Past welterweights that you think would beat Floyd Mayweather

Sugar Ray Leonard would smash Floyd. He was just as fast as Floyd, but with devastating power. And don't let his good looks fool you, SRL was a murderer in the ring... much more so than Floyd.

Thomas Hearns would be too much for Floyd too if his chin could stand up to Floyd's punches. But I don't think a prime Hearns would have any trouble at all because he took SRL's best for about 13 rounds.

An over the hill De La Hoya gave Floyd all he could handle a few years ago. I think a prime De La Hoya would have been a different story.

Shane Mosley's first fight with De La Hoya was something to see. THAT Shane might have been too much for Floyd too.

Vernon Forrest would have been interesting. I didn't think he had a shot against Shane either, but he sure fooled all of us. I remember Vernon saying that against speed, you have to have a heat seeking jab.

 

Many.

 

Don't get your Floyd panties in a bunch.

 

Ray didn't play into his hands - the fight started at a distance when Duran hurt him what that left hook. Duran was also countering Ray's jab with right hands from the outside. Leonard chose to stand on the inside and honestly, he really didn't have much say in the matter. Duran's just a league above Mayweather. Maybe the most skilled fighter ever.

 

Arguello, Forrest, De La hoya, plenty of guys would imo

 

He'd beat his ass at Welter even easier than he would at Lightweight.

 

Let me see, in the six years since he moved up he did not fight the greatest welterweights of his era [Margarito, Cotto, Pacquiao, P.Williams], except Mosley, when he was 38 and had been inactive for 15 months.

Yet he managed to fight 4 guys coming up in weight or off one fight at the weight, and Baldomir, Judah, aswell as go on vacation for 3 years. I'm sorry, but he doesn't belong in the conversation with any of the great welters of the past, it's an insult to those who proved themselves against the best of their era.

The De La Hoya fight would be the closest he came to fighting a prime elite fighter in that time, only Oscar was past his best and was coming off just one fight in 3 years. Mayweather struggled in that fight until Oscar tired and looked very beatable.

 

Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Oscar, Mosley, Winky, Forrest, Whitaker,

 

This about sums it up. Floyd isn't invincible at WW, he's relatively small and the top welters of the past were generally big, strong, fast and very skilled. Both Pacquiao and Floyd would have a hard time head to head with the very elite welters.

 

That is a good start

 

sweet pete and the viper.

 

I know it went badly wrong for Don Curry in the end,but this thread has got me thinking just how good he was back then.Him and Sweet Pea are criminally unappreciated in the grand scheme.Some of the other names mentioned make you realise that welter has been such a great division in the modern era.

 

i love duran but no he is not.simple as

 

really what makes you that?