Floyd Mayweather would have been 'just another guy' in my era, says Roberto Duran

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by moulicules, Jul 29, 2013.


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  1. moulicules

    moulicules Chessmaster Full Member

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    Just another guy? Floyd Mayweather may disagree. (Getty)

    COMMENTARY | For many reasons, consider it a stretch to mention Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, or any of today's active fighters as all-time greats. The fight game is just in a much different place these days. Schedules are lighter, money is greater, and the overall skill level is not what it used to be.
    While the fighters of today tend to be better athletes than their predecessors, the lack of actual ring time has taken something away from them. The skills learned on the road and on the fly against all sorts of different styles and levels of ability are just not there anymore. In today's boxing game, it's a lot easier to be successful as a fairly one-dimensional fighter.
    For many reasons, consider Floyd Mayweather extremely fortunate to be fighting right now and at this stage of boxing history.
    The five-division world champ has a genius-level ring IQ with a seemingly instinctual feel for the game. Mayweather does by instinct what 12-year veterans must spend hour upon hour learning. The skill level involved in what he does and how he does it is a thing of beauty for those who admire the finer points of the sweet science.
    It is this unusually high skill level that has kept Mayweather well ahead of the pack and as close to untouchable as humanly possible. When "Money" enters the ring, one can bank on there being a complete and total mismatch when it comes to the relative skill level involved in the bout. Mayweather is able to exploit the fact that so many of today's top fighters sport all sorts of technical and tactical flaws.
    Roberto Duran (R) is shown with Hector "Macho" Camacho before a fight. (AP)
    But what would've happened had Mayweather fought in another era against fighters without these glaring weaknesses? There's certainly a possibility that he would've elevated his game even further to still dominate. More likely, though, he would've been a significantly less dominant force.
    Hall of Fame fighter and former four-division world champ Roberto Duran belongs to the group that feels Mayweather would've been less of an alpha dog in the sport's past.
    Duran, who fought in a weight range in the '80s that included Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, Marvin Hagler, and Wilfred Benitez, recently classified Mayweather as "just another guy in the bunch" had Mayweather competed in that same span of time.
    "The problem right now is that Mayweather is fighting in an era where there are no real boxers," Duran said. "We knew that kind of style, we were familiar with it. We were used to fighting those kind of boxers."
    In a prior interview, Duran also offered Saul Alvarez, who will be fighting Mayweather on September 14, some personal advice on how to handle a fighter like Mayweather.
    "If I was going up against a boxer like that, I would bust him up. I would bust him all over the place...the arms, the ribs. The first thing you have to do is forget about the head. The head is smaller than the body. You have to break a man down, and in order to do so you're going to hit him in the kidneys and he'll slowly begin to stop [his movement] and after four rounds he will no longer be able to walk," Duran said.
    Of course, a definitive answer to this Mayweather question won't ever be possible. But the old timers and veterans may have valid reason to believe that Mayweather's invulnerability, at least in part, comes from being the right man in the right place and time.
    This is not to diminish Mayweather's accomplishments or legacy in any way whatsoever. Through hard work and dedication to his craft, Mayweather has become the riddle no man in this generation can solve. And, really, it's unfair to expect a fighter to be any better than he needs to be in order to dominate the best in his own time.
     
    moulicules, Jul 29, 2013
    moulicules, Jul 29, 2013
    #1
  2. Undisputed

    Undisputed Cant G no other way Full Member

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    Would Floyd still be at his best with a loss on his record? Cause there's no way he escapes without an L against the atgs.
     
    Undisputed, Jul 29, 2013
    Undisputed, Jul 29, 2013
    #2
  3. NeckBreaknAiken

    NeckBreaknAiken Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Until Mayweather is tested throughout an entire fight for 12 Rounds with a guy who can adjust, there really is no way to tell.


    But there is no way he would have been "just another guy" as Duran suggests. He's just hating.
     
    NeckBreaknAiken, Jul 29, 2013
    NeckBreaknAiken, Jul 29, 2013
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  4. nutnfancy

    nutnfancy Guest

    I think Hearns would have laid some serious hurt on money.
     
    nutnfancy, Jul 29, 2013
    nutnfancy, Jul 29, 2013
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  5. Barrera

    Barrera Defeated Boxing_master Full Member

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    He would have a loss or two on his record (hearns is an obvious loss for floyd) but they would be known as the fav 5.
     
