When was Floyd Mayweather Jnr in his prime?

at 140 lbs

 

very hard to say.

in terms of power, surely the fight where he was the biggest, therefor oscar fight maybe.

in terms of speed, maybe when he was very young vs manfredy.

in terms of boxing IQ, easily gatti fight.

overall (speed, power, athletic, IQ)=coralles fight

 

good point :good

 

This seems to be the trend of great athletes that have had long careers. As you state, it's very difficult to identify a 'prime' because IMO there are two sets of 'prime'; mental and physical. His physical prime was likely between 135-140 as biologically that was/is the range when a male has generally reached optimal physical maturity, but his mental maturity was likely slightly after or just overlapping his physical peak.

I think the perfect analogous athlete would be Jordan, in how he won his first 3 championships with raw physical and mental talent yet had had matured mentally when he came back to realize that he could alter his game to compensate for the loss of physical abilities. Floyd has done the exact same thing.

 

ill say the gatti fight> was great beating hatton aswell even tho i wanted ricky to do him

 

2001-2007 was his best.

 

This. . . I think his last fight in his "true prime" (speed, reflexes, etc.) was agaisnt Hatton in december 2007.


He's still plenty primed enough, though. . But it's just natural with age to lose a minute amount of reflexes. . .


I still saw some crazy speed on him when he unleashed combinations in the 12th round against Cotto. . One combo in particular was pretty blinding.

 

the hook, body left hook, right hook, and hook on the inside?:think

 

His PEAK was at 130.

His PRIME ran until he beat Marquez.

 

Gatti, he was just so sharp in that fight

 

Good post. Agreed. I think that the ring IQ gained > the physical ability lost though. I think that stands probably up until the Mosely fight. In other words I think the Mayweather that beat Mosely would beat all other variations of Mayweather (if he could make the weight, etc).

It's tough to say though because he is so versatile that it's difficult to tell whether the adjustments he makes are for physical limitations or just giving him the best chance to win. So it may be that today's Mayweather beats all other Mayweathers. I will be easier to tell if he fights again.

 

It's hard to say. He's not as fast or strong as he used to be, but that is to be expected from a 35 year old.
If prime means when he's at his physical best. I would go with his career from 130-140. If you go by the time period in which he should not only beat the curent field, but would also fair well against the historical field. I would say he's still prime. As I can count the welterweights on one hand who'd beat him.
Right now I'd compare Mayweather to Jery Rice when he played for the Radiers. He wasn't what he was with the 49ers, but he was still the best around. Mayweather is not what he was up to 140, but he's still the best around.

 

corrales to jmm imo...... his absolute peak was around the gatti fight though- 2004-2005

 

Yup - sounds like that was it. .

I been meaning to rewatch that fight for a while now. . Gonna verify later.