There is a whisper that if the Pacquiao fight falls through that Mayweather is going to fight Martinez. Mayweather is a conservative genius, so there is a chance that the fight woul be made at 154. http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6977646&posted=1#post6977646 But I honestly think that it is more likely that the fight would be fought at 156 for the MW title... Now i'm not a guy for "if so and so beats so and so where would you rank him" but...if Mayeather annexes the MW belts...what does that mean?
It means he'll have scored a huge upset in his first true endeavor as an underdog in quite some time... ...and of course credit will still be held at arm's length just out of leaping reach overhead by the beanpole bullies.
Clever, albeit worthy matchmaking as Martinez isn't a natural middleweight, nor is he a physical fighter. Maybe i'm just a curmudgeon but i think Floyd making waves at middle with the size and power he has, would truly establish the recent crop of middleweight champions as being the worst ever at the weightclass and among any traditional eight weightclass.I already think that, but still.... More importantly i tend to think if the depth continues to dwindle in the sport, multi weight accomplishments will need to be seriously reconsidered and detached from previous era weightjumpers moreso than they already are(ie the phony paper 500 weightclass champion accomplishments of DLH etc)
I do think recently Middleweight has been lacking talent but of all time? :think idk. This I feel already.
Its a great accomplishment from a fighter who started out at 130. Beating Martinez would make him a lineal champion so the amount of titles available isn't an issue imo
Mayweather would beat him imo. It's a great win for him, that much can't be denied. The current era at 160 isn't great though.
I would think Mayweather would want to fight Pac before he fights Martinez. Its going to be an ugly fight. Martinez isnt great but hes awkward and moves ok. That could create problems for Floyd as opposed to fighting a 5'6 guy with no jab and head movement that comes forward. I would be suprised if he fights anyone but Pac, but I know Arum is quietly trying to kill it. He has too many fighters he can put in with Pac and control the entire promotion. The ball is in Pacs court, he has to want the fight and force Arum into making it by bending to Mayweathers demands. Pac seems to want and need this fight. It would be a good win, but it will always be overshadowed by the Pac fight if it doesnt come off.
I'm curious as to what makes people confident in picking Mayweather over Martinez. I don't think it's unwinnable, but would consider it an upset (a bigger upset than Martinez beating Pavlik).
I just think he would be able to box better than his man and go through the gears whilst being economical, offsetting Sergio with annoying type movement etc. And yeah it would be a fine win for the resume. Like Bing said above, he started at 130.
Not happening, the Pac fight seems to be near definately on. All in all I think Pacquaio fight does more for legacy, not because its a bigger fight, but because Pacquaio will be remember as an ATG, and it'll give him domination over the WW division and it'll be the 2 best of our time I think he beats Martinez, the Argentine isn't much bigger and he isn't as good a boxer. Maybe Martinez sits on his belt waiting for Mayweather though
I think Martinez would beat Mayweather. Since this is a legacy issue, I don't think it's wrong at all to have it in Classic.
With Martinez' handspeed and awkward aggression, I see there being a lot of moments like Mayweather-Mosley Round 3 - but sustained and better coordinated, since Sergio is much sharper for his advanced age than is Shane...and unquestionably better conditioned (not that I'm in the "Mosley undertrained" camp or anything like that...Martinez is just a freak...) When has Mayweather seen someone like Martinez? Someone not only physically bigger, but about as fast, and accurate? This will be the first opponent in recent memory to fire on all these cylinders. I worry about Mayweather moving up to face Martinez as much as I worry about Cotto moving up to face Foreman. Skilled boxers with a size advantage and a style you haven't seen in a while (if ever) are always bad news, even for greats.
The question you should be asking yourself is when has Martinez ever fought anyone with world class technical skills? Floyd has faced fighters who are big, fast, and accurate. Martinez has never faced anyone who is an good technician. Therein lies the big ? I think Martinez wins this, on size, but really its hard to see how he will react faced with someone who is technically sound when I've never seen that part of his game tested.. who is the smartest fighter Martinez has faced?