I think people forget just what a huge reach Floyd had for a man of his size. Oscar was the only guy he fought that completely outsized him, as in height, reach and weight. That's why I believe that Oscar is his biggest win.
Legacy wise Mayweather. He never lost. He didnt hang around either- he retired when he was past his best . Sure i think Jones beat the better fighters head to head but he didnt know when to stop and in a way damaged his legacy.
The thing that shocks me is Mayweather wasnt at his peak when he fought Canelo and STILL gave Canelo a boxing lesson. i mean honestly how many rounds ypu give Canelo vs Mayweather?
I genuinely gave Canelo nothing in that fight. Never understood the hype around Canelo in the build up, or how anyone was backing him to win. He'd shown nothing up until that point to suggest he had a chance. I predicted a replica of Whitaker-Vasquez, but it ended up being a lot more straightforward than that. I remember some guys (who had backed Canelo, or at least predicted that he'd be Floyd's toughest fight) desperately trying to give him rounds whenever they could, failing to grasp that just because someone hasn't lost a round as badly as they were losing the early ones, it doesn't actually mean they actually won it. That said, I may be unfair on Canelo, as I've just never rated him anywhere near as highly as many others - and I still don't.
Well, he'd find it more or less impossible to find anyone below LHW, but I have pointed out before that his dominance at 154 was against the smaller of the top guys of the division.
I don’t think Mayweather had many real threats with greater reach. Williams blew his chance by losing to Quintana and was outside of Floyd’s weight after that. Andrade was around but Mayweather was already in his late 30s. Williams would lose. Andrade would’ve been very difficult.
It could’ve happened after the Hatton fight, but Williams lost to Quintana and had to rematch him, then moved to 154. Floyd became inactive.
Out of curiosity, if you are willing or able to answer I would be curious where you rank Floyd among ATG’s? Top 10-20-30?