between Byrd and Holyfield and after watching the Ruiz fight I think I am correct. In the comments section on my last column on Jones-Ruiz Matt thought my assesment of Jones being a bigger puncher than Byrd laughable. Matt's basic argument was that Jones had never displayed much power as a light heavyweight. I guess breaking Virgil Hills ribs and making Montel Griffin stumble around the ring like a drunken sailor in round one isn't evidence of punching power in Matt's eyes. I don't consider Evander Holyfield much of a puncher either so me placing Jones below Holyfield but higher than Byrd isn't a ringing endorsement of Jones as a HW puncher. But to say that Jones doesn't hit as hard as Chris Byrd is beyond bizzare. Byrd has never put a credible opponent down for the 10 count. Byrd's KO's tend to come as a result of unanswered punches with the ref stopping the fight. I cannot think of a single instance where Byrd has even knocked down an opponent as the result of a single punch. I doubt that Byrd even as a full fledged heavyweight could stop Montel Griffin inside the distance. Byrd would certainly beat Griffin but stop him not likely.

The second question was we how he would do against other heavyweight contenders namely Chris Byrd, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson. Well Chris, I will one up you and give a brief prediction/breakdown of how I think Jones would do in a hypothetical fight against what I consider the top 20 most accomplished heavyweights today later in my column. First up will be my predictions for the upcoming Hopkins-Hakkar card this Saturday night.

Derrick Jefferson 26-3-1 (20 KOs) vs. Sergei Lyakovich 17-1 (11 KOs)

(non-televised fight, undercard of Hopkins-Hakkar)

Normally I wouldn't bother typing up a prediction of a fight of such little importance but being that Derrick Jefferson is one of my favorite fighters I just couldn't pass up offering a prediction on this fight. Those fools at Olympic Sports betting actually had Jefferson initially posted as an underdog going into this fight. The odds have since righted themselves somewhat as Jefferson is now last I checked about -150 to win the fight. Oh well, a fool and his money are soon parted and if Lyakovich wins this then I guess I'm a fool who will be $5 poorer but I think Lyakovich will be lucky if he doesn't leave the ring carried out on a stretcher. Somebody should tell Lyakovich it is not against the rules to block incoming punches because his defense had more wholes in it than swiss cheese. This fight IMO is not a matter of if but only when. I expect Jefferson to pound out a victory over Lyakovich inside of five rounds.

Derrick Jefferson TKO 5 over Sergei Lyakovich

David Tua 42-3 (37 KOs) vs. Hasim Rahman 35-4 (29 KOs)

(HBO undercard fight)

I think many boxing fans, myself included, are looking forward to this re-match more than the main event. This is really a tough fight for me to predict and I don't predict the outcome of this fight with any degree of certainty but I am going with the Rock to avenge his first defeat in this one. For me this fight is really one of those fights where I feel Rahman has about 51% chance of winning. If Rahman could fight as well as he could talk he would knock David Tua out in the first round. Rahman has been very vocal in the months and weeks leading up to this fight saying that he is going to do what nobodyelse has done before and knock what he calls "the fat midget" out. I have heard Rahman state in interviews that he sees the way to KO Tua. Maybe he does and Rahman is far more intelligent than I have given him credit for but more than likely Rahman either overconfident or just running his mouth. If its overconfidence, Rahman is going to be in trouble if he stands in the trenches and trades with Tua.

I have generally felt that Rahman and most of Tua's past opponents like Maskaev, Izon and Oquendo would beat Tua if they were granted an immediate re-match. Tua is a real oddity in that he probably loses about 70% of the rounds he fights but with the exception of Byrd, Lewis and Ibeabuchi he has always emerged victorious.

I had been feeling fairly confident Rahman was going to win this fight but when news of Bouie Fisher and Rahman parting ways three weeks before he was to fight Tua I began to have second thoughts that Rahman wasn't completley focused on his upcoming fight with Tua in much the same way their was a breakdown in Rahman's camp in his re-match with Lennox Lewis.

As of a few days ago I was going to pick Tua but I just can't get over the fact that I think Rahman would have beaten Tua in the first fight if it wasn't for the incompetence of the referee. Not only should Rahman have been given time extra time for the late punch Tua landed after the bell but I don't even think the stoppage was just. When the referee stopped the fight almost all of Tua's punches were either missing or being blocked. Rahman in his fight with Corrie Sanders has shown that he can climb off the canvas and rally his way to victory. The referee in this fight is going to be a big factor but I feel that as long as the ref doesn't jump the gun at the first slightest signs of trouble Rahman should be able to do what he was doing in the first fight. I don't know the specific rules of this boutt but if their is a standing eight count I think that is likely to work in Rahman's favor. Ever since the Rahman fight Tua really seems to have regressed as a fighter. He has managed to get some impressive wins along the way with victories over former heavyweight champion Michael Moorer and Fres Oquendo but it just seems to me that Tua just gets fatter and more one dimensional with every fight. I thinkTua is at his best when he is around 230 lbs.

