Did Mayweather beat a better version of Canelo?

He did have something of a 12-punch combination on Floyd in Round 10 which was impressive. I get the wear and tear argument and the fact that he can no longer do the kind of things he did when he was younger, but that doesn't mean that he was better against Floyd. It was a very different dynamic. Canelo was too easy to hit against Floyd. Not enough head movement, was more one dimensional against Floyd. Now granted, he doesn't use the kind of head movement he developed after fighting Floyd anymore, so in that sense he's kind of back where he started. But in other areas he is way better, more experienced, etc.

Here's what I would say, desipte being outlanded to a far greater degree against Floyd than he was vs Crawford, Canelo actually dished out much more punishment on Floyd than he did on Bud. Canelo Mayweather was a fiercer fight you could say, with both men landing a lot of good shots. So you could say Canelo receieved more damage against Floyd, but also dished out more, and the evidence of this came from Floyd's own post-fight videos, in which he admitted he came out of that fight hurt and sore. Not only that, but Mayweather also fouled Canelo a ton, and even tried to bully him at times, whereas Crawford fought clean.

I agree he's not the same fighter he was between 2015-2021 lets say, and some of that has to do with not being as hungry now as he was, even against Mayweather. There's the benefit of experience going against the erosion of skill.

I just don't think that the Canelo who fought Mayweather would have been able to beat the Canelo who fought Bud. Today's Canelo could easily dispatch of the earlier version of himself who fought Floyd, just by walking him down. He wasn't an elusive target against Floyd like Bud was against him. Canelo does well against people who are easy to hit who don't have the best defense, like Canelo in 2013.

Only a sublime skillset like Crawford with a long reach has what it takes to do what he did to this Canelo. 152 Mayweather put on an incredible display of boxing that night, but despite what you hear from fans constantly exaggerating how good it was, it was far from a perfect performance. Canelo punished Floyd more than any other fighter had ever punished Mayweather, even while getting out landed and out boxed. Canelo was hit with some good shots by Floyd but was never really bothered by them.

One of the best versions of Canelo was the Canelo from the first GGG fight because he actually used footwork there, was slippery, elusive, and had big punching power. That version would have been a problem for anyone. So I hear you, and some of your take I can agree with, but I don't think Canelo was better in 2013 than he is today, in some areas yes, but not in other areas. He's definitely not the same fighter he was 5-10 years ago, but he's still a force to be reckoned with. And I'm not convinved he's done or washed like some people claim. I thought he fought a pretty damn good fight vs Crawford but he didn't impose his will and land the better eye catching shots like he usual does, and that's largely why he lost. But of course full credit to Bud who done the job and did it well.

 

Canelo of the Kirkland fight was his best version. He was moving well, feintimg and throwing combinations. He gradually forgot how to do all three and eventually were totally missing vs Bud.

 

JCC Jr version was arguably his best. What a complete schooling that was. Granted it was Chavez Jr, but still, how he performed that night was incredible. I agree that there was plenty missing against Bud compared to 5-10 years ago, but there was a lot still there. For someone who's been in the sport as long as he has been, 20 years now, the fact that he's still going strong says a lot about his work ethic and love of the sport. And we should appareciate Canelo, even a somewhat diminished Canelo compared to what he was, for his longevity.

 

Yes but Bivol beat the best version of Canelo of anyone who beat him. Or maybe GGG in the first fight (I know it wasn’t officially a win for GGG but I think most agree he should have been given the decision).

 

And there was no BS stipulations from Bud like catch weights and rehydration clauses like it was with Mayweather when he fought Canelo.

 

Absolutely not.

Combination-punching isn’t everything, just from the difference in mentality alone Crawford had a tougher test against him. Canelo was an aging demotivated champ, but he was still a champ. A confident guy that experienced everything the boxing world had to offer in the ring. All kinds of styles, all qualities of opponents, all kinds of matches (chess matches, slugfests, whatever you can think of), basically anything. Floyd fought with a young Canelo that, despite his 44-0 record, had never before faced anything even remotely close to a historical talent like Floyd. You can see it in the match itself, Canelo was extremely frustrated after the first few rounds, completely forgot everything and was full on throwing haymakers towards the end. He looked completely lost and didn’t know what to do, far from the SMW Canelo that still kept his composure and technique even when Crawford was answering everything he had.

And that’s just the mental aspect. Physically and skill-wise Crawford’s Canelo was better as well. Bigger, a lot stronger and harder hitting, tighter overall technique, better timing, better defense, better punch placement, better pacing, all younger Canelo had was more speed and combination-punching.

Reasons why Floyd’s performance might be more impressive isn’t because his Canelo was better, it’s because he was actually a lot smaller than Canelo unlike Crawford, was 13 years older at 36 and completely washed Canelo.

 

Bivol beat the best version of Canelo. That Canelo was in his physical and skillset prime.

Floyd gave Canelo the best spanking he ever received, most one-sided.

Bud gave the Mexican his most unexpected beating, the most 'upsetting' loss of the three.

 

NO he wasnt not even close to in his prime

 

He was younger and more active in workrate but less powerful and not as smart.

Better legs back then.

I guess on a P4P scale he was probably a little bit better than but Crawfords win over Canelo is much better than Floyd Mayweathers win considering the context

Canelos prime was from the Rocky Fielding fight to the Dimitry Bivol fight (Caleb Plant was Canelos last prime perfomance)

 

Agreed.

For all the self-promoting, I'm the best ever nonsense Floyd talked, you would think he wouldn't need catch weights and multiple retirements to stack the deck.

Didn't he also catchweight Juan Manuel Marquez and force Maidana to use pillow gloves instead of punchers?

 

Excellent short analyse here:

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Physically Canelo looked much quicker with his hands and feet against Floyd. He also threw combinations and jabs. So from an athletic standpoint, I think Canelo was better. Canelo now is just a slow plodder. Combination punching is nonexistent. Canelo moved his head more back then than he does now. Now his defense is catching shots with the high guard and moving back. He doesn’t move his head nearly enough. Canelo straight up does not jab. I remember people being critical of that even when Canelo was younger but it’s an even bigger issue now. With all of that being said, Canelo is way more experienced now than back then. He knows his style better. He knows what he can and can’t do. Has a better idea of how he wants to attack now. It’s kinda like how some people will say Floyd was better at 130 while others would say he was better at 147 because of the added experience. Do you prefer the better athlete or the more experienced fighter?