I think he could beat Robinson relatively easily (9-3 or 8-4). A prime Robinson struggled greatly against Jake Lamotta whom I think Floyd would never be bothered by. Long range Floyd would be peppering him with right hand leads and on the inside (if Lamotta ever gets there) he would rolling and slipping punches and be hitting him with hard counters. Leonard would be even easier, Floyd sr gave Leonard a competitive fight with a broken hand. Floyd jr is worlds apart in skill level from his father. Leonard doesn't Keep his hands up and his counters aren't as precise as Floyd's.
lol styles make fights. no pacquiao destroyed cotto, mayweather struggled with cotto, so mayweather loses to pacquiao? no
Who has Floyd ever faced even remotely close in skill level to Robinson and LaMotta? Floyd was threatened by Baldomir's pressure. Now imagine Baldomir is bigger, tougher, craftier and harder hitting? LaMotta would walk through anything Floyd has to offer. Leonard even easier? I'm convinced some of you haven't watched much boxing that's how dumbfounding this post is. In one singular post, you've made Floyd an overwhelming favorite over the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson, Ray Leonard and Jake LaMotta. Amazing.
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This is exactly the response Floyd would get from most people. How can he cherrypick and avoid fights and say this.
The context in which he made his statement was fine to me. "For me to say somebody is better than me, after I've given my entire life to this sport, I can't do that." -- (not direct quote, just from memory) You don't have to agree with him, and let's be real, most would not. SRR is essentially untouchable, as are other old time legends. But it wasn't an outright offensive comment when put in the proper context. Floyd is entitled to his opinion, and if that is part of the confidence he needs to carry in the ring, whatever. None of our concern. I would also point out that many felt Ali was offensive when he said he was the best of all time. I would be surprised if Jack Johnson didn't say such things either. Just saying. Floyd isn't the first person to boast that.
He isn't honest with himself. This is why he can handpick and still say these things. Many fighters have given their entire life to fighting. That doensn't mean they are better than guys who fought everyone. Confidence to fight everyone means a lot.
Many fighters aren't honest with themselves. How many champions hang on for too long thinking "they still have it?" The hand picking comments are really ridiculous as well. The guy has been a "free agent" like 8-9 fights in his 43 fight career. And he's fought top ranked opposition the entire way after breaking from Top Rank. People are hating just to hate. When all is said and done, history will write differently than what many people here believe and shout about Mayweather. He will go down as one of the greatest of all time, guaranteed. Emotions will clear, and people will look objectively.
That's probably the fundamental disagreement I have when it comes to analyzing Floyd's career. He did not fight the best.
He didn't exactly fight bums either. Just saying. Clottey? Margarito? Pacquiao? And to be honest, anybody who gives a **** about Mayweather fighting Clottey and Margarito are just silly to me. The list is short man. It's a career that spans 5 weight classes. Floyd has fought and beat many top fighters. Just because it's not the "ideal list" isn't a reason to trash it. It's quality. The talk of him being a "ducker" are completely fabricated, and not based on reality. There are a handful of guys you could name that you wish he would have fought, and you can do that with essentially any champion in history.
Can't say I agree with the Margarito sentiment. At the time Floyd was fighting Zab and Baldomir, Margarito was ranked highly within the division. We as fans were instead gifted with his bouts against Zab, Baldomir and Sharmba Mitchell. And the 'ducker' label was justified since he clearly avoided Margarito and Pacquiao. Floyd never gave a damn about 'cleaning up boxing' up until Pac became his next likely opponent. Coincidence? I think not. Amongst boxers, Floyd has distinguished himself the best in only category. Business.
And Margarito went and lost his title right in that time frame. That isn't Floyd's fault. And Zab was 1 fight from being undisputed 147 pound champion and Baldomir WAS undisputed champion. Say what you want about them, but facts are facts. People also thought Zab losing to Baldomir could be a fluke, so Floyd HAD to fight them basically. It's not hard to understand.