Putting Floyd in his Place

[joseph5620]

Holmes? Qawi? Muhammad?

Well, Holmes was far past his prime and was showing it prior to fighting Spinks. I also thought Spinks clearly lost the second fight.


Either way it's certainly arguable and not outrageous to rate Mayweather over Spinks.

[Lets_Get_It_On!]

This isn’t a Mayweather-Pacquiao discussion so mods don’t delete. It isn’t a thread about me nor any other poster either so try not to keep take it there.

The poster “Malcolm” made a really good point in another thread that got me thinking. I remember watching Floyd Mayweather fighting Louie Leija on what I believe was the Morales-Zaragoza undercard (wow…who could’ve imagined known what was to come for both of those guys? Shout out to Bob Arum). I also remember being extremely impressed with the number Mayweather did on Genaro Hernandez. I was still in my teens then. 17 years later, I'm a married man. And this dude is still undefeated.

Not a Marciano kind of undefeated either. Even if he had a loss or two, Mayweather’s resume would still ***** Rocky’s resume handily. Some would point to fights that could have been made but you can say that about anyone. The fact that he’s remained undefeated in the fights that have been made is ridiculous. Hernandez, Manfredy, Corrales, Castillo, a prime Corley, Judah, Gatti, De La Hoya, Hatton, Marquez, Mosley, Cotto, Alvarez, etc. etc. That is one hell of a resume. And if he faces and beat Pacquiao well then he can call himself whatever he wants. But in the meantime, looking at it objectively in 2015, where do you think Floyd Mayweather stands in the boxing annals? Top 25? Higher? Lower? What would he need to do in order to stamp himself as a top 10 fighter? Or is that out of the question?

To say his resume is awesome in respect to TOP this and that ....... well, that is a weak asS resume when you analyze it carefully and you know it.

Floyd fought no greats in their prime. From the list you mentioned, most were either approaching retirement or way past it. Some were not at their best weight, some were weight drained and some were inexperienced.

Even if Floyd fights Manny now, it's too late! It had to happen before Dec-2012. After that, its an OK win but for legacy, too late!

Nobody is saying that he is not a good fighter. He is but when you look at his resume, there are some big holes when you need to look at it from this perspective!

[BattlingNelson]

Well, Holmes was far past his prime and was showing it prior to fighting Spinks. I also thought Spinks clearly lost the second fight.


Either way it's certainly arguable and not outrageous to rate Mayweather over Spinks.

I agree pretty much Joseph. It's tough though. Spinks was champ during the arguably best era of LHW and did upset Holmes at HW.

I think an interesting way to gauge Floyd in an all-time light, is to compare him with Leonard. Leonard is arguably the highest rated all-timer of the modern era. He fought and beat 3-4 boxers that surely is ranked in the top 100 possibly top 50 in Duran, Hearns, Hagler and Benitez (not top 50?).

Is there any way you can rank Floyds level of opposition that high? I would say clearly not.

Now to those who think Floyd is top 10 or even top 5, I'd like to make a little point to illustrate what it is Floyd is up against here. Take Harry Greb. He went 45-0 in 1919. 10 of those wins came against HOF'ers. Thats better than Floyds entire career. In a single year!

[Dr Rumack]

Top 30 at best. He doesn't have the signature wins that merit a higher ranking than that.

[alexguiness]

For me the heart of the issue lies in Floyd's first 'retirement'.

He deliberately took time out from the sport when it the WW division was packed with prime fighters that were a real threat AND when he was arguably at his prime.

Then he comes back (because he may go broke) - and its all cherry pick, health comes first, rich coward BS.

He has taken a lot form the sport that has given him everything - yet gives nothing back but BS.

Top 40 ATG.

And I am being kind...

[Flash13]

Leonard is arguably the highest rated all-timer of the modern era.

Idk i think i would rate Duran higher than leonard.

As for the op -
I think with a win against pacquiao; mayweather could climb easily into the top 20, and probably vise versa. Even though they both have declined i will still put a lot into this win.

[Furn]

Just behind Joe Calzaghe.

[kiDynamite92]

Well, Holmes was far past his prime and was showing it prior to fighting Spinks. I also thought Spinks clearly lost the second fight.


Either way it's certainly arguable and not outrageous to rate Mayweather over Spinks.

Holmes was past his prime but was still 48-0 or something and the lineal champion. He still was exceptionally good then. It was questionable win but so was mayweathers best in JLC. I thought JLC won the first and ended up having to change his style for the second fight because he realised he couldn't win by anything but a KO.

It's not outrageous to rank Mayweather ahead of Spinks but for me it is clear who was better.

[jas]

Top 3 of 21st century

I have Hopkins and pacquaio ahead of him

[Johnny Rubber]

I think Mayweather and Pacquiao could potentially break top 10. They've both had incredible careers. One or two big wins could seal the deal but who am I to say?

Who are we all to say really? It's all opinion based