Well I wouldn't say top three even because you have SRR, SRL and also ALI. Would he beat a prime duran at lightweight?
No he wouldnt be number one all time. Even if he beats all three his overall resume doesnt compare to Robinsons. Top 3 I wouldnt put him in either, but top 5 perhaps.
Hell no. To the TS. If he cleans out 147 and beats Hatton, he's not the GOAT (not even close IMO), but he would solidify his legacy as one of the best of this generation.
If he beat Cotto, Hatton, and Mosley, I would put him in the top 25 or top 20, but no where near the GOAT.
Damn, so what would he have to do to be rated as an ATG not No 1 but up there? I remember people saying before that he had to clean out the division to be a great after oscar fight. Now if he does that he still aint an all time great. You guys keep raising the bar.
He's clearly going to go down as an ATG. It's just that I don't think there's any way that he can realistically go down as THE ATG. C'mon, even Floyd knows that all of his talk about being greater than Robinson is unadulterated bull****.
If Floyd was to drop to 140 and beat Hatton at his best weight he'd be the lineal and undisputed LW champ. Somebody already said he wouldn't be able to do this, but given the proper amount of time who knows. Then move back to welter and beat Mosley, Cotto, Williams, Margarito (just to shut up some people) Cintron and maybe even Collazo to achieve at another weight, undisputed champ status. Finally, have another 2-3 more fights at LM, against whomever is the bst available and you could, imo, make a serious claim for him being top 3.
The answer is yes. Right now he is top 5, and would be #1 after beating those guys. Let's stop asking fighters to have over a 100 fights in the 21st century. Those days are over and it's a different era. Pound for pound and era for era, Floyd will go down as the best ever to anyone with an objective, educated eye.
He could beat every so called elite fighter from 147 all the way up to 175lbs and still wouldn't be considered #1. There is no way he can surpass Ray Robinson. Mayweather simply isn't popular enough and the legend of Robinson is too greatly thought of. Probably the same with Ali as well. No one would want to think of a jerk like Mayweather being "greater" than Ali.