How much respect will PBF lose if he never fights Cotto/Pac, Williams or Mosley?

IF he doesn't fight the Cotto/Pac winner and Mosley/Berto winner than he WILL LOSE ALL OF MY RESPECT CUZ HIS TALENT WILL HAVE BEEN A WAIST..

STILL CANT DENY WHAT HE HAS DONE SO FAR WITH HIS CAREER THOUGH

 

see calzaghe , roy jones and bernard hopkins for answer.

 

The biggest problem with Mayweather is that he could probably beat 3 of these guys definitively(PW might be able to outpoint him). He is bound to be in the category of "what could have been" only because he is in a division full of talent and he's off to the side playing weight and match up games and ignoring the core of the sport. To be considered by true boxing fans and followers as one of the greatest to ever do it, he has to beat the guys who are on top and in their prime while he is. No one would have given a **** if a 30 year old Hagler knocked out at 42 year old drained Tommy Hearns. Mayweather has cemented his amazing talent with the best punchstat records ever. He is the king of conventional boxing. But he hasn't done it against the people that count, in the weightclass he is in. He's taking calculated risks with dollar signs as the gain. He might not care what people think of him now, because he is going to try to retire undefeated and campaign as the greatest boxer who ever lived. He will really believe he is better than Ali or Robinson just by citing the fact that they lost. But he'll be in for a shock when he realizes he retires and there aren't entire days on ESPN dedicated to his boxing matches, or DVD box sets coming out like with Tyson and Ali. He's setting himself up to be passed over in the category of the greatest of all time. Now if he beats Cotto and Mosley, I will say "Ok, you're as good as I thought you could be" but for right now it's pure speculation.

 

He would never be as great as he could be win or loose in those fights:yep:good:bbb

 

It doesn't matter. He will not gain respect from the haters even if he fights and beats all of them. The haters will say:

1) Mosely was too old
2) Cotto was shot
3) Manny was to small
4) Paul Williams was overrated.

If PBF beat all of the above those excuses would come rolling in from the haters. So it doesn't matter.

 

Where is it written in the rules of boxing that a fight MUST stand in going toe to toe?

The object of any competition is to win, period.

 

Oh is it? Some idiot already started a thread claiming that PBF is going to want to fight the winner of Pac v. Cotto because he knows the winner is going to be damaged goods.

Please review this thread as proof.

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=180631

 

well he definitely wont earn no respect by fighting lightweights, thats for dam sure...

but uhhh, i've been lost respect for the guy....yes he put in very good work in the beginning of his career, but that **** was years ago, year after year you have to fight the best and prove you're every bit as great as you claim to be

the fact is..the greater you appear to be the better the opposition you have to fight. Floyd is hands down one of the most talented guys to step into the ring ever and i mean EVER, so why is it that there are lesser fighters out there fighting better opposition?

if he wants to claim how great he is, and say that boxing needs him and so on and so on, he needs to prove it against the highest caliber of opposition available as true greats b4 him have and current and future greats will continue to due

"to be the best, you have to beat the best".....or ****, atleast fight them

 

That's one person and does not necessarily represent the majority. There're a least two right now who would respect him more if he fights.

Let's put it this way will you get more respect fighting top opposition? There's an obvious answer.

Whether Mayweather can beat them easily or not is not the question. The question is whether he is game enough to take them on. At this stage it doesn't appear so. Mosley is 38 and yet Mayweather is still unwilling to fight him. Pac has put more of his balls (coming from minimum weight and signing to fight cotto) on the line than Mayweather ever has.