"Don't forget that" - Roy Jones Jr. brutally dismisses Naoya Inoue's pound-for-pound case

Roy Jones Jr. believes Terence Crawford, not Naoya Inoue, is the best pound-for-pound boxer on the planet.

Earlier this month, 'The Monster' made his return to the ring in Japan. Back for the first time since a knockout win over Stephen Fulton in July, he faced Marlon Tapales. With a win over 'Nightmare', he would make history as a two-division undisputed champion.

For those unaware, 'Bud' made history in July as the first man to ever accomplish that feat. Just six months after Crawford became an undisputed welterweight champion, Inoue matched him. Late last month, the Japanese boxer dominated Tapales, winning by tenth-round knockout.

With the victory, Inoue put a stamp on his case to be the pound-for-pound best boxer on the planet. However, Roy Jones Jr. doesn't believe that he's the best boxer alive. Instead, he believes it's the aforementioned Crawford.

Speaking to Fight Hub, 'Captain Hook' aimed Inoue. To make his case, he referenced a controversial 2019 win over Nonito Donaire, considered the toughest bout of the Japanese boxer's career.

In the interview, Jones Jr. stated (via Boxing Social):

“Naoya Inoue when he first moved up, he lost to Donaire – don’t forget that. ‘Bud’ ain’t lost to nobody, he moved up three times and lost to nobody. So don’t tell me Inoue’s better than ‘Bud.’ Now ‘Bud’s had the opposition to show us, you can’t put Inoue or anybody else on top. He’s proved what we already thought.”

Check out his comments below (10:00):

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Terence Crawford dubs himself 'Fighter of the Year' amid Naoya Inoue debate

Recently, Terence Crawford himself sided with Roy Jones Jr. and others about Naoya Inoue.

While a fight between 'Bud' and 'The Monster' is impossible, the public loves to debate their greatness. While 'Captain Hook' weighed in on the side of Crawford, there's been a lot of debate about the two champions.

For his part, the welterweight champion recently took to X. There, he posted that he was undoubtedly the greatest boxer of this year. While there's a lot more that goes into pound-for-pound than one year, he feels confident that he's the best boxer alive.

It's worth noting that he didn't mention Inoue in the post. However, Crawford's comments came just one day after the Japanese boxer dominated Tapales.

On X, Crawford wrote:

"I’m the only fighter to beat a top five pound for pound fighter this year and the way I beat him was unmatched. 2023 Fighter Of The Year Is Me. Some might say but I only fought 1 time but that 1 fight was bigger than any of the others. #facts"