Duran doesn't believe Mayweather would have dominated in his era

Would he?

He could possibly have beaten Benitez.

He wouldn’t have beaten Hearns, Leonard and Marvin though.

Duran faced absolute prime versions of those guys.

A prime Leonard at WW.

A prime Hearns at JMW.

A prime Marvin at MW.

Not faded versions.

But absolutely prime versions at their best weights.

Some people rightly claim that Leonard didn’t fight those guys in their prime.

But Duran did.

He caught them all, absolutely bang in their primes.

Leonard - 1981

Hearns - 1984

Marvin - 1983

So tell me who Floyd beats.

Because for me, he doesn’t beat any prime version of those guys.

And don’t forget that Duran beat a prime Leonard.

So Floyd would have had to have beaten Benitez, just to have tied with Duran.

So I can’t actually see where he could have bettered Duran’s results. And again, especially if he’d have fought the specific versions of those guys that Duran did.

You could say that MAYBE he could have beaten the versions of the ‘Fab Four’ who Leonard fought. Maybe. But not the versions who Duran fought.

 

Duran is right

He would have definitely lost to at least 1 fighter of that era

 

And Duran is correct. Floyd wouldve been competitive with them but very well couldve lost to all of them too.

SRL stops Floyd, Hearns probably stops Floyd, Duran probably beats Floyd up to a UD. Floyd never fights Hagler. Floyd doesnt go to 147 in that era imho...

 

I would take SRL to beat all of the guys you mentioned with OSDT.

Floyd loses outright to SRL and Hearns. Hagler fight never happens obviously. Duran prolly a pick 'em fight but Floyd doesnt like intelligent pressure fighters so I lean Duran.

Floyd doesnt get embarrassed by any of Fab 4 because he belongs in that tandem.

 

Jimmy Lennon Jr being classy as usual.

 

This is fair comment and often overlooked. Floyd has a big wingspan and grew into a decent size welter. However, he was never really a welterweight and neither of course was manny.

Floyd doesn't beat Ray Leonard,just like Ray Leonard wouldn't beat Jones Jr or Andre Ward

 

Honestly, I think Pryor had the ability to stop Floyd at 140. If DeMarcus Corley can buzz Floyd and scare him at 140.....

 

Duran thinks Floyd would be his dad in that era. He doesn't rate Floyd high at all from an ability standpoint. Floyd is just a product of his era in Duran's mind.

 

Duran’s not wrong.

Mayweather’s skills are real, elite defence, timing, ring IQ, no question. He’d be competitive with anybody from any era at 135–147. But the idea that he would just dominate the 70s and 80s killers like Duran, Leonard, Hearns, and Hagler is fantasy.

Those guys fought way more aggressively, at a higher pace, with less concern for protecting undefeated records. You couldn’t pick and choose matchups or fight twice a year. You fought whoever was there, back-to-back, with brutal styles that tested you everywhere: inside, outside, stamina, toughness, mentality.

Floyd would have still been great, still a world champion, but fighting Leonard after Duran, then Hearns, then maybe Benitez, all in the same 2–3 year window? No way he comes through that undefeated, and no way he gets the same aura he has now.

Duran’s right, Floyd would still be elite, but he wouldn't be "Money Mayweather" with the same shine if he had to go through that gauntlet.

 

Agree with duran. Mayweather would probably be the one you,d send back to represent elite back to the fab 4 era.

But for as good as floyd was there was too much safety first decision making going on to make a case that he,d dominate that era. It took him 6 years to agree to fight pacman after pacmans run through de la hoya, hatton and cotto. Too many connor mcgregors/andro berto,s or older shane mosley/de la hoyas. I m not even sure floyd would beat prime mosley/de la hoya tbh.

A lot of smart match making going on. We,re looking at an elite level fighter which floyd defo was waiting around picking guys at the right time with a lot in his favour....guys that we,rent comparable to the fab 4 to boot.

His consistancy and list of names is impressive. But looking closer at it....he was hand picking guys at the right time all the while claiming he was the best ever. Their probably wasnt the talent of opponent at the time to even be the best ever. Too many baldomirs, victor ortiz,s or cotto after he,d been broken down or pacman miles after his best form etc.

Brilliant fighter granted. Wasted his opportunity to claim dominance over the fab 4 tho imo. Not even sure the opportunity was really there....with the level of opponents as his competitors.

Pretty sure a lot of that list would have been easy work for the fab 4 when floyd fought them anyway. Like that version of mosley floyd fought would have got paggered by hearn. Guerrero, berto, baldomir even a 147 hatton. Couldnt see them getting anywhere with say hagler even if you made them bigger versions of themselves.

Floyds career was a great one he was elite level his achievement of titles and running through divisions is a massive plus for his argument....but talks of the best ever was silly looking back.

 

Mayweather was boring as ****. The most boring fighter ever. He'd have ran like a ***** against Duran. Duran would have got to him more than others though and pummeled him.

 

I get what you’re saying, Floyd’s safety-first style definitely wouldn’t have won him many fans in the Duran, Leonard, Hearns era. Those guys fought with way more urgency and aggression and the crowd back then wouldn’t have respected a guy spending 12 rounds backing off and pot-shotting.

And yeah, Duran would’ve been a nightmare stylistically, relentless pressure, body work, rough inside game, all the things that would force Floyd to work harder than he ever had to in his actual career.

I get where you're coming from, a lot of people hated watching Floyd fight, especially in the later years when he went full safety-first.

But to be fair, "boring" and "ineffective" aren't the same thing. Floyd's defence, distance control, and timing were elite, even if it wasn’t exciting to watch, it was brutally effective against almost everyone he faced. You don’t stay at the top for two decades just by running.

 

If you think Floyd would have fought any of them, you're crazy. All of them are far above his acceptable risk level.

 

Obviously. He wasn't dominant in his own era, as great a fighter as he was. Hagler, Hearns, Leonard and Duran should all be favourites against Floyd in a head to head. The first three are probably just too big and skilled for him, and Duran has the perfect style to beat him. Floyd squeaking by Castillo and Maidana yet he is going to beat Duran? I just don't see that.

 

Im think that Duran is starting to get a bit punch drunk