Perfect example of why Mayweather was so great.

Translation: ok, he held on but I don't want to dwell on that part I want to talk positively about Floyd Mayweather

 

I didn't say there was anything wrong with it. But you said "Floyd didn't hold on" and that is just clearly false

 

Yes. For me, Mayweather's peak was probably when he beat Hatton. That was probably the best version of Mayweather. Then he retired, and when he came back vs Marquez his body had changed. His head grew a lot bigger from when he fought Hatton to when he fought Marquez. It was a masterful performance against Marquez but he wasn't peak anymore. Not sure when Mayweather's prime started. (Maybe Gatti?, or before?) When did Mayweather's prime end? Probably after he beat Canelo. I saw a pretty clear drop off in speed and elusiveness between the Canelo fight to Maidana 1. He was much easier to hit vs Maidana than ever before. Of course he was still P4P #1 so it's hard to say he was past it or far removed from Prime until he retired again in 2015. But if I had to put an end to his prime I would say that was after Canelo. (Of course this is very debatable, that's just my opinion)

With Canelo, I would say his prime probably started when he beat Chavez Jr. That was just a flawless performance. It was the first fight where he really didn't have to struggle to make weight and it showed in the ring. When did Canelo's prime end? Arguably against Saunders. I thought Canelo looked a lot better against Saunders than he did against Plant. It's arguable Canelo is still in his prime, but I did see a slight drop off between Saunders and Plant.

Canelo said he injured the left hand against Plant, which would explain his lack of stoppages since. But now with the left hand repaired, he showed that devasating punching power against Ryder. Couldn't get him out of there but caused a lot of damage and came close to a stoppage. If he has a career resurgence and regains P4P #1 then maybe we will look back and see the Bivol loss as a blip on the radar, and being partly due to the hand injury. (not to use the injury as an excuse, but lets face it, he clearly did have a hand injury that he had surgery on)

 

Yep Shadow is back. That hand injury is going to grow into a near-amputation over time.

 

Facts are facts though. We can't just ignore that if we're talking about when someone's prime is from. I mean, no one denies that Mayweather's hands became brittle late in his career. That why people say his prime was when he was knocking dudes out in his 20s. A fighter's prime isn't just their physical prime, it's not just when they were at their absolute physical peak. It's a mixture of being at peak fitness, speed, power, and how you adapt to getting older. Young Floyd didn't have brittle hands when he fought Emanuel Augustus, but Augustus caught him with sme shots, he made some mistakes back then becuase he didn't have the experience. Older mid-30s Mayweather was a far more efficient fighter than he was when he was younger. He added new aspects and elements to his game that made him even harder to hit and outpoint. Developing yourself as a fighter over your career arc is also part of one's prime.

 

You were talking about Canelo. And Canelo was throwing 100% bombs against Bivol. He may have had a bad gameplan or whatever in doing so, but he was loading up with every shot he thought he could get away with.

 

Was he loading up more with the right hand or the left against Bivol? The left hand was the one that was injured. With an injured left hand, he would still be throwing his right at full strength while using the left more for point scoring light jabs or hooks. That seemed to be what he was doing. if you didn't know he had a left hand injury it would be hard to tell since the right is primarily his power punch.

 

I'll be honest I don't remember. I thought he was loading with both hands, but if I'm wrong I stand corrected.

 

And Cotto brother aint Mosley. So what?

 

What is so special about fouling your opponent?
Next up will be some great elbow and headbutt clips of Ward

 

"Kicked his ass"? Floyd was more beat up after that fight than Canelo was.

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"How you feelin after the performance?"

Floyd : "Well actually, how I'm feelin right now, is my thigh hurt."

And as a reminder, Floyd thigh hurt because Floyd had Canelo in a headlock and was cranking his neck, to which Canelo retaliated with the thigh shot.

Floyd : "Also, imma go to the doctor in the morning" *pointing to his elbow* Later in the video Floyd said "my arm is killin me".

"Was he a little rougher than expected?"

Floyd : "You gotta take your hat off to him, you gotta do what you gotta do to win. No matter if it's a thigh shot, or a shoulder to the face."

Yeah, like fouling Canelo all night and getting away with it.

"Canelo's - he will be Champion again." Floyd, you was right about that!!

"He can fight. I can see why he . . ."

Floyd was clearly more beat up than Canelo was.

Floyd said "Since I ain't takin no abuse in the sport, my legs are still young. I still have spring I still have bounce."

That statement goes to the fact that Floyd still was in his prime at that point or close to it because in his word he "ain't takin no abuse in the sport" "still had young legs", etc.

Floyd's arm was "killin" him, Floyd's thigh was sore after 12 rounds with Canelo. He needed a deep massage right after the fight, he couldn't wait till morning. Floyd said he "bumped arms with him" and "I told father to massage my left arm".

That was all straight from the horse's mouth. Floyd was beat up that night, no doubt about it.

"He's a tough competitor". Floyd was clearly impressed by Canelo, a Canelo who was clearly not at his best due to the catchweight but still good enough to give Floyd a rough, tough night.

"I didn't think he was gunna cough it up. I think he was gonna fight to the death, because his heart, his Mexican heart."

"Canelo, I take my hat off to him, he a true warrior."

Straight form the horse's mouth. Floyd was impressed by Canelo, Floyd was hurting after that. Those were a hard 12 rounds for Floyd.

 

Never said he was. It's an apples to orange comparison. Floyd was wobbled worse, he was stuck in the middle of the ring trying to regain his bearings holding on for dear life. Against Cotto's brother, a young Canelo fell back into the ropes, took the shots and continued boxing and throwing return fire right after it. Canelo was still a teenager at the time, fighting a guy in his prime. A fighter not as good as Mosley was in his prime, true, but still a prime experienced fighter none the less. Floyd on the other hand was a seasoned fighter when he was hurt by an older Mosley. His legs buckled, and Floyd is known primarily for how good his defense was. His defense was lacking in that moment for sure.

 

Mayweather gets so much hate on here, he clearly touched a nerve with many people on here. Doesn’t change the fact that he is an ATG and there’s not much anyone here can say to change that. He beat everyone, including everyones favourite Pac and made it look simple.