Best middleweights Mayweather could beat?

He's a great fighter and I don't hate him or "on" him, all I said is factual. He stepped up to fight Oscar and Cotto, who came from lower weight classes just like him - and against Canelo, one guy who had significant natural size advantage over him, Floyd requested a catchweight. Now, this was also not even Middleweight - but at Super Welterweight, mind You.

Floyd was smart and He knew his limitation. 160 was step too far and there's a reason He never considered fighting there. Now I'm sure He'd beat some decent guys, but any fellow great fighter at that weight He'd be at big disadvantage against.
Kalambay would be difficult for him even if They were the same size. He'd be the best pure boxer that Floyd fought.

 

Oscar came down in weight to fight him and Canelo came up from 147 in the fairly recent past before fighting Floyd. The logic doesn’t totally hold about Canelo having some huge size advantage over Oscar. Additionally, Cotto didn’t look like a weak little guy against Martinez and Canelo.

 

Not sure about huge, but Canelo was definitely naturally bigger - which is why He was able to fill out into solid Middleweight and Super Middleweight eventually, while Oscar looked chubby while fighting Sturm and Hopkins above 154 - and He lost both fights let's be honest. Sturm outboxed him comfortably behind a jab and blocking Oscar's punches comfortably since They had no impact at that weight.
Martinez was basically shot when Cotto beat him as well in my opinion, it was a cash out with all of his injuries and surgeries - and I thought He looked much weaker than Canelo certainly, which is why He was on the move so much.

I think for every fighter there comes a point where the size advantage is getting really difficult to overcome, usually when They can't carry additional weight comfortably due to their frame. Floyd can beat Canelo and then Canelo can beat Light Heavyweights, doesn't mean that Floyd would be effective agaisnt Light Heavyweights himself - I think We can agree here?

 

Stanley Ketchell

 

Here’s my question: Can you name a fighter who beat a few champions from a certain weightclass, but at the next weight below, and then failed in the move up to that weightclass? (Not counting guys jumping to heavyweight for obvious reasons if there are any.)

 

Young Corbett III. A career Welterweight and Middleweight, beat Light Heavyweight Champions Billy Conn and Gus Lesnevitch.

 

Let me see... Marc "Too Sharp" Johnson beat Fernando Montiel and Ratanachai at 115. They both won titles at 118 eventually - while Mark himself failed.

I think Juan Manuel Marquez is good example, although He doesn't quit fit the requirements you set. He did beat Pacquiao at full 147 limit in their last fight, but Manny was smaller guy, never a big Welterweight - and I don't think JMM was ever an effective Welterweight. He wasn't competitive against Floyd and Bradley outboxed him pretty clearly I thought.

 

Johnson was considered past it when he moved up to 118 and still almost beat Rafael Marquez. The Montiel win was a huge upset that nobody saw coming. It’s an example, but not a great one bc it was age related.

The only champion who Marquez beat at 130/35 who had success at 147 was Pacquiao, so I don’t see how that counts.

 

I'm sure there are better examples - although one difficulty is that fighters themselves usually make a decision to not move up past certain point, probably understanding They are stretching their limits, just like Floyd was never entartaining talks of fighting Sergio Martinez or Golovkin - and that's even though They both were willing to fight Floyd at a catchweight, not even full middleweight limit.

 

Golovkin offered to dry out to 154 for the chance of fighting Mayweather.

Mayweather dumped a load of chocolate in his pants and then proclaimed GGG was 'easy work' while making sure he was thousands of miles away from him.

Floyd would not have done well against a 160 sized fighter especially anybody good, and he knew it.

154 was already probably a bridge too far for him.

 

Do you have a copy of the contract? Mayweather beat the guy who beat GGG last I checked.

 

Ali lost to Berbick, who lost to Tyson, who lost to Holyfield, who lost to Toney, who drew with Michael Nunn, who lost to Kalambay, who lost to Kalule, who lost to Ray Leonard, who lost to Duran.

Roberto Duran would beat the crap out of Muhammad Ali.

 

Nonsense.

Floyd called out Winky.

Winky and his team then agreed to all of Floyd’s stipulations.

Then just as the official contracts were to be drawn up, Floyd tried to change the agreed upon split at the last second.

 

Let’s do the opposite:
Tito won titles at 154 and beat past/future 154 champs Whitaker, Campas, and Oscar (kind of).

Roman Gonzales did something similar when he moved up to 115.

Donaire beat Narvaez, Montiel, and Darchinyan at 115.

I think the norm is for these guys to clean up when they move higher.

 

He probably would’ve beaten the crap of the Ali from the Berbick fight. You’ve got a point there.