5 Veteran World Champions Who Roy Jones Jr. Will Hope to Emulate

Roy Jones Jr. showed he's not quite finished in the ring at age 46 by recording a win over Willie Williams on Saturday.

The American—who fought twice in 2014—proved too good for his journeyman opponent in Cabarrus, North Carolina, stopping Williams in the second round.

The fight was not a farewell appearance for a man who was once considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

In an interview with ESPN.com's Brian Campbell, Jones said before the fight, "I'm looking at doing this and seeing how I feel. If I feel well, I will be going after Marco Huck. He agreed to fight me this year if everything goes well."

Jones has won his last six on the spin since being stopped by Denis Lebedev in May 2011.

However, it remains to be seen if he still has what it takes to go on and win another world title against Huck, the longtime WBO cruiserweight champion. 

Age is not necessarily a barrier for success in the ring, though. We have picked out five boxers who managed to rule after turning 40. 

As ever, have your say by using the comments section—do you think Jones Jr. can repel both Huck and Father Time to become a world champion again?

George Foreman stunned not just Michael Moorer but the boxing world when he became world champion again at the age of 45.

Big George was a heavy underdog when he took on the reigning IBF and WBA champion in Las Vegas in 1994.

For nine rounds it seemed his bid for glory was going to end in failure—only for the veteran heavyweight to turn the fight around during the 10th.

A straight right hand hit Moorer flush on the chin, and that was the end of that. Foreman had produced a punch from nowhere to cause a stunning upset (particularly as he had lost to Tommy Morrison previously).

Foreman successfully defended the IBF belt against Axel Schulz but was stripped of the title after refusing to agree to an immediate rematch.

He fought three more times before hanging up his gloves for good, with the last of his 81 contests seeing him lose to fellow American Shannon Briggs in 1997.

Bernard Hopkins has made history not once but twice in his long and successful pro career.

The Alien broke George Foreman’s record when, at the age of 46, he defeated Jean Pascal in 2013 to claim the WBC light heavyweight title.

However, Hopkins was not content there.

After losing the WBC belt to Chad Dawson, he overcame Tavoris Cloud on points to become world champion again at 48.

He added the WBA strap to the IBF one he already had in his possession by outpointing Beibut Shumenov just over a year later.

Although he lost his titles to Sergey Kovalev last November, Hopkins has no plans to retire just yet.

Now 50, he recently revealed, per Richard Damerell of Sky Sports, his desire to next take on Englishman Carl Froch.

Archie Moore—a man whose career spanned so long that he fought both Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali—was still boxing until he was 46.

The Old Mongoose was world light heavyweight champion after turning 40 while also bidding to secure a title at heavyweight as well.

Moore—who passed away in 1998 just four days shy of his 82nd birthday—finished with a 185-23-10 record with 131 of his victories coming by way of knockout.

Ali (then named Cassius Clay) handed him his last defeat, while he also lost to Floyd Patterson and Marciano in attempts to become heavyweight world champion.

He continued to be involved in the sport as a trainer while also enjoying a career as an actor.

Thulani Malinga—better known as Sugar Boy Malinga—was in his 40s when he defeated Robin Reid to win the WBC super-middleweight belt.

His actual age at the time is open for debate, as mentioned by Ron Jackson in his extensive profile of the fighter for SuperSport.com in 2009.

The South African won the WBC title for the first time in 1996, upsetting Nigel Benn on points in Newcastle, England.

Although Vincenzo Nardiello dethroned him in his first defence, victory over Reid in December 1997 saw him become a world champion again.

Once again, though, the title proved tough to keep. A return to England in his next bout saw him get beaten by Richie Woodhall.

Malinga carried on fighting until 2000, by which time he had moved up to light heavyweight.

He finished with a 44-13 record, with one of his losses coming against a certain Roy Jones Jr.

Vitali Klitschko was 41 when he last defended the WBC heavyweight title, flattening challenger Manuel Charr in four rounds.

The Ukrainian stretched his career record to 45-2 with the routine win in Moscow back in September 2012.

However, it would prove to be his last time in the ring.

Klitschko was scheduled to take on Bermane Stiverne next, but injury forced him to pull out.

Then, in December 2013, he announced he was stepping away from boxing to pursue a career in politics.

Dr. Ironfist, who had previously retired in 2005 before deciding to make a comeback two years later, is now more concerned with policies than punches.

Both Klitschko’s defeats were due to injuries—a shoulder problem forced him to bow out against Chris Byrd in 2000, while three years later a nasty cut ended his intriguing clash with Lennox Lewis.