poll: higher all-time great floyd mayweather jr or thomas hearns

I know Tommy beat the better fighters in a better era but him coming up short against Sugar Ray and Hagler and losing to Barkley (who wasn't even on the stratosphere of P4P charts) sort of hangs over his resume of accomplishments. When we're talking P4P the significant wins category is high atop the list.

I am reluctantly picking Mayweather here as I'm a huge Hearns fan but the guy simply hasn't lost after fighting his era and division's toughest competition. Head to Head against Hearns Mayweather never sees the final bell. Hearns could match him in speed, had way more power and possessed stellar boxing ability with a killer instinct to match.

 

Unfair to compare right now, Floyd's career isn't over yet. Whatever perception anyone has of him now is bound to change for good or for bad in the years to come. Just look at how people's perception of Roy Jones' greatness has been all over the place over the last 5 years, for example.

 

Its sad we are even comparing these two.
Who has PBF beat that will be known as a ATG 20 years from now???
Im still waiting...

 

Greatness is determined by skill level and success against top opposition. Skillwise, it's hard to question Floyd as one of the best ever. As far as competition, he's done pretty well for what was available. He's had some really good wins including Genaro Hernandez, Corrales, Castillo, Judah, Hatton, and De La Hoya. I don't know if he's a top 20 ATG, but I think Floyd and Hearns are close enough to compare.

 

Thats kind of arbitrary. Depends on people's definition of all time great...But like someone said, Hearns has stood the test of time while Floyd is still fighting. I mean DLH, Hatton and Corrales may be considered all time greats in the future and perhaps to a lesser extent Castillo. And Gatti will certainly be remememberd as an all time great warrior, albeit certainly not an all time great champion.

Benitez, Duran, Cuevas and Hill (I'm tempted to include the Leonard rematch as a win but I won't) are Hearns most considerable victories. Certainly nobody Floyd has beat will ever be held in the esteem of Hands of Stone yet P4P has to consider the available challenges at the time.

 

Yes those are GOOD wins. Not GREAT.
Judah is just never gonna beat a top guy. He crumbles on the big stage. Spinks doesnt count.
Hatton is way overrated and the fight was at 147 where Hatton struggled against Collazo. That should sum it up for you
De La Hoya will probably be considered an ATG but come on he was past his prime and still gave PBF a close fight.
Corrales, Hernandez and Castillo are all good fighters but not ATG material.
Out of all those guys you mentioned i think DLH is the only ATG he beat. Too bad he was washed up already.

 

I could easily say Duran was washed up when Hearns KO'D him. Cuevos was a good but not great win, same with Hill. So that just leaves Duran and Benetiz. Both of those guys were around 34 at the time Hearns fought them and past their best. You also have to consider another thing, how many ATG's could Floyd have fought? It's hard to knock a guy for level of comp when there isn't enough comp around.

 

I mostly agree with your overall point, but Benitez was actually 23 or 24 when Hearns fought him and had just beaten Duran in dominating fashion. Nothing personal, but i had to point that out.

 

My mistake. I'll give Hearns Benitez.

 

:huh :huh

 

To me it feels like PBF could be one of the most gifted and best technical fighters. Its just that i feel he has not faced his toughest opposition so its hard for me to compare him to an ATG.
You cant say there is not enough competition for him. The WW division is full of it. Like i have said before. Anyone who tries to clean it out and does will be an ATG.
It just seems that Mayweather is interested in money more than his legacy.
If PBF attempts to clean out WW that alone would do it for his legacy. It does not matter if he would lose that 0. I think he values money and that 0 too much to be above many ATGs.

 

Head-to-Head: Hearns

P4P: Mayweather

Mayweather is one of the most skilled fighters in boxing history, people really can't argue that. I've never seen such a combination of speed, power, defensive and boxing ability at 130. He was an absolute beast. Combine that with championships at 135, 147, and 154 (he was the best 140 pounder, but Hatton wasn't ready to fight him yet); and wins over the likes of Hernandez, Corrales, Chavez, Castillo, Hatton, Judah, and DLH, then PBF has a great claim to a higher ATG status. If he beats DLH and Cotto, then its no question as PBF would be top 20 without a doubt.

Also, you can't fault PBF for his resume (assuming he fights Cotto) because there weren't any SRL's, Duran's, or Hagler's around. But what I do know is that outside of the first Castillo fight, no one has really been close to Mayweather in 11+ years.