What fighters do you rate better than Mayweather Jnr of the modern era

The fact he's a dick doesn't alter how I see his chances against Robinson, Leonard, Naploes etc. one bit. He's just not in that company as a welterweight.

 

Boxing has changed since then.

It's a bit like asking if Billy Bremner was a better player than Frank Lampard, or whether Jackie Stewart was better than Damon Hill.

The advances in conditioning and training methods, the subtle switches to previous day weigh ins and 12 rounds..... any firm statement on which is better is purely conjecture.

I'd say that Mayweather was one of the last (if not the last) star boxer to emerge from an amateur sport that resembled pro boxing..... these are going to be fewer and far between as time goes on.

 

Even if we assume he has the drive to get through fights which would be much more competitive than the ones he has had (and I think he does have that drive, he's a consumate professional and amazing athlete) I still don't believe that aesthetically his attributes are anywhere near as mind blowing as some of the aforementioned fighters, and I don't think they'd see him through with even his greatest effort.

Not hatred, not bias but making an educated assumption after viewing all the fighters we have been discussing. The main problem with the perception of Floyd is that he is displaying attributes that have never been displayed before.

 

I dont think boxing has changed that much. We can still compare fighters, unlike any other sport, it has remained largely the same IMO.

Boxing is not an athletic sport so to speak, it is much more skill based and mental rather than purely physical.

 

And they call me a hater....

 

I think it's plain to see the likes if Napoles, Robinson and Gavilan are not going to have their chances impeded because of Floyds conditioning.

If he weighs in the day before, and re-hydrates to be heavier, we can find junior middles through history that would beat him.

Hell, Floyd was superb at lightweight. Aesthetically beautiful to watch. Let's say the first Castillo fight never happened: I would still favour Sweet Pea, Chavez, and Arguello at 130, amongst many others aainst him.

Regardless of training techniques, older fighters skillset and apparent speed and/or power cannot be denied. These guys can be viewed having 15 round fights high on intensity. I'm sure they could hack it, it's not measurable in the way football is. If anything, technical abilities have regressed in recent years.

Floyd obviously is technically brilliant, but then he hasn't fought the opposition some of the aforementioned fighters beat. He isn't as great as them, and that isn't bias.

 

I'd agree with that you can still compare fighters, but I think you have to insert a caveat somewhere when discussing the various factors that are in place at any one time.

Though from my limited (to say the least) of watching fights from the early 1900's I'd say that there has been a fair bit of change.

Athleticism is becoming more and more prevalent in the sport though, look at the likes of Roy Jones, for example - I dare say that he'd have excelled in half a dozen sports had he chose that path as a youngster..... whereas some are just born to fight.

:good

 

I can only comment on fighters that I have seen the whole career and every fight.

Obviously Roy Jones, in his prime the guy was a freak of nature, his reflexes and his timing were like he could see everything in front of him in slow motion.

I would also vote for Chavez.

Other than that I think Mayweather at this moment in time is third.

I do see alot of other good well educated calls in this post.

 

But then we had a fighter like Hopkins, who was an 'old school' 'throwback' fighter, who dominated the division for 10 years. Also Juan Manuel Marquez, ivan Calderon etc.. We still have the old school technician fighters and the brawlers.

 

great thread, floyd is a **** hot BOXER and i would wet my pants in anticipation at match ups with JN, SRR, SRL, KG, CB.
also 'What posters do you rate as all time boxing snobs' LOL

 

i'll take your word for it

 

Pacquiao, Chavez, Sweet Pea, Sanchez, Hearns, Holmes (does he count?) and RJJ

 

Quite possible. There are a lot of theoretical match ups that could go either way. the Vernon Forrest from the first Mora fight wouldnt have won though lol