Who would Floyd find the tougher opponent: Williams or Martinez?

You see, I do agree with you guys to an extent. I think Williams's defence is too open/sloppy, and he does have technical deficiencies which he tries to compensate for by volume, but I still think that stylistically, he would be more difficult for Floyd.

I prefer Martinez to Williams as a fighter, and I think Martinez beat him by 1 point, and I'd back Maravila to win if those two fought again... but there are a couple of reasons why I think Williams would be the tougher proposition for Floyd Mayweather.

First of all, Martinez is not a great boxer, he is a great athlete who has acquired some neat and unorthodox boxing skills over the years. This guy did not start boxing till he was 20 and he learned as he developed as a pro (eg he was outclassed and stopped by Margarito earlier in their careers, but now I'd say Martinez was the more accomplished fighter by some distance).

Martinez beats fighters by using athleticism, handspeed, foot speed and movement, energy and relentlessness. That's how he outpointed Kelly Pavlik, and that's how he was effective vs Williams over 12 rounds. He does not have an exceptionally advanced technical game (though he does throw some accurate counters it must be said), he uses athleticism to defend himself (like RJJ) rather than polished defensive skills (like Toney or Floyd himself), and he does not possess great punching power by any means.

Therefore, you have to ask, how exactly does that make him the kind of opponent who is going to beat Floyd Mayweather?

Is he going to be fast enough to outspeed Floyd? I would say no. Outspeeding a 178lbs Kelly Pavlik does not mean he can outspeed a peak condition 150lbs+ Floyd Mayweather.

Is his athleticism, speed and reflexes going to be enough to avoid Floyd's lightning-fast counters and leading shots? Again, I'd say no. Floyd's handspeed was blinding against Shane Mosley, and will be faster than anyone else Maravila has been in with.

Is Sergio's movement going to allow him to dictate the fight like he did at points vs Pavlik? No, because Mayweather is a better ring general than he is with a better grasp of how to control a fight. Is Sergio's stamina going to be enough to take control of the fight down the stretch like he often does? Yet again, I'd say no, Floyd's stamina has never been in question, he can match anyone in that regard.


All in all, I think Maravila is a fantastic fighter, I really like him and prefer him to Williams, but I do not see how he beats Floyd at all. Floyd's greater technical capacity will see him control Martinez, who doesn't have the power to keep Floyd on the defensive.


I think Williams stands a better bet, if the fight is at 154 or 160 (Williams may say he can easily make 147, but I'm very dubious, I think he is just saying that in case a big money option appears for him at welter, I think he'd risk weakening himself making 147 after moving up to 154 & 160).

When Jesus Chavez, Jose Luis Castillo (1st fight), Oscar De La Hoya etc, attacked Floyd aggressively early on and focused on throwing a hell of a lot of punches, Floyd was hemmed in and found it difficult to assert himself. Castillo managed to keep this up, but Oscar tired and Chavez got wore down by eating counters. I think Williams has the workrate, the punch variety, the jab, the power and the size advantages to give Floyd a torrid time.

If he comes in with the right tactics, keeps backing Floyd up and using his jab and size advantage in the right way, and has his fitness/stamina at the right level, Floyd could have a very hard time with him. I've long thought the Kryptonite for the shoulder roll defence would be someone with very long arms. I think Williams could hem Floyd in with storms of punches, and if he set himself properly he could do some damage as well. Of course, there is a very live chance that Floyd could indeed keep picking holes in Williams and landing enough counters to win the rounds, but I think Williams's physicality and workrate would cause him a bigger problem than most people on here seem to be anticipating.

I'd love to see either fight though.

 

Martinez has more "technical flaws" than Williams...plus he gets tired.

Williams has another gear... and can fight better on the inside.

 

Please..

Williams didn't get KTFO by Tony...like Sergio/