I don't really rate him there at all. His resume and performances at the weight are not the stuff of all time greats, nor is his willingness to take on the best. Floyd's merit as a possible all time great lies in what he did at the lower weights, in particular the 130 pound division.
I dont even rate him above Mosley and Cotto at welterweight all time.... i dont really want to make a list going down that far to include mayweather. Mayweathers ATG status come into play below 140... imo. Dont get me wrong, his hatton, judah and hoya wins are nice wins, no doubt, but not enough that i would rank him all time at the weight. im interested in where people rank trinidad at welterweight though to be honest.... but that is another thread i suppose.
he shouldn't be ranked at welterweight at all. He fought hatton and jmm at ww in his last teo fights and these guys obviously aren't ww boxers.. I wonder how long he will keep doing this.
That being said, I personally don't have him rated all that high at all, his resume at 130 is not impressive. But the historians will look back at his resume and see the names, not the stipulations that he has wins over. Many legendary fighters have fallen to Floyd. If you are going to Have Oscar or Jose Luis Castillo or Corrales as ELITE fighters, let alone ATG's , they will look back and see they all lost to Floyd. Marquez lost to floyd. Hatton lost to Floyd, everyone has lost to floyd. Weather or not they were in their prime, or coming up in weight to meet him, or if he just straight out beat them- they will all be grouped into one catagory- those who lost to floyd. Floyd will be remembered as a great undefeated fighter who CAN beat most competitors today handily in his range of weight. He will be recognised as one of the best of all time, because i think he could have been and he has several big names to his credit. In actuality though, he will be a great fighter who never fully lived up to his OWN potential.
I agree. Why I don't rate him nearly as highly as everyone else is due to the fact that he is clearly head and shoulders above anyone else in the fight game right now (Pacquiao aside, who is just too small to beat Mayweather) and has still chosen to take the easiest route. I don't think beating the top Welterweights around would tell me anything I didn't already know about his skills, but at least it would tell me something about his heart. As it is, he doesn't fight in a strong enough era to really compare him to the all time greats in that regard, and the fact that he hasn't conclusively proved himself even in such a weak era speaks volumes about his lack of a true warrior's spirit. Extremely talented, especially at the lower weights (at 130 I rate him among the best due to his dominance and the abilities he showed which he hasn't replicated since), but talent isn't all there is to being an all time great.
i dont think anyone has a better ww resume then cotto! if you go off quality then mayweather will go down as one of the best ever, if you go off resume then you can't really put him in any weight class. he beats the number one man then fights for the money.