Who's The Greater Fighter Joe Louis or Floyd Mayweather?

Louis by a mile. I rate Mayweather highly, though, and think he is a great. I can't rate him with Joe Louis as regards historical significance for a start. Then, there's the fact that Louis was a more entertaining fighter who looked for the kayo and usually found it.

People are still talking about Louis after 70 plus years. That must tell us something.

 

Louis has a strong case for being the most dominant champion ever, in any weight class.

The bar for being greater than Louis is prety high.

 

Joe Louis...no contest...

 

If Floyd manages to knock out his next twenty opponents, then beats a guy 4 inches taller than him who outweighs him by 50 pounds, then it will be Floyd.

 

lol Why are you wasting your time with this **** of thread????
atsch

 

It's Louis, of course, but if Floyd finishes up his career in good fashion he is a top 25 ATG IMO.

 

Louis changed the sport, revived then defined it from the mid 1930s to the early 1950s. He brought it out of the so-called "Seven Year Famine" following Dempsey and Tunney. Mayweather has failed to restore boxing as a headline mainstream news event, and his failure to match Pac when it still mattered forever stains him.

Joe's death led off all news reports, just as the deaths of Elvis and John Lennon did. The only hope Floyd has of ever remotely approaching that level of recognition is if he pulls an O.J. Simpson.

The Bomber's footage is instructional textbook material, iconic and informative viewing, strengths and flaws alike. He'll always be the first champion to 25 title defenses over more than 11 years, vastly surpassing all that came before him among earlier defending titlists. [Armstrong was also a terrifically active champion at 147, but over a much briefer span of time.]

"As goes the heavyweights, so goes boxing." By that reckoning alone, Floyd never had a chance. Nor did he take the risks like RJJ did against other ATGs and Ruiz, let alone the chances Louis took against the likes of lethal slugger Max Baer and master boxer Lee Ramage 2X on his way up the ladder of contention.

 

He's the highest paid athlete on earth. There is a reason for that.

Different era. Celebrity has been diluted by over-exposure. No one even knows who is on the Billboard Top Ten because of the fragmentation of entertainment. In the 60's and 70's, just about everyone under the age of 30 knew.

Mayweather is also a beautiful fighter to watch. He is a master of technique and ring science. I personally can't stand the ******* but I must admit this. Let's not underestimate May because Joe Louis is among the three greatest icons of the sport.

 

Because of all the ducking I can't place him higher than top 50, but if he beats Canelo Alvarez I'll have to move him up a few spots. If he wins and then beats Pacquiao, Martinez, or Golovkin before he retires in the next year or two that would really cement his reputation up there with the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard.

 

LOUIS as of right now. He beat a lot of good and great fighters. He beat Hall of famers Schmeling, Sharkey, Carnera, Baer, Braddock, Walcott x2, John Henry Lewis, Conn x2, and Bivins.

 

I have pretty much disassociated myself from following Mayweather in general and the Canelo fight in particular so Im curious: Is this actually being taken seriously? I mean to say: Do some people actually think Canelo has a chance? His opposition is not that great and hes been fighting for 8 years. I get that hes young but I dont really see the hype. When Ive watched him I dont see anything special. Hes good but not special. Dont get me wrong, obviously from the above you can tell Im not big on Mayweather. I think his career is a masterpiece of cherry picking and I think thats why they agreed to face Alvarez. Had Alvarez looked like he was anybody threatening they wouldnt have picked him. Even then they made him come in at a catchweight (which if I were Alavarez Id just come in at 154 and pay the forfeit a la Floyd). I just cant see why people are willing to reach so deep into their pockets for this farce. This would have been a stay busy fight for the great champions of the past and yet people are getting ready to shell out $75 to watch it on TV? My head just exploded...

 

Canelo is good. Mayweather is bestest.

 

Beating one young, unexperienced and not skilled enough fighter won't make a difference. Even if he fought Pacquiao it would be already too late, Pac is way past his prime and he's been so for some time. However, it's undeniable that Floyd's the most talented boxer of his generation and that should get him a spot in top 50 all-time. Anywhere from 31-50 seems pretty fair to me.

 

Actually, yes, it is a valid question and "a contest".

To deny that Floyd is an all time great, or at least sizing up to be such if his career finishes on course, is just willful ignorance. There may be only a handful of spots separating them.