Does he have an argument as one of the best head-to-head matchup fighters in the weight classes he fought in? I feel like he’s usually viewed through the lens of his full career rather than how he’d do in hypothetical matchups like you see made with a lot of other greats of the sport.
I consider SRL a head to head GOAT. The fact Duran beat him at 147 tells me no fighter is unbeatable if matched properly. Floyd included. For me, Pacquiao beats him if they fight after Cotto Edit. I also think Hearns stops him
One of them he's an extreme stylistic nightmare for damn near any style because he was so complete with very few flaws.
H2h Greatest of all time? In welter? He is in the discussion. And very few others are. But it's not obvious enough to really call him the one goat above all others
He has to be in the conversation for it. People criticise some of his career choices but even with some fights not happening he still has the best resume of all the fighters who retired undefeated (Ward, Calzaghe, Marciano, Lopez etc.). To be honest he's got a better resume than all of them combined. If he wasn't one of the best fighters h2h he would've been beaten by at least one of the people he fought.
130 and 135 for sure. I think Pernell and Duran are bad style fights for Floyd but the same can be said for Floyd against them. His reach, sneaky power and reflexes are just bad news all around for everyone at the weights IMO
He is certainly one of the greatest of all time. I'm not really sure how someone could argue with that.
Depends on the weight class. He was absolutely freakish at 130. Even at higher weights like 147+ he would compete on sheer skill alone.
He looked absolutely amazing against Corrales. It was a performance on par with Ali against Williams, as in, how does ANYBODY beat that guy? Was like a prime Michael Jordan playing 1-on-1 against a high school player.
There may be an argument at 130. But, I would likely not have him even in the top 20 at Lightweight. And, not in the top 10 at any other weight.
Yehh either him or Arguello gotta be for super featherweight. No wonder Floyd said he was his dream match.