The Paradigm Shift: Floyd Mayweather beats Sugar Ray Robinson

I don't like Floyd, you guys know that. SRR could well be GOAT.

Virtually all say Floyd beat Maidana by just 1 round, or drew (in the first fight).

Imagine Floyd...
110-1-2 instead of 45-0, tougher gloves, hit more with them (his defense wasn't the best), era where gameplan = go for KO (his style was the master of that), fought big fights once every three weeks, even once a week sometimes.
All those years, physical conditioning adapts to tough schedule and thus not near physical optimum, carries injuries into fights, no sports science-inspired nutrition advantages (no legal supplements that function like PED's either), shunning importance of recovery and its optimisation, no long training camps for honing craft responsibly, no specialised technical sparring to adjust to future opponent.

If Floyd (who fought 9 times in 2014) with his own style then fought Maidana with all of those factors considered, HE WOULD LOSE.


The Garry Russell Jr-Jeff Lacy Complex
SRR on tape = product of all the conditions mentioned.

Gary fighting bums = looks impressive, amazing combos.
Faces Lomachenko (fast twitch maestro, highly skilled) = showstopping combos look like pointless harmless flurries, Gary looks weaker.
We overblow their abilities by filling in the blanks ourselves i.e 'Gary is fast, has powerful combinations...therefore it IS good enough to trouble the best fighters'.

SRR's opponents = going for KO, not very defensively responsible, compromised fundamentals.
Not outpointing-by-not-fighting, not even mastering the art of outpointing-by-fighting.


Conclusion
SRR = poorly conditioned compared to Mayweather. There's levels to this, Mayweather is echelons > SRR in terms of athletic abilities etc.
The fight is not won or lost by pure athleticism alone, but when you have two of the very best up against eachother, it's a chess match. If you're failing badly in a certain area, you're not prepped at the level to pay grandmaster chess. Athleticism on the fundamental level allows you to do things you want to do.

Imagine Floyd fights 10 times by next August. He'd be finished. Morales was past it by age 28 after wars with softer gloves.
....But we are going to magically imagine SRR is not human and can take so many beatings and still be the same.


I don't really think Floyd beats SRR, but you have to be neutral and present compelling arguments.

 

Independent to the first post, not necessary to read just yet:

There's a few heads to this concept of athleticism:
1. Sugar Ray was in a grueling schedule that wears down on the body, which also includes fighting once every three weeks.
Even when fighters OVERTRAIN today, it shows notably on their performance.
2. The way this schedule renders SRR's athleticism overall. It has an incremental effect and conditions him differently to a fighter like Mayweather who conditions himself optimally for any given fight.
3. If you're not recovering the right way and optimising recovery times, taking good care so as to prevent long term damage, you're shortening your RING AGE.
4. Nutrition.
5. Using your prime athleticism when you're under those conditions is fine if you're fighting someone else under those same conditions, but when you're against someone who uses prime, optimal athleticism, under different conditions...good luck seeing how far your athleticism takes you!

I don't really think Floyd beats SRR, but you have to be neutral and present compelling arguments.

 

This thread isn't for you. It's for knowledgeable boxing fans who thus like to reflect.

 

This is the very typical wording that seems to stem from connecting imaginary dots (no dig).
How would SRR from the tapes we've seen beat Floyd?

 

The money and momentum is true, but imagine Timothy Bradley fighting 12 times in 2014, considering the Provodnikov fight. Imagine he's in an era where they really try to go for the KO, Bradley tries to do the same and take many shots, with tougher gloves. He's going to be somewhat burned out (compared to what he usually is) going into a championship fight with Floyd Mayweather.
Tim would have certain great ideas on how he'd want to implement his strategy, but he won't be able to actually follow through.

Proving yourself against top competition is a double edged sword, you'd beaten decent guys but you'd have probably taken some big beatings from them too which weighs you down.

I don't see how SRR who's athletic expression being echelons inferior, would whoop the very elite new timers...unless they were come forward fighters who almost exclusively outpoint-by-fighting.

I haven't even got to breaking down an SRR-Mayweather matchup yet.

 

:good They don't make them like SRR no more. They definitely seem tougher before. Now we have fringe contender level pansies like Leo Santa Cruz prancing around ducking everyone.
I think SRR's athletic tools at his disposal were not sufficient enough for a modern fast twitch monster like Mayweather who primes himself mentally, physically and tactically for a fight.

Some fighters have a good gas tank, some don't, but the new fighters express athleticism more than old timers - especially because they know it's a 12 round fight and not 15, thus the pacing issues don't arise.

Yeah, people usually don't question stuff, and let it fly under the radar.