The boxing world has been buzzing ever since two living legends—Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather—stirred up an unexpected storm of words. What began as the former four-division king questioning the undefeated maestro’s place among past greats quickly snowballed into an “ugly feud.” Mayweather, the unbeaten pay-per-view titan, retaliated not with words, but with a slyly cut montage showcasing Jones Jr.’s most brutal defeats, including knockouts by Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson—silence as his weapon, humiliation as his statement.

But where does the next generation of fighters stand on a fantasy clash between these titans? Teofimo Lopez and his outspoken father didn’t hesitate to weigh in. During a candid exchange captured by FightHype, the lightweight star didn’t flinch when asked to pick a prime-era winner. “Roy,” Lopez said bluntly. His father, trainer Teofimo Sr., doubled down, noting, “Yeah, Roy had that hook, man, that nobody can see… but I mean, they weren’t in the same weight division though, right? No, he was way bigger.” The pair agreed Jones Jr.’s size was decisive, but the elder Lopez threw in a twist: “If it had been at the same weight, or the weight that Floyd fought at, Floyd.”

The debate turned practical when the interviewer floated a potential exhibition. Lopez Jr. calculated, “170…165. 165,” with his father nodding before the younger fighter quipped about the realities: “But Floyd doesn’t balloon up… Roy can’t, so it’s a fight that won’t ever happen.” Then came his jab at Mayweather’s priorities: “Money’s right. That’s all Floyd cares about. If the numbers are right, he’ll make it happen, you know.”

Meanwhile, Jones Jr. himself has fanned the flames, challenging Mayweather to abandon exhibitions entirely: “We need to make it real. Exhibitions are for people playing. We ain’t playing. I ain’t, anyway,” he told Seconds Out.

Roy Jones Jr. reignites his feud with Floyd Mayweather.

While their war of words shows no signs of slowing, Roy Jones Jr. recently added fresh fuel to his long-running spat with Floyd Mayweather by doubling down on his views during an appearance on the All The Smoke Fight podcast with Andre Ward. The four-division champion didn’t mince words when discussing the endless “GOAT” debate. “To me, people don’t give him enough credit. People always say, ‘Well, Floyd would have beaten ‘Sugar.’ No baby. Floyd is not nearly as mean as Sugar was… Sugar is a dog. People don’t understand. Just because his name’s Sugar doesn’t mean anything! Sugar is a dog,” Jones Jr. declared, planting Sugar Ray Leonard firmly above Mayweather in his rankings.

The jab didn’t go unanswered. The 50–0 defensive mastermind chose not to speak, but to act in his way. Instead of a rebuttal, Mayweather took to Instagram, posting videos of himself watching Jones Jr.’s most painful career moments—knockout losses to Antonio Tarver, Glen Johnson, and others. It was silent, sharp, and undeniably petty, a classic Mayweather move that sent social media into a frenzy. Jones Jr., however, didn’t shy away from firing back. In a composed yet firm “public service announcement,” the 56-year-old legend reminded everyone of his stance: “I got opinions and I’m allowed to speak them… If you want to prove that you’re better than me, I’m always ready to go.”

Yet, while many assumed Jones Jr.’s comments were strictly about Mayweather, the former Seoul Olympics silver medalist clarified his ultimate choice for boxing’s “greatest of all time” during an interview on the Ring Champs podcast. And, to no one’s surprise, it wasn’t himself, Leonard, or Mayweather—it was Muhammad Ali. “He’s going to be the greatest forever in my life. Because if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be here boxing myself. He (Ali) is gonna always be the greatest to me,” he explained.

For the only male fighter to have held world titles at both middleweight and heavyweight, even his accolades don’t eclipse “The Greatest.” As Jones Jr. summed it up with conviction: “Ya, I might do something better, but I have a foundation that I learned from him… He’s still gonna be number one in my book. If you ask me who the greatest fighter of all time is, it’s going to be Muhammad Ali, without a question.”