Best middleweights Mayweather could beat?

Good points and to be fair if Sturm had got the nod over Oscar we would be thinking of him differently.

 

I wonder if Monzon vs Napoles can provide some parallels in that a slick boxing WW (who started at LW and LWW) was simply ground down by a less skillful but much larger MW? The key difference I suppose is that Jose was a bit faded and also had a much more aggressive style than Floyd. However there is no doubt Napoles was an ATG and comparable to Mayweather in status and technique level. I imagine Jose these days Jose could win titles at LW, LWW, WW and LMW which would make the comparison more relevant to those who are less aware of Napoles' level.

I only mention Monzon, who is of course a top 3 or 5 MW ATG, as he is not someone known for his slick skills and could be outboxed but was such a big strong fighter he could bludgeon smaller opponents.

Posters on here have discussed this from both sides, both who Mayweather could beat on a physical and technical level and also the business and matchmaking side of things which I think is a very interesting contrast.

As I mentioned in my initial post when Roy Jones went up to HW he didn't fight Lennox Lewis. There were probably more than a few excellent contenders he could have beaten but the risk was too great so he went with Ruiz where it was still a significant achievement but the chance of a life ending punch was significantly less. I feel the same about Mayweather, as has been said he had the skills to outbox many MW greats but only a few of them would be worth fighting and need to be carefully chosen considering the possible risk to his health of being nailed by a Hagler, McClellan, Benn, Mugabi or Jackson.

What I am trying to say is there is a vast gulf between who he could beat and who would not be worth his time and would simply never happen so it is a bit of a moot point trying to analyze (even though I started the thread lol!).