For Rahman this is truly a crossroads fight for him and a third consecutive defeat might very well spell the end for him ever getting a chance to fight again for the heavyweight championship. Even though Rahman has lost his last two fights I am thinking he may have learned a thing or two as a result of those defeats. I expect Rahman to be in top form for this fight.

I expect Rahman will take the early rounds with relative ease by keeping Tua at the end of his jab. Rahman is pretty egotistical and probably really does believe that he can stop Tua in his tracks. This where I think Rahman may run into trouble and possibly lose the fight if he starts thinking he can trade with Tua. I am hoping that Rahman can show the same warriors heart that he displayed when he was down and almost out against Corrie Sanders and be able to rally and take the victory. I don't foresee Rahman stopping Tua but his best chance of hurting Tua would be to forget about head shots and concentrate on the body. My prediction is that Rahman will win on points by a margin of one to four points on all three judges scorecards.

Hasim Rahman UD over David Tua

Bernard Hopkins 41-2-1 (30 KOs) vs. Morrade Hakkar 29-3 (18 KOs)

This one is a no brainer. Lets see Bernard Hopkins versus some obscure French fighter? Jeez, a French fighter that is an oxymoron if I ever heard one. In the states at least the French fairly or unfairly, depending on your point of view are quickly getting a reputation as a bunch of peace loving, pacifistic wimps. Morrade Hakkar is going to do nothing but reinforce that stereotype. I expect Hakkar is going to have a very confused look on his face when he starts hearing the crowd chant "merci" thinking they mean thank you while he is getting pounded. In reality they are going to be saying mercy. Unfortunately for Hakkar, the executioner spares no mercy. Hakkar might as well place his head in a guillotine and get it over with.

Bernard Hopkins TKO 3 over Morrade Hakkar

Now for the million dollar question. Can Jones beat the heavyweights? Namely the top 20 heavyweights as I see them. Rankings are always a tricky question and subject to much debate and disagreement as my friend Steve Trellert knows all to well. My rankings are based on accomplishment, not on who I think can beat who. If any of these potential heavyweight fights involving Roy Jones were to actually materialize I probably would adjust and possibly change my prediction but as it stands today in a complete hypothetical match up here is my view of how a Roy Jones Jr. fight would go against the following contenders.

20. Oliver McCall - Jones would win this one easy. Oliver is to old at this point and really never was the caliber of fighter that Jones was. In his prime McCall might have had a 20%-25% of beating Jones. Today if that fight occured McCall would have almost no chance to win.

19. Lawrence Clay-Bay - I have always felt that Clay-Bay has never realized his full potential and is consistantly underatted. Clay-Bay IMO has a tendency to fight down to his level of competition. Jones however is on another level and would win on points. Clay-Bay just doesn't have the experience or ability to beat Jones. Jones would win on points.

18. Clifford Ettiene - OK so he didn't knock out Mike Tyson in the 6th round. Here is one heavyweight I think Jones could KO. He wouldn't do it 49 seconds but Cliff is a straight ahead one dimensional fighter. He would eventually walk into something and Jones punches would take their toll. Jones by mid round KO.

17. Juan Carlos Gomez - No opinion. I have never seen Gomez fight but anyone who is 6' 4" with a long reach could pose some problems for Jones. Still I have to go with what I know and say Jones would probably win somehow.

16. Lance Whitaker - Jones would make Goofi look, well goofy. Whitaker wouldn't know what hit him. I think Jones might even get a TKO victory because the ref would stop the fight because it would be so uncompetitive. Lance Whitaker is one of the most overatted vulnerable heavyweights in the game today.

15. Michael Moorer - Hmm, now thats an interesting match up. Against someone who is not a huge puncher Moorer is a significant threat against anyone. Roy has faced a lot of left handers in his career so I don't think Moorer's southpaw stance would pose any problems. A very focused and prime Michael Moorer would give Jones problems but who know how much Moorer has left any more. I say Jones would KO him but I would give Moorer about a one in three chance of proving me wrong at this point.

14. Michael Grant - To close to call. If Grant could land flush on Jones he would pulverize him but Grant is very green and I think Jones would take advantage of that. This fight could easily be a David vs. Goliath type of match up with David slaying the much larger Goliath.

