He never took a risk? Not against Canelo? Hatton? Mosley? Marcos rematch? Cotto? Juan on a hot streak after being robbed? (I haven't scored or watched the fight in a hot minute feel free to correct me) and many others. Every time he got in the ring with an elite fighter he was taking a risk and it only got worse as he got older and everyone wanted his 0 more. I imagine it brought out the best in every fighter he faced.
Interesting to know that your criteria for a risky fight is one where the challenger must come in at a weight he's not comfortable at. That fight had all the cards stacked in Floyd's favour.
Floyd performed fantastically, but let's not act like the stipulations didn't affect Canelo in a very huge way.
Dude , I've watched Mayweather Jr. since his Amateur days, saw damn near ever fight pro fight he had at his very best at Jr.light/lightweight. At welterweight and Jr.Middle I've seen MANY fighters I'd pick to beat him convincingly at those particular weight classes. Maybe you should watch other great fighters through out the long illustrious history of those divisions and stop repeatedly watching Mayweather Jr. on a loop.
anybody who thinks his career was all easy matches is trolling look at the fighters matches and the way they fought some can be put in other eras and win
come on you know what I am saying. Not easy matches but no big risk. Excellent matchmaking and timing
Floyd Senior was a flashy boxer who still did a lot of amateur shoe-shine things in the pros. He found his ceiling, losing to Ray Leonard and Marlon Starling (twice). He was ranked No. 7 when he fought Ray, maybe his first ranked opponent? Leonard rates him as the best defensive fighter he ever fought (above Benitez) but said Floyd couldn’t punch and that was in large part because he had brittle hands. He was a slapper and did a lot of amateur shoe-shine stuff in the pros. IIRC, they ended up fighting when they did because Ray’s side was offered a $100K TV fight (CBS I think … and that was his going rate) to face a fairly unknown, undefeated kid from Michigan named Thomas Hearns in that slot. Angelo Dundee was on a cruise and found out about it when he returned and nixed it — he had veto power on Ray’s opponents (rightfully so, as that was probably his greatest gift in matching his guys correctly to learn but not take unnecessary risks). Angelo said Ray wasn’t ready for Hearns (whom he knew from the amateurs) and that those two could fight for a lot more money down the road. So Mayweather, another Michigan guy, became the opponent. Boy was Angelo right about the fighting for more money later part.
I was hyped for Chico Corrales vs Floyd Mayweather. It could really have went either way. Floyd was young and on the rise but Corrales was a 6,0ft tall Jr. Lightweight who hit it hard with both hands. It was a juicy fight at 130 that Mayweather could have avoided. Floyd Mayweather made this fight look so easy it wasnt even funny. If a kid looks on Floyds record today unless their told thr Corrales win won't be given respect. It deserves. At 130lbs Mayweather was as good as a fighter can be. His power, punch output and he was rangy. He was Roy Jones at 168 with even more perfect fundlemernals. Floyd didn't depend on the God given. As he grew into 35-40-47 things changed a little. He probably just thought of it as fighting smarter, more economical. Mayweather despite his reputation didn't have much ham in him in the ring. He wasnt Sugar Ray Robinson who famously sad he had broken agreements to carry opponent because the fans were bored. Floyd was like Camacho in winning and have flair before and after in the ring it was workmanlike.
I agree with the Corrales fight. I forgot that one. We sure have to go back a long time to see Floyd take a bigger risk.
Good stuff here. I've said on many occasions Mayweather Jr at Jr.light was very dynamic and would be a serious issue for ANY jr.light in history. His destruction of the very good Corrales was a showcase of what a atg abilty fighter should do against a fighter who's just good/ very good prime vs prime. But as he went up in weight it's plain to see his career became more about the most money to be made, by the least resistance. The best welters of the last 10-15 yrs have been Bradley, Brooks, Porter, Thurman ,Spence, Crawford ,Williams, and Wright. Granted no one would expect him to fight every one of those fighters......But not one? He did face the past prime Berto, Mosley, Deloyhoya, a clearly diminished Pac, and Marquez above their best fighting weights and the overrated and green at the time Canelo, Maidana, and Mcgregor, who know as much about the Sweet Science as I know about flying a space shuttle. I'm happy he's made a ton of money for being in the toughest sport their is. But to make him the G.O.A.T as some do on this site, and not consider his lack of serious competition above lightweight is simply looking at his 50-0 record, but not paying attention to the details of how he was able to get there. Theirs many fighters at welter and jr.middle with losses on their record whom I'd pick to beat Mayweather jr. His career above lightweight has been smoke and mirrors.