Roy Jones Jr was simply 11 years previous when the fighter he would later identify because the ‘greatest he’s ever seen’ gained his first world title.
9 years later, Jones made his foray into skilled boxing following his controversial defeat to Park Si-hun within the light-middleweight closing on the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
That sad ending carried a exceptional twist 37 years later when, in September, the South Korean introduced Jones with the gold medal that he — and far of the watching world — believed he had earned.
Jones transitioned to the skilled ranks seamlessly, happening to win world titles from middleweight to heavyweight and securing his personal place in boxing immortality.
When Jones defeated James Toney in 1994, it was not just for the IBF super-middleweight title, but in addition a battle to find out the perfect pound-for-pound boxer on the earth on the time. Years later, Jones revealed his choose for the best fighter he had ever seen — a selection which will have stunned many — Salvador Sánchez.
“The most effective I ever noticed? Talent-wise, a man by the identify of Salvador Sánchez. The most effective all-round fighter that I ever noticed.”
Sánchez was simply 21 when he upset Danny “Little Pink” López to say the WBC featherweight title. The gifted Mexican was a whole technician, combining beautiful footwork, sharp counter-punching, stamina and the flexibility to field with equal authority on the entrance or again foot.
“Chava” packed a unprecedented quantity into a brief profession, making 9 profitable title defences in simply over two years and defeating elite opposition together with Wilfredo Gómez and Azumah Nelson.
Tragically, Sánchez’s life was minimize quick simply weeks after beating Nelson on August 12, 1982, when his Porsche 928 crashed, killing him on the age of simply 23.
