I can only give 3 examples but Floyd's muscle strength seems off the charts. 1) he dang near decapitated Victor Ortiz 2) he made the little killer jmm look more like a useless dwarf. Too big and too strong. 3) in the Pacquiao fight, he was outmuscling Manny in every clinch, even using his strength to push off Manny. Floyd was quoted saying Manny is a good LITTLE fighter. While physically Floyd looks more like a Tim Bradley or a Jeff lacy. Max Kellerman shrilled at how muscular Floyd was built, and after watching PAC vs may, I cannot see how Floyd lost that fight, everybody talking about how Manny won that fight. Just my 2 cents.
His fitness and conditioning was top tier. He was only limited by the weakness in the bones in his hands in the later part of his career.
He might have had more strength than given credit for. But it wasn’t really an important part of his game
Yeah, I think so. It allowed him to gain head control and to set up the frame for the overhand right in close. Opponents, regardless of size, couldn't really stop it because he was strong enough to hold them in place with his forearm while setting up the right.
He used a lot of “hitting then holding” framing and general rough housing to great success. I think the Shane Mosley fight was a feature on how much he knew about close quarters - in-spite of the strength disadvantage.
I’ve heard many of his opponents say how strong he was, and never heard any say he was week (post fight). I think a lot of it is that he was on balance. Mosley could bench an insane amount, but Floyd backed him up all night. He could’ve done that to a lot of guys.
I think Floyds power is underatted by most fans because the idea of power automatically falls under the assumption of punching power and Ko's. PBF was more likely to win by KO than FMM and most fans today are unaware or dont remember the gun slinging, risk taking PBF and only point out FMM with his brittle hands and conservative boxing style. @Mike_b makes a good point of strength in the pocket, clinch and overall grappling that depends on power as well and is a huge part of boxing that is commonly overlooked. With all that said I cant remember a time when another fighter was able to man handle floyd or had an obvious strength advantage that ultimately dictated the fight. For Floyd to be able to prevent this says he was atleast powerful enough to stop this from ever happening. Floyds power might have not been his best attribute and or what he was known for so in this sense I believe its safe to say his physical strength was underrated.
I think he had good strength relative to his competition, Pac is a small guy, and Canelo wasn't beefed up yet when they fought, but I think guys like Robinson, Duran, and Hagler were stronger and would have no issue imposing it
I heard it on Classic that Floyd used to bench press a calf while on the farm. Or was that another guy
Yes it is overlooked. The Ricky Hatton fight is my best example. Floyd let Hatton know at the weigh in that he was in trouble. He showed Ricky that he was at least as strong. For a mauler that is not good.