Originally posted by boxingfocus
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Floyd hand picks his opponents. 
Everybody wanted him to fight Maidana? Bull. Maidana beat a guy jumping 2 weight divisions whose best win was a tight decision over Paulie Mallignaggi. Recently enough, Maidana had been beaten easily by Devon Alexander and also by Khan. Guys who weren't Floyd fans or Maidana fans and know anything about boxing were saying, "Sheesh, that's an easy win for Floyd."
Maidana came to fight and gave it a good go, but was beaten by a comfortable margin. Yet he gets a rematch? I mean, c'mon. Talk about a soft choice of opponent... rematching a guy you beat by 4 points on the average scorecard... because he didn't roll over!
Opponents since De La Hoya / Hatton (the last stellar year in Floyd's career IMHO) are:
Handpicked - Juan Manuel Marquez in 2009; dragged him up 2 weight classes, didn't bother trying to make the contractual weight. It was a comeback fight but he was just so much longer than Marquez who was fleshy and touting drinking his own piss going in to the fight. Few thought that Marquez, a skilled techinician and counter puncher, would be able to somehow overcome the speed and physical disadvantages.
Worthy - Shane Mosley in 2010; following his highlight real kayos over sluggers Margarito and Mayorga, this was an appealing fight for the fans. However he'd already been outboxed by Cotto and Forrest, not to mention shown as too small at 154 (indeed Mayorga and Margs were career welters). Sugar Shane was also well past his prime, but he'd shown he was still a dangerous and powerful puncher.
Handpicked - Victor Ortiz in 2011; most famous for his quitting against Maidana, a draw against Lamont Peterson at light welter exposed his vulnerabilities as well as a dramatic fight in his only outing at welterweight. Ortiz was regarded as strong and explosive but technically flawed, especially defensively. His dramatic victory over then-undefeated Berto made the fight sellable, but Ortiz had twice climbed off the canvas.
So far, including Hatton, his 3 of last 4 opponents had a sum total of 2 fights at welterweight.
Worthy - Miguel Cotto in 2012; when Mayweather retired in 2007, many said it was to avoid the then undefeated Cotto. Since then his aura of invincibility was shredded by stoppages at the hands of Margarito and Pacquiao, albeit he'd rebuilt himself at 154lbs including avenging the Margarito loss - though the Mexican was damaged goods following a beating at the hands of Pacquiao, and was coming on strong when the doctor stopped the fight due to a swollen eye.
Handpicked - Robert Guerrero in 2012; having jumped up 2 weight classes to seek this fight, he'd beaten an unbeaten* Aydin and also brawled his way past Berto**. With an unofficial defeat to Salido and the majority of his career spent at 126/130, few boxing insiders thought Guerrero stood a chance with the build up to the fight dominated by the antics of the fighters' fathers.
* albeit with few notable names on his resume
** I actually thought Berto won that fight and the ref let Guerrero use his head as a weapon
Worthy - Saul Alvarez in 2013; fans were divided on Canelo at this point. Many felt he was overly hyped but equally as many believed in him. He had fared well against many experienced and technically skilled boxers though most were much smaller than him, and again he had a signficant weight advantage against Floyd. This was the kind of challenge that many frustrated fight fans wanted to see Mayweather take on, even if Alvarez was a bit green. It could not have been foreseen that Canelo's corner were so inept as to not even tell him he needed a stoppage late in the fight. On paper it was competitive with many pundits thinking Alvarez had the size to impose himself on the aging Mayweather, albeit in reality Mayweather made easy work of the naive Mexican youngster who seemed to treat the fight as a sparring session instead of digging deep to take the fight to Floyd.
Mixed - Maidana I; I want to say handpicked, I really do. This was a guy already comprehensively beaten by Devon Alexander and Khan. However, he was the type of rough fighter that Mayweather had typically not fought often if at all. Maidana had proven he was prepared to take shots to land shots and that was a trait of very few Mayweather opponents - perhaps Emmanuel Augustus being the only guy to truly be in that bracket. With Maidana's dramatic victory over a game Broner - himself having jumped 2 weight classes and only just edging Paulie Malignaggi - Floyd had a way to sell a fight that he would have been supremely confident of winning.
Handpicked - Maidana II; if you take Maidana fans out of the equation, the verdict in the first fight was unaminous - it was a comfortable Mayweather win despite the Argentinian turning in perhaps a career best performance. The rematch was just Floyd cashing in. There were some weak narratives to drag out (Floyd's legs gone etc) but almost nobody expected a change in outcome. It was basically a worse version of the first fight. Maidana got hit less but threw less as a consequence.
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So by my count, I make that 3 worthy opponents since 2007 for "The Best Ever" - which, I think, makes a mockery of Floyd's status as the P4P #1 fighter. To justify your P4P #1 status, you really need to be fighting quality opponents. In no other sport could the #1 be so choosey over who his opponents are.