13. Davaryl Williamson - Davaryl has a great right hand that could spell lights out for Jones if he could ever catch Jones with it but I don't think he could catch Jones. I kind of feel like some of the luster really came off of Williamson in his last fight with Wiggans in which he looked badly hurt at several points in that fight. If Jones were in the ring with Williamson on the night he fought Wiggans, Williamson would have been stopped.

12. Jameel McCline - McCline, despite his size really doesn't have much power for a heavyweight. McCline tends to fight scared. I don't know if Jones would intimidate McCline but even if he didn't I think Jones would cruise to an easy points victory.

11. Vitali Klitschko - Well if Byrd could do it then why not Jones but barring some fluke occurence I think Vitali Klitschko would manage to win this despite looking foolishly incompetent at times. Vitali Klitschko by a close decision.

10. Kirk Johnson - Has really good handspeed and is IMO one of the worst matchups for RJJ as a heavyweight. Jones is better in a p4p sense but I think Johnson has enough handspeed to at at least hold his own with Jones. Styles make fights and Johnson would catch Jones eventually in what would be a close fight while it lasted IMO. Johnson by KO.

9. Fres Oquendo - It would be a technical fight but Jones would outwork, outsmart and outhustle Oquendo for 10 or 12 rounds. Oquendo wouldn't be dominated every minute of every round like most of RJJ opponents but he would still lose. Jones by a comfortable UD.

8. Mike Tyson - My head says Jones, my heart says Jones but my gut feeling is somehow Tyson would get lucky. I think Jones values his mortality to much. On a pure boxing level Jones should win but if Tyson could get into Jones head in the pre-fight buildup and have Jones scared going into the ring that would be Tyson's best chance of winning. Roy Jones is a little to smart for his own good. Jones would never admit it but I think he would be unnerved getting into the ring with someone who might try to break his arm or bite his ears. This is one those rare cases where I think being crazy might actually work to Tyson's advantage. If Jones isn't scared of Tyson and he might not be then he would beat Tyson easily. Tyson with a come from behind KO in a fight that he would be losing badly up to that point.

7. John Ruiz - LOL, I think I will skip this one as the answer is obvious.

6. Wladimir Klitschko - I said in my last column that of all the current heavyweight contenders that Wlad Klitschko is the only one that Jones wouldn't have a realistic chance of beating. Well I have changed my mind or should I say Corrie Sanders changed my mind. I still think Wladimir Klitschko would more likely than not beat Jones but before Sanders I would have been about 90% certain that Wlad would win. Right now I am about 65% certain that Wlad would beat Jones.

5. Corrie Sanders - I think Sanders is a flash in the pan. He will fall to Earth soon enough and I expect he is going to lose in his next fight or the fight after that and be exposed for what he is which is a mediocre heavyweight with a dangerous straight left. Sanders beat Klitschko fair and square but just because you can beat Klitschko doesn't mean you can beat everyone that Wlad has beaten. I think Sanders is only dangerous early on and Wlad was caught cold. Jones wouldn't make that mistake and beat Sanders with surprising ease IMO.

4. Hasim Rahman - Thats a tough call. I am going to be a wuss and play both sides of the fence and say that fight ends in a draw. I will have a better idea this weekend of how that fight will go down. Rahman can box some and is hell of a lot stronger than Jones but Jones is a lot smarter than the Rock not to mention faster.

3. Evander Holyfield - I actually would rank Jones number 3 but obviously Jones can't fight himself. Evander is to old and geriatric to beat Jones at this point. Holyfield is a tough fighter but he is not anymore of a puncher than John Ruiz. Jones, at least to my satisfaction has shown that he can take a heavyweight punch from the likes of Holyfield. Jones would win this fight by wide UD maybe even TKO if he hit Holyfield enough that his eyes would start swelling.

2. David Tua - Tua would have to catch lightning in a bottle to win this fight. The Tuaman would walk out of the ring frustrated after trying to chase RJJ for the entire fight only to lose in a complete shut out.

1. Chris Byrd - This match up would be a boxing purists dream. I have to give the slight edge to Jones just because he is faster and stronger than Byrd IMO. I say Jones would win a split decision but a Byrd-Jones fight could go either way. If anyone could outbox Roy Jones it would be Chris Byrd.

Champ. Lennox Lewis - Call me a sadist but this is the fight I want to see. Lewis should win just by virtue of his size, reach and his formidable jab. Still Lewis has been inactive for nine months now and he is not getting any younger. I fully believe that Jones on his best day could beat Lewis on his worst day. The most likely outcome of this fight IMO is Lewis would win by UD about 8 rounds to 4.

* * * Bonus Prediction * * *

Corrie Sanders will not fight Lamone Brewster for the WBO title even if it means being stripped.

Agree? Disagree? Think I'm full of it? E-mail me at boxadamus@surfglobal.net or post a comment and tell me what you think.