Mayweather's place in history

If a past his prime De la Hoya can fight him to a draw (which is my scorecard) then a prime Dela Hoya can beat him.

What about fasthanded punchers like Donald Curry ?

Would Mayweather beat a 154 lbs Terry Norris ?

 

This is my opinion regarding fantasy matchups at the weight classes he's fought at, who would beat him or at least be a 50/50 fight.

I'm not qualified enough to speak on Benny Leonard, Joe Gans, Tony Canzoneri, Jimmy McLarnin, Mickey Walker, Tommy Ryan, Barbados Joe Walcott, etc. So I'll let the real experts deal with that.

130: Nobody (this is an interesting one because Arguello, Chavez, and Nelson all give him good fights, but I do believe Floyd matches up well with them at this weight despite never fighting somebody of their caliber)

135: Duran, Whitaker, Armstrong, Williams, Ortiz, Chavez (Arguello and Mosley both have the ability to beat him at lightweight, but I would make Floyd the favorite)

140: Pryor, Whitaker, Chavez, Benitez

147: Robinson, Leonard, Armstrong, Griffith, Hearns, Napoles, Duran, Burley, Benitez, Whitaker (De La Hoya, Rodriguez, Basilio, Mosley, Curry are all interesting fights as well)

154: Hearns, McCallum, Norris, Wright, quite a few others

As far as his place in boxing history goes, I think he's an all time great. He's won 6 world titles in 5 weight classes which is a very impressive feat. He's remained undefeated while having faced a dozen or so world champions, including De La Hoya, Castillo, Corrales, Hernandez, Judah, Gatti, and Chavez. However, I don't place him in the same class as Leonard, Duran, Hearns, Chavez, etc because I feel he has more to prove. He has only faced one all time great who was not in his prime. I want to see him test himself like a true champion against the young, hungry fighters at welterweight such as Miguel Cotto, Paul Williams, Kermit Cintron, and Antonio Margarito. His fight with Ricky Hatton should be a good start to solidifying a truly memorable legacy. He's got all the talent in the world, I just want to see him display it against the very best.

 

oh come on, the bout with Walker should favor Walker by more than a mile. If Walker can whip heavyweight butt, than I dont think Mayweather would be much of a problem.

 

My opinion on Mayweather is that his skills are amongst the best ever seen, Robinson, Ali, Leonard, Jones jr and Mayweather are all those fighters who come once in a generation and can do things in the ring no one else can. I don't see it as too big of a stretch to say he is the best ever in terms of skills and talent. His accomplishments however don't yet match his talent, and probably never will. He cops alot of criticism at the moment for his choice of opponents but I think its exaggerated.

For example, his foray into the welterweight division is criticized alot but I personally think he did it really well. Beat the former champ to earn his shot then he shutout the current champion. Nothing wrong with that. Margarito was the #1 contender but hindsight showed he isn't as good as he was hyped up to be. Fighters who struggle with Clottey and lose to Williams aren't going to beat Mayweather.

I see him as the best ever at 130, although theres very little between him, Arguello and Chavez. At 135, 140 etc etc he isn't the best but in terms of head to head he ranks pretty highly, he just didn't demonstrate his skills against to many opponents in that weight class to warrant a high ranking. His overall resume is pretty good and he's definently an all time great in my books, top 40 for sure. If he gets a win over Hatton, Cotto and perhaps Spinks he will jump considerably. Just have to wait and see

 

Agreed, well 90% anyway.

 

In my mind Aaron Pryor poses the worst stylistic matchup for Floyd.

I think Ray Leonard and Hearns would be a nightmare for him at 147lbs.

Arguello I'm not too convinced would cause Floyd that much drama, head to head I'd favour Mayweather over Duran at 135lbs though.

 

While Mayweathers acomplishments to date are considerable his eventual historical ranking is totaly up in the air.

The Hatton fight for example will be crucial one way or another.

 

You'd favor him over the lightweight Duran?

 

IF not number 1 than were??

Well behind

Barney Ross
Henry Armstrong,
Jimmy McLarin
Tony Cani
Carlos Ortiz
Benitez
Chavez
Britton
Ted Kid Lewis
Walker
Joe Dundee
Jackie Fields
Corbett III
Zivic
Carmen Basilio
and others of couse.

 

Its all opinion, but tell me, what is his weakness? Pressure fighters is the first thing that comes to mind but when you look at it thats not the case. He had a close fight with Castillo (that you can possibly score for Castillo) but after that he showed whos better in the rematch. Another pressure fighter like Baldomir was shutout, De La Hoya tried to pressure and swarm him and was beaten pretty handily. Mayweathers offence is outstanding on its own, and his defence is even better. He is a complete fighter!

 

Can beat him on your scorecard maybe.

 

Too early to tell where he will rank. The Hatton fight is HUGE for his legacy. Not so much for the positive, but rather for the negative. If he easily handles Hatton, his stock pretty much stays where it is at, where as if he loses it takes a HUGE tumble, and even if he wins but it is a close fight like Castillo 1 his legacy takes a minor hit. Too many good to great fighters that he hasn't faced at this point for him to be a top 50 ATG. IF he gets in a couple of signature wins against a Cotto,etc. then he moves up the board.