Could Mayweather have made it to the top during the era of Sugar Ray, Hagler, and Hearns?

Lots of fights has a huge effect on the wear and tear department. That's what makes fighters age so fast. A guy like Mayweather does not even have the hands to fight that many fights. He got by with bad hands. So did Calzaghe. Adding a bunch more fights see's deterioration of reflexes. The legs go. Balance. Hips. Hands get progressively worse. Shoulders & elbows. Maybe even things like scar tissue build up. Ability to slip punches. Boxing radar goes.

Start subtracting things like that. The other guys had to deal with that kind of thing. Now you have a long career & you are matched against a pedigreed 23 year old. Now you have to resort to other skills to win fights.

 

great post.

 

Not even close to top 5 in the long history of boxing. Sorry. Competition far to weak to even consider him top 5 maybe top #55, like at 54.

 

Yes drugs was his thing … But he claims in interviews years later that he was clean for the fight and a promoter friend submitted urine after the fight for him .. I know , I know probably BS but he says he just didn't want to urinate after what happened to him in the ring … hard to believe

 

I hate to be thrust into the role of a Floyd advocate...But SRL has managed to be remembered fondly and rated quite well with 40 fights on his record. I am quite certain that Floyd is able to put 40 fights into a career in this era

 

I don't know how he does, but he never wanted to fight the best. He was always against fighting the best when they were the best. What I mean is Manny and Margarito and Wright. and Tzyzu and others. If that is an indication, I don't see him fighting Hearns,Hagler,Leonard or Duran.

 

Understand the opinion. I just disagree. Him and PAC not fighting in their primes hurt both their legacies and maybe takes him down a notch but defensively I’ve never seen anything like him...nothing even close.

 

I hear ya and I'm not a Floyd hater. And I do not like how SRL handled his career either and I am critical of it … I do not think the SRL Floyd comparison doesn't hold water at all .. Activity yes but resumes side by side there is no comparison and it isn't even close

 

I disagree with his defensive greatness also. It's all about your competition. Look at his top competition esp at welter. Dehloyha was very fast at lightweight, at welter? Esp at the time he fought Mayweather? Same with Moseley, same with Judah, Same with Pac, same with Marquez, Clottey was never special, Alvarez is a good fighter, but he clearly wasnt ready for Mayweather. Their is nothing special about his competition at the time he fought them. Most couldn't sustain an attack because they were simply past their primes. If you want to too talk great defensive capabilities against prime competitors see Duran vs Leonard Montreal, See Benitez vs Hearns, Whitaker vs Ramirez, Watch Prime Camacho sr. Against Limon watch Pep vs Saddler #2 when the entire world feared for Peps safety but he had one of his best performances against a prime ATG Saddler. Check out Ali vs the feared Sonny Liston, Ali blind with liniment in his eyes yet Liston still wasnt able to capitalize. Mayweatherjr was a genius in keeping his health intact and making it seem he accomplished a great deal by the "name " fighters he fought but those fighters were great in name only, their skills had eroded yrs before they fought Mayweather Jr. Outside of Corrales but that was at jr.lightweight.

 

You realise that Liston was a 215 pound man don’t you ? Floyd fought in the 130-154 range so why would his opponents be slower of hand than Liston ?

That might be the silliest comment I have ever read here and that is saying something.

 

Floyd would have been a great Super Feather back in the day. He wouldn't have moved up like today . Less belts and higher quality back then at 147.

No shame , just a smaller man than the rest at 147.

 

No, conversation over.

 

Were talking comparison bro. Liston out weighted most of Mayweather jr's opponents by almost a 100 lbs so yes Mayweather jr's opponents were faster than Liston,and the should've been . My point is its's easy to look great defensively if the competition is sub standard. Or especially when your fighting off the back foot, Mainly focused on your defense. Defensive greatness to me is Duran making one of if not the fastest welters in history miss hundreds of straight right hands, right leads and left hooks ,while being right in his chest and aggressively fighting. Or prime Benitez fighting prime Leonard, prime Hearns and close to prime Duran for a total of 45 rds 15 rds each and damn near getting through those fights unmarked though he did lose 2 of the fights.