Question for the Floyd haters !!!

He is fit and so are most boxers.

He spars with Middleweights, do you mean Kelly Pavlik or tomato cans who can't punch?

When a big WW like Margarito starts hitting him all over his arms and body with power shots unlike PBF's sparring partners can muster, you will see why all of that conditioning will not mean much.

Admittedly, PBF has a good chance of lasting 12 rounds with AM, after all he hasn't been seriously hurt, but the old saying "a good big man beats a good little man" is the biggest influence to my decision.

I just want PBF to fight the best and make the best fights. He hasn't done that for a long time.

 

:huh

 

Exactlly , all top fighters train that hard, I think Tyson in his prime trained even harder.

 

I agree that he is both. I disagreed with the claim that conditioning was the reason that he will beat Cotto, etc. He is a master boxer. That coupled with intelligence and conditioning is what would allow him to beat Cotto (etc.).....if he ever found the balls to fight him.

 

My point was that conditioning alone hardly makes a boxer great.....which is essentially what this clown claims.

 

So do I.

Losing would be a product of two things: AM's size (reflected in any weight differential on fight night) and Floyd's diminishing hunger.


I don't think 5'8" is overly small historically for a WW but it is also not the optimal height, in and of itself, one would likely select if they were building a fighter to dominate the division of today and tomorrow. SRL was 5'10".

Floyd might have stayed at 140 (from 2005-2007) where his height, IMO, makes more sense. Surprisingly or fortuitously, the WW division has been sort of weak as Floyd grew up from 130 and this enabled him to pick his spots and take advantage of what is a lull or trough in talent which will reverse and become more difficult again at some point.

Some fighters just fit certain weight classes better than others. The seven pound move from JWW to WW wasn't perfect for Floyd. Another division in-between would have been best.

But, Floyd is deceptively strong. He has been a total gym rat without deviation (until recently it seems). I've seen him variously at two 24-Hour fitness centers perhaps every month or two for the past probably eight years or so (the only exception being the past year as the market has kept me consumed and I've been lagging in getting to the gym). He has never been out of shape/not working out during all these years. I keep an odd or different workout schedule (11:00 pm - 2:00 am). Still, on occasion, I'll come in slightly earlier and see him finishing up lifting or running BB. Floyd's certainly not a dominating basketball player at 5'8", but he is undeniably inexhaustible, quick, and hustles like the energizer bunny running on jet fuel instead of a duracell battery. I don't sit and watch him workout (lifting) writing down the weight he is using and the number of reps, but I am aware that he is quite strong, pound-for-pound (which is why I knew RH would never be able to over power him in the ring). The constant working out, combined with hitting 30, has resulted in him becoming probably unable or unwilling to cut back to 140 again. I don't expect he would agree to a catch weight for a RH rematch either (could be wrong I guess).

From what others have told me and what I've seen, I think the more than a decade of non-stop training/working out and living a spartan-lifestyle (with regards to not drinking/smoking/partying) has become more and more of a weight on his shoulders. It took a total commitment to get to his level and considerable sacrifice to never deviate (especially with the friends and connections he has). When you take into account the extreme financial success and wealth he's accumulated it should be no surprise to anyone that the desire to really enjoy life by doing other things has been building. The excessive wealth athletes, entertainers, business people, etc. have been able to acquire in very short periods of time in the recent era means they can walk away young from their endeavor and never look back (and never work again) if they choose.

This recent break from fighting shouldn't be any kind of issue for Floyd. I don't think ring rust in 2009 could ever be a problem. But, if he finally stopped his conditioning regimen and, most particularly, began to behave like most of us (have or still do) drinking, smoking, etc. then I wouldn't be surprised to see him have a bad performance and possibly even lose to AM or someone that is a more optimally sized WW that could enter the ring with a greater current hunger for success combined with some certain size advantages.

Floyd could certainly carry between 155-160. He has been working out and lifting for a long time without stopping. If he reduced his cardio activity he has a frame at 5'8" that can comfortably bear that weight - no problem. If he were to allow his conditioning to fall off between fights then it would likely effect his performance, relative to what most have come to expect, at some point. A 5'8" welterweight that becomes less consistent in applying his superior quickness will probably get caught by someone at some point who is taller (especially if that individual has the capactiy to enter the ring substantively heavier than his opponent).

Every one knows Floyd isn't RJJ/MT/HD/etc. fast. But, he is very, very quick. When he decides to move there are few in boxing today that can get there before him. Floyd can certainly school AM. His conditioning has not been (to date) less than AMs. I believe it to be better. I would place my money on Floyd to do more reps of everything in a weight room and to straightout out-lift AM as well. Floyd can also run his ****ing ass off. The difference between Floyd and AM is that one is an elite ATG world-class talent, while the other has primarily only a world-class heart (but fits the WW division more optimally than Floyd if creating a composite).

One more thing, AM is only a year younger than Floyd. At 5'11", one has to wonder whether or not he is finding it easy to make weight. Will recent success diminish his own willingness to sacrifice as completely as before? I could envision a slightly drained AM losing a pretty lopsided decision to Floyd. Either way, hope the fight happens. Cotto/Floyd, too.

 

Mayweather is a runner in the ring and a runner from a real challenge. That is why he
is retired. Let him remain retired.

 

Excellent post with great insight.:good

 

Even James Toney and Sam Peter?

I remeber reading in Oscar's book how, in the lead up to the Vargas fight, Oscar went for a run at 6am at Big Bear, only to see a drunken Vargas fall out of a limo after a night on the town. He obviously takes training very seriously.

 

Oscar and Floyd was one of the richest fights in boxing history at a similar time margarito was losing to Paul Wiliiams in a fight which generated little revenue. How can you say that match up would have given him 4 million more?

Floyd sells tickets, as does Oscar. They both have for some time. Whereas Margartio has only become known the the wider boxing world in the last couple of years.

That's why the PBF and Oscar fight made so much money in the first place. Because they were both massive names. It's common sense.

 

Floyd isn't a massive name, outside of boxing circles. Well, maybe post-'World Awaits' and his stint at the WWE, but before that, I don't think he had a massive amount of mainstream/crossover cultural appeal.

 

Mainstream crossover or not. In boxing circles the pair of them are huge and it's boxing fans who buy the ppv fights and turn up at the venues.
The sad fact is that boxing has lost it's mainstream crossover appeal for the time being. unfortunate as that sounds.