    Barrera, Jul 29, 2013
    Barrera, Jul 29, 2013
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  6. Farmboxer

    Farmboxer VIP Member Full Member

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    Hearns, Duran and many more would have kicked Void's arse! Would Void have owned Vegas back then? Would he have owned the judges and referee?
     
    Farmboxer, Jul 29, 2013
    Farmboxer, Jul 29, 2013
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  7. dodong

    dodong >>PACQUIAO Full Member

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    duran could be right or wrong but i don't like it when any old guys talk about how good they were or how they would have done this and that...:verysad
     
    dodong, Jul 29, 2013
    dodong, Jul 29, 2013
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  8. ACS

    ACS Well-Known Member Full Member

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    What about when Pac eventually does it?
     
    ACS, Jul 29, 2013
    ACS, Jul 29, 2013
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  9. billvp

    billvp Guest

    The OP title left off the end of the quote ... Duran said Mayweather would be just another guy in the bunch (of Duran, Leonard, Hearns, Hagler, and Wilfred Benitez), which puts him at an equal but not superior level.
     
    billvp, Jul 29, 2013
    billvp, Jul 29, 2013
    #9
  10. dodong

    dodong >>PACQUIAO Full Member

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    hmm..i probly don't like it also.
     
    dodong, Jul 29, 2013
    dodong, Jul 29, 2013
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  11. Ipay4leavingNot

    Ipay4leavingNot Active Member Full Member

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    You guys understand Floyd would have to have fought 15 rounds if he fought in Duran's time, how do you think the Castillo fight looks with 3 more rounds? I think floyd won the Castillo fight narrowly, but I could sure as hell see it being a loss with a 13th, 14th and 15th round. The difficulty in ranking floyd for me is he has always ducked the 1 fighter who could have proved him great, had he done to pacman back in 2010 what he did to marquez then there could be no debate, floyd would have to be considered one of the top 5 welter weights of all time. Instead his legacy is iffy at best. He has fought and won against alot of guys and usually looked good but they all have something "wrong" with them. Call it what you want but Duran beat the best welterweight of his time in his prime coming off his biggest win over another great fighter who he koed in 15. And Duran beat him silly like a rag doll. it doesn't matter he lost to hearns because duran was considered over the hill. It doesn't mattrer that he lost to Hagler, because Hagler is the 2nd grestest middle weight after monzon, and arguably even #1, throw in that Duran was truly a lightweight and it is all the more impressive. Floyd is not even fighting up to middle weight, so I have to agree with Duran. Floyd would have been just another guy like terry norris that no one remembered because he would have ducked Hagler who was the best fighter of the fab 5.
     
    Ipay4leavingNot, Jul 30, 2013
    Ipay4leavingNot, Jul 30, 2013
    #11
  12. Nonito Smoak

    Nonito Smoak Ioka>Lomo, sorry my dudes Full Member

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    That's what Benny Leonard would say about Duran.

    Older fighters always think the current era is inferior. I've not seen an exception.

    Impossible to know and irrelevant to discuss...
     
    Nonito Smoak, Jul 30, 2013
    Nonito Smoak, Jul 30, 2013
    #12
  13. Robney

    Robney ᴻᴼ ᴸᴼᴻᴳᴲᴿ ᴲ۷ᴵᴸ Full Member

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    He wouldn't be undefeated, and he wouldn't have been close to be the top earner at the sport, but he sure as hell wouldn't have been 'just another guy'.
     
    Robney, Jul 30, 2013
    Robney, Jul 30, 2013
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  14. anton

    anton Well-Known Member Full Member

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    He right in that there were many great fighters around that time mayweather would not get the attention he gets now with the handfull of greats that that are around plus he would be beaten if he ever took the fights.
     
    anton, Jul 30, 2013
    anton, Jul 30, 2013
    #14
  15. Foxy 01

    Foxy 01 Boxing Junkie banned

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    As someone already pointed out, Duran said he would be just another guy in that illustrious company. Haters are always going to hate, and no one on here would have the guts to fight who Duran fought. So stfu about a legend like him.

    Furthermore anyone who thinks Duran wouldn't have been able to give Mayweather the same sort of beating he gave Leonard in their first fight, needs to get their head out of Hollywoods *******.

    Tommy at his prime was a great fighter, who could quite well have jabbed Mayweathers head off for 3 or 4 rounds then knocked him spark out with either hand.

    So yes in that company he wouldn't have been anything special at all.
     
    Foxy 01, Jul 30, 2013
    Foxy 01, Jul 30, 2013
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