I can't agree with this at all. Regarding Floyd-Canelo, Canelo clearly wasn't the fighter he's now become, and he seemed to be terrified of getting countered by Floyd's speed. He just stood off of him all night and didn't pressure him. There were times when Floyd was stood against the ropes and backed into the corners, yet Canelo didn't press him. Oscar and Maidana did, and they were awarded for their aggression. Floyd covered up and they threw and landed shots. Yet Canelo wouldn't engage at all. The current version of Canelo would never have fought in that manner. Also, the fight was conducted at a C-W which was completely unecessary. However, Floyd deserves credit for still being in shape at an advanced age, where he was very sharp and picked up an easy win. Regarding Ward-Kovalev I-II, Ward had been inactive, and he moved up in weight to fight a monster puncher who was in his prime. Despite the last shot in the rematch which was low, he completely broke down Kovalev, both physically and psychologically. And he wasn't a big puncher. Also, I don't think Floyd would ever have taken on a challenge such as that one. So I really can't see how Floyd's win over Canelo can top that. Regarding the Pac fight, Floyd had a huge reach advantage, and Manny was clearly injured. Only a fool would argue otherwise. And that's coming from a guy who's not a huge fan of Manny's, and who thinks that Floyd would always have beaten him. Then we have the IV drama to address. For years Manny was accused of being dirty, yet it was Floyd who was caught out. And there's no way on this planet that he required that IV due to being severely dehydrated. So in my opinion, his win over Manny isn't even a top 3 win of his.
If you're going off of depth then obviously it's Mayweather, but for the upper echelon of wins then it's clearly advantage Ward. His best win in particular is clearly better than Mayweather's best win.
Okay, so you're comfortable making extravagant excuses for why Floyd performed so well against certain opponents. I'm not. Floyd was 36 and giving up 15-20 pounds against Canelo and schooled him. It hasn't been done before or after and Canelo fights top opponents. Floyd was 38 and schooled Manny, the pfp 2 behind Floyd, in a way that hasn't been done before or after. End/
Nope. Look at the circumstances. Manny wasn't the same guy he'd been, and he'd recently been knocked out. He was clearly injured. Floyd had a huge reach advantage. Floyd was caught with an IV, which to anyone with any sense, WAS NOT for being severely dehydrated. Not when you consider that all the work had been done, he'd made weight easily, and he always had and had never been dehydrated before. His win over Manny wasn't better than his win over Oscar, despite the fact that Oscar was faded. Ward hasn't got a huge selection of great wins, but he has a few quality ones. He easily beat Froch with a fractured hand, and he moved up and beat a big punching prime LHW after being inactive.
Is that a excuse? I'm a huge Marquez fan but weight wouldn't matter Mayweather style was a nightmare for Marquez no matter what weight , and don't forget that version of Marquez was the one to beat Pacquiao one or two years later so that's actually a good win imo
Top 3 maybe... like I said though I think when you extend it to 5, Mayweather takes over. S.Barrera and Abraham wont be on a top 5 list that beats Mayweathers, imo.
What a bunch of excuses, Mayweather was more shot than Pacquiao at that time, just look at Pacquiao years later he stills looks great, can't say the same for Mayweather
Mayweather has the edge at the 4 and 5 spot. Ward has the edge at the 1, 2 and 3 spot. Kovalev is solidly over Corrales. Both huge punchers, but Kovalev unlike Corrales had significant creativity in his offensive arsenal. Deceptive 1-2 and 2-1, power jab and timing. Kessler is solid over Castillo. Both do what they do well, Castillo is a good pressure fighter, Kessler a highly skilled boxer-puncher. But Kessler unlike Castillo does not have a major weakness and Castillo has a glass chin. Froch is basically a p4p stronger, tougher, better conditioned, meaner version of Hatton difference is Hatton did more work on the inside. After that there is a dropoff with Ward's resume, but top 3 is about as good as you're going to find.
His win over Oscar was better than his win over Manny in my opinion. Oscar was past his best, but he completely outsized Floyd and was still sharp. Manny was injured, and Floyd beat him with his huge reach advantage. The magnitude of the fight shouldn't be taken into account at all. It's the quality of the opponent that counts. Oscar was a much tougher proposition than the version of Manny who he was faced against, and then there's the IV debacle. Madaina gave Floyd a tough fight stylistically, but he was never a top fighter. But Floyd deserves credit for beating a much younger, stronger guy at an advanced age. Ward's wins over Froch and Kovalev were great when you consider that he had a fractured hand against Froch, and he moved up to fight a huge punching prime LHW after years of inactivity.
Tough one. The one that Mayweather fought for sure isn't as good as Kovalev. Pac in general at 147??? I'd say the version of Pac that fought Mosley and Clottey at 147 is about as dangerous as Kovalev was in his prime, but edge to Kovalev. We're talking about a guy who really should have never left 126 against a guy who was fighting in his optimal weight class with power and skill.
If we are going to judge Mayweather win because Pacquiao was knocked out before than we should judge all of Pacquiao big wins because all of them they were coming from begin knocked out or beaten badly before Pacquiao got to them.....