Everybody wanted him to fight Maidana? Bull. Maidana beat a guy jumping 2 weight divisions whose best win was a tight decision over Paulie Mallignaggi. Recently enough, Maidana had been beaten easily by Devon Alexander and also by Khan. Guys who weren't Floyd fans or Maidana fans and know anything about boxing were saying, "Sheesh, that's an easy win for Floyd."
Maidana came to fight and gave it a good go, but was beaten by a comfortable margin. Yet he gets a rematch? I mean, c'mon. Talk about a soft choice of opponent... rematching a guy you beat by 4 points on the average scorecard... because he didn't roll over!
Opponents since De La Hoya / Hatton (the last stellar year in Floyd's career IMHO) are:
Handpicked - Juan Manuel Marquez in 2009; dragged him up 2 weight classes, didn't bother trying to make the contractual weight. It was a comeback fight but he was just so much longer than Marquez who was fleshy and touting drinking his own piss going in to the fight. Few thought that Marquez, a skilled techinician and counter puncher, would be able to somehow overcome the speed and physical disadvantages.
Worthy - Shane Mosley in 2010; following his highlight real kayos over sluggers Margarito and Mayorga, this was an appealing fight for the fans. However he'd already been outboxed by Cotto and Forrest, not to mention shown as too small at 154 (indeed Mayorga and Margs were career welters). Sugar Shane was also well past his prime, but he'd shown he was still a dangerous and powerful puncher.
Handpicked - Victor Ortiz in 2011; most famous for his quitting against Maidana, a draw against Lamont Peterson at light welter exposed his vulnerabilities as well as a dramatic fight in his only outing at welterweight. Ortiz was regarded as strong and explosive but technically flawed, especially defensively. His dramatic victory over then-undefeated Berto made the fight sellable, but Ortiz had twice climbed off the canvas.
So far, including Hatton, his 3 of last 4 opponents had a sum total of 2 fights at welterweight.
Worthy - Miguel Cotto in 2012; when Mayweather retired in 2007, many said it was to avoid the then undefeated Cotto. Since then his aura of invincibility was shredded by stoppages at the hands of Margarito and Pacquiao, albeit he'd rebuilt himself at 154lbs including avenging the Margarito loss - though the Mexican was damaged goods following a beating at the hands of Pacquiao, and was coming on strong when the doctor stopped the fight due to a swollen eye.
Handpicked - Robert Guerrero in 2012; having jumped up 2 weight classes to seek this fight, he'd beaten an unbeaten* Aydin and also brawled his way past Berto**. With an unofficial defeat to Salido and the majority of his career spent at 126/130, few boxing insiders thought Guerrero stood a chance with the build up to the fight dominated by the antics of the fighters' fathers.
* albeit with few notable names on his resume
** I actually thought Berto won that fight and the ref let Guerrero use his head as a weapon
Worthy - Saul Alvarez in 2013; fans were divided on Canelo at this point. Many felt he was overly hyped but equally as many believed in him. He had fared well against many experienced and technically skilled boxers though most were much smaller than him, and again he had a signficant weight advantage against Floyd. This was the kind of challenge that many frustrated fight fans wanted to see Mayweather take on, even if Alvarez was a bit green. It could not have been foreseen that Canelo's corner were so inept as to not even tell him he needed a stoppage late in the fight. On paper it was competitive with many pundits thinking Alvarez had the size to impose himself on the aging Mayweather, albeit in reality Mayweather made easy work of the naive Mexican youngster who seemed to treat the fight as a sparring session instead of digging deep to take the fight to Floyd.
Mixed - Maidana I; I want to say handpicked, I really do. This was a guy already comprehensively beaten by Devon Alexander and Khan. However, he was the type of rough fighter that Mayweather had typically not fought often if at all. Maidana had proven he was prepared to take shots to land shots and that was a trait of very few Mayweather opponents - perhaps Emmanuel Augustus being the only guy to truly be in that bracket. With Maidana's dramatic victory over a game Broner - himself having jumped 2 weight classes and only just edging Paulie Malignaggi - Floyd had a way to sell a fight that he would have been supremely confident of winning.
Handpicked - Maidana II; if you take Maidana fans out of the equation, the verdict in the first fight was unaminous - it was a comfortable Mayweather win despite the Argentinian turning in perhaps a career best performance. The rematch was just Floyd cashing in. There were some weak narratives to drag out (Floyd's legs gone etc) but almost nobody expected a change in outcome. It was basically a worse version of the first fight. Maidana got hit less but threw less as a consequence.
-------------------------
So by my count, I make that 3 worthy opponents since 2007 for "The Best Ever" - which, I think, makes a mockery of Floyd's status as the P4P #1 fighter. To justify your P4P #1 status, you really need to be fighting quality opponents. In no other sport could the #1 be so choosey over who his opponents are.
Beautiful!!!!!! Green K!
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