Floyd Mayweather, Jr v Pernell Whitaker

[Gesta]

Originally Posted by duranimal

Mayweather could never ever have got away with this in the 80's when you only had 2 governing bodies. As you say he's picked up 5 TITLE's which in we all know in truth ai'nt that major acomplishment what with the plethora of belts about & not undisputed championships.

In this HBO $$$ age Floyds done a greatjob in navigating his way deep into the HBO $$$ trough by succesfully avoiding the real legacy fights so that he could get his shot at the golden $$ egg laying mothergoose in DLH & that was always his & everyone else's target & once there he intends to stay there with HBO's blessing & the 1st sign of danger he'd just retire & wait till the danger had passed.

Like you i think he's a very good boxer but i can't give him the status of being great or legend material because his resume is sparse to say the least & he can't have it both ways, money & legacy earned, but as floyd always said, legacy don't pay the bills, he's been a major disappointment for me considering that he maybe could have been up there with the ATG's if he'd taken on the challenges & cleaned out divisions but i think those days will never return now we have HBO ruling the boxing world & feeding the great unwashed this diet of 24/7 gash, bread & circuses for the masses & very little to do with the purist angle of what a real championship is about.

Pacquiao is of the old school mould who went after the accepted rulers of the divisions or near top of.

Great post

[PowerPuncher]

It would be ridiculously close imo, Whitaker has better jab, movement and radar. Floyd has quicker hands, is longer/taller and is stronger. I'd lean towards Whitaker with no great confidence

[FIN]

Very close fight,i think Sweet Pea is just better all around,Sweet Pea wins a close decision,maybe 7 rounds to 5..

[MrBumboclart]

In his prime Whitaker had no glaring weakness and no obvious style appeared to trouble him.

HOWEVER Floyd has shown some trouble with certain styles. Fast hands - Judah. Awkward footwork and angles - Augustus.

Sweet Pea takes a decision here.

[PowerPuncher]

Originally Posted by MrBumboclart

In his prime Whitaker had no glaring weakness and no obvious style appeared to trouble him.

HOWEVER Floyd has shown some trouble with certain styles. Fast hands - Judah. Awkward footwork and angles - Augustus.

Sweet Pea takes a decision here.

Whitaker had a bit of trouble with fast hands too - Delahoya, Hurtado and Roger Mayweather. A technician like McGirt gave him all he could handle too

[bladerunner]

Whitaker by decision.

His southpaw style.

His jab.

And his workrate.

Would be the keys to Sweet Pea's win.

[Webbiano]

Originally Posted by duranimal

Mayweather could never ever have got away with this in the 80's when you only had 2 governing bodies. As you say he's picked up 5 TITLE's which in we all know in truth ai'nt that major acomplishment what with the plethora of belts about & not undisputed championships.

In this HBO $$$ age Floyds done a greatjob in navigating his way deep into the HBO $$$ trough by succesfully avoiding the real legacy fights so that he could get his shot at the golden $$ egg laying mothergoose in DLH & that was always his & everyone else's target & once there he intends to stay there with HBO's blessing & the 1st sign of danger he'd just retire & wait till the danger had passed.

Like you i think he's a very good boxer but i can't give him the status of being great or legend material because his resume is sparse to say the least & he can't have it both ways, money & legacy earned, but as floyd always said, legacy don't pay the bills, he's been a major disappointment for me considering that he maybe could have been up there with the ATG's if he'd taken on the challenges & cleaned out divisions but i think those days will never return now we have HBO ruling the boxing world & feeding the great unwashed this diet of 24/7 gash, bread & circuses for the masses & very little to do with the purist angle of what a real championship is about.

Pacquiao is of the old school mould who went after the accepted rulers of the divisions or near top of.

Stopped reading after the first sentence. You can assume he wouldn't win titles in 5 different divisions, but you can't say for sure.

As for the matchup of mayweather and pea at 135? I'll simply say that I don't think any fighter could beat a prime Whitaker at 135

[Stevie G]

Originally Posted by the cobra

Whitaker wins because he was better.

I agree. Whitaker could do everything just that little better than Mayweather.

[duranimal]

Originally Posted by Webbiano

Stopped reading after the first sentence. You can assume he wouldn't win titles in 5 different divisions, but you can't say for sure.

