Floyd Mayweather - The Best Ever?

He's Farmboxer's Doppelganger troll.

Their posts are all short and horrible, one of them always bashing Floyd and the other always praising him.

 

Hey, thanks for the input... Usually we get kicked in here... So, I,m good with a pat on the back !

 

NO he's not, but he deserves to be mentioned as one of the greatest ever (in my eyes, a top 20-25 P4P fighter already,) and he's also the best of his era which is a pretty great accomplishment also.

It's always hard to compare guys from more recent eras with guys who fought in the true golden days of boxing- specifically between the early 1900's to the 1950's. Most of the "great" fighters in the past have around at least 100 wins on their resume and fought up to 15 times annually. It's hard to imagine how certain fighters of today would've fared back than.

IMO what really makes FLoyd an ATG is he's a throwback fighter that would've been successful in any era. He's a fine-tuned athlete who trains basically all year round, doesn't lead a sedentary lifestyle (drink/smoke, etc.) and comes from a boxing family. When I factor in all these attributes, I think he would've been highly successful in any era he fought in. I mean this is a guy who won the BWAA fighter of the year in 1998 and won it again in 2013. If that doesn't scream longevity and lengthy dominance, than I don't know what does.

Interestingly, if he fought back in the 30's-50's, I think he probably would've started off as a FW (he was a 125 lb FW in the Olympics,) and I don't imagine he would've went up all the way to WW to win the title there since some of those Welter's in the past were really big men. But I think he would've been extremely successful at FW and LW. There's really no doubt in my mind, I think he would've done very well against the likes of Pep, Leonard, Ross, Gans, even the great Hank Armstrong.

He's still an active fighter so I don't want to rank him just yet considering he can still do some work to enhance his legacy. Beating Manny Pacquiao and also beating Cotto at MW can really catapult Mayweather's stock and if he runs the table against top-tier competition for the remainder of his contract and maybe fights 1 or 2 more times afterwards against top guys and wins in dominant fashion, than the debate of him being a top 10-20 fighter all time can actually hold some credence to it.

 

This is a solid and well put together post... Floyd,s preparation is truly a throwback... He is ALWAYS superbly conditioned. I do question how he would have fared against the true legends of the sport as I feel he VERY carefully navigates his career and opponents. The true legends fought em all... The money had to be right,true. But, they all wanted the bragging rights that came with beating the best. I don,t feel Floyd deserves to be ranked with even the `modern` era greats... Duran. SRL, Hearns,Pryor even Chavez. Look at who these guys fought and most importantly, how they had to fight to win against their top tier counterparts. I say that there comes a time in a fight, when skills alone don,t get it done. Floyd,is NOT that far superior that he can play safe and beat a Duran, Leonard Pryor or (God help him ) Hearns. Example, look at SRL/Hearns 1. SRL had to go through fire and hell to finally get to Hearns. That meant walking through that piston of a jab and his blistering right hand... I don NOT think Floyd has that mental make up... At some pint in their careers, the greats had to bite down and... Fight... Even Ali dug in and waged war in Manila with Frazier...Floyd hasn,t ever shown a willingness to sign contracts for those kind of fights,much less fight and win one. His ledger does not have the weights of ATG status. IMO...

 

Enigmas post was nice....and your post was good and i respect your opinion......buttttt.....

there isnt really a guy out there, besides pac, that could do anything to change floyds legacy.....there isnt a guy retired now that could have helped floyd change his legacy....his legacy is stuck in neutral for the most part....and has been.....because everyone wants him to have competed in the fab 4 era

you could add margarito and pwill to his resume...as wins....and while many writers/historians might look at his resume differently....most of the fans here who dont like him wouldnt change a thing

margarito....tough guy...great chin...stamina....good boxer? not at all.....if floyd had beaten him "hes a cheat....pac worked him too...and better!....cotto worked him....so did old shane...big deal"

if he fought and beat paul williams "sergio nearly killed him...the guy got beaten by carlos quintana.....p will was a good fighter...but nothing close to great"

see you would have liked to have seen those fights....somewhere your brains tells you their styles would have made it tough for floyd....not saying you are right/wrong about it......but if floyd comes out of those fights with wins.....your opinion then would not be much different than your opinion of him now.....

 

This is hands down the best post I've read on this site over the last 3 years. :good

 

I for one would have a very different opinion of Floyd if he had fought and beat Pac in his prime. All some of us really want is to see how he would react if he was forced into a fight.

 

thats why i said "there isnt anyone out there, besides pac, that could do anything to change floyds legacy"

i agree....that was/is about the only fight that could really do anything for him IMO...as far as moving him up or down.....

 

Name 1 fighter that Floyd has beaten in the last 8 years that coudln't be beaten by someone other than floyd at the weight and time Floyd beat them ?

I know every Floyd nut hugger is praying Canelo beats Lara

The damage is done though most of Floyds opponents would also be beaten by other boxers other than Floyd.

 

Guerrero, Ortiz would beat every fighter rated in the top 10 but Mayweather and Pacquiao when he fought them
Mosley got ducked by Pacquiao before Mayweather fought him.
Cotto would beat most top 10 JMW when he fought Mayweather and so on...if his comp is so easy why does he have a better JMW resume in 3 fights than every top JMW who had been there for years, why does he have a better WW resume than almost any WW since 00"

If everybody at WW beats Marquez why after two WW fights is Pacquiao still trying to get a legit w over him. If these guys Mayweather's fighting are so easy why are most of them on winning streaks of 3/4 years vs top fighters.

A past prime Mosely should he'd beat any version of Margarito but one is a legacy defining fight and the other isn't GTFOH with that dumb **** (I don't mean you just in general)

Maidana a fighter more accomplished than Margarito loses 3 years ago and that's all you hear Margarito loses directly after calling Mayweather out and he's the most feared.

 

I get what your saying... but, I just don,t see Floyd coming out on top against the `iron` I was talking about. His skill set (while amazing) wouldn,t be enough to overcome the nuclear force of Hearns right hand. The tenacity, sheer violence,heavy hands 135 and underated ring savvy of Duran. The combined speed and power and will to win of SRL. And the whirlwind, and non-stop attack of the Hawk. These 4 fighters beat Floyd at 135,140 and 147. His skill could not overcome their will... Am I being tough on Floyd ? Yep ... But,the thread was about being TBE so he,s in some pretty rough company. I say Duran gets him because if you look at what Duran did to SRL first time out... Plus Duran was a BEAST @135 !

 

thats fine....but the "ledger" you were talking about just doesnt exist for him.....not much he can do about it....the only one that could have elevated him is pac(i personally dont think arum ever wanted this fight and ducked it...many others feel the opposite...lets just call it down the middle for now).....thats about it....at the end of the day wins over margarito and pwilly wouldnt have elevated him anywhere.....because they would have been torn down by haters....maybe writers/historians would sing a different tune...and maybe the pack would follow....but holes would have been torn in margarito and pwill by many.....and too be honest...neither of those guys were great....they are just the boogeymen the haters like to mention he never fought

 

Hey,in the end it,s all good debate... Lots of good opinions too...

 

Mayweather: call me "Money Mayweather"
*****s: "Yes Money Mayweather, I love you!"
Mayweather: "I'm TBE now guys"
*****s: "Yes TBE, you're the best, we want to lick your ass"