As for the matchup of mayweather and pea at 135? I'll simply say that I don't think any fighter could beat a prime Whitaker at 135

Give me a list of all those WBC/WBA champs in the 80's he would beat from S/F to L/M in your perfect world & don't forget to timeline it.

[LittleRed]

He could've beaten, Samuel Serrano for SFW in say 1982, Bramble or Ramirez a couple of years later, Rene Arredondo in say '87, 147 maybe Vaca (Breland is too damn tall), and in '89 well shoot Rene Jacquot maybe although that's not a done deal. None of them are and I kept it in the 80's.

[salty trunks]

I dont think you can say Whitaker always beats him. Floyd is so underated because of his personality but he can do more offensively than Whitaker can and hes dam good defensively. I say its a very close fight and Its a pickem fight in my eyes.

[PowerPuncher]

Originally Posted by duranimal

Give me a list of all those WBC/WBA champs in the 80's he would beat from S/F to L/M in your perfect world & don't forget to timeline it.

The WWs/LMWs would have been harder, but I'm not sure how many actually beat him at his best. I don't see anyone beating him 140 and down bar potentially Sweet Pea, I don't think Chavez would, I think Mayweather could manage to replicate what Whitaker did largely.

He'd get battered by the top 154lbers like McCallum, Hearns and Norris (ok 90s). He'd lose to Hearns/Leonard a 147. I could see him beating Duran and Pryor from 140-147 though. Curry/Honeyghan/Starling are tough fights he could maybe pull off

I think less money that he'd make in the 80s would have made Mayweather a better boxer, as he'd be more active and more hungry.

[Flo_Raiden]

Whitaker would have been able to handle Floyd with relative ease. Better jab, better angles, better combinations, better mobility, better workrate, and better inside skills. He's handled all kinds of styles and would have been able to figure Floyd out as well.

[duranimal]

[quote=PowerPuncher;13499584]The WWs/LMWs would have been harder, but I'm not sure how many actually beat him at his best. I don't see anyone beating him 140 and down bar potentially Sweet Pea, I don't think Chavez would, I think Mayweather could manage to replicate what Whitaker did largely.

He'd get battered by the top 154lbers like McCallum, Hearns and Norris (ok 90s). He'd lose to Hearns/Leonard a 147. I could see him beating Duran and Pryor from 140-147 though. Curry/Honeyghan/Starling are tough fights he could maybe pull off

I think less money that he'd make in the 80s would have made Mayweather a better boxer, as he'd be more active and more hungry.[/quote]

And there's the $1million question, he'd have had no choice but to compete against the established top guns if he wanted to earn a decent crust & no way could he duck & dodge his way to the top. He's no SRL who had the olympic gold medal which was the one & only passport to mainstream TV. it was all closed circuit back then & live gate $$$$$ or undercard defences, a hard road & tough way to the top + the spectre of Don King would also play it's part in how he progressed or was matched. Back then with just 2 governing bodies one beltholder was regarded as the champ & the other belt holder just an undercard fill-in or appeared on Lou Duva cards.

You've only got to look at the heavyweight scene with Holmes the WBC belt holder & universally recognised champion & the WBA belt holder was just viewed as 2 best or worse.

At super/feather he's got Camacho & Chavez to contend with for starters & if Sanchez had'nt died then him also if he'd moved up. No easy routes to glory & wars all the way. Thats why i asked this feller to time line Floyds rise to 5 div title's. It was'nt done back then for the very good reason that it was near on impossible considering the competition & wear & tear on a fighter. Simply put only the best acheived it by fighting the best just to get yer shot at the div champ & i just don't see floyd getting anywhere near that.

[KuRuPT]

Originally Posted by ripcity

In terms of boxing ability/skills/talent Whitker > Mayweather but it's not Whitaker >>>>>>> Mayweather. It's also interms of Ring smats/Boxing IQ
Mayweather > Whitaker but not Mayweather >>>>>>> Whitaker
When it comes down to it there about even. Mayweather is bigger. I think that will make the deciding difrance in this match up.

Ring smarts and boxing IQ are greater than Pea's.. what are you basing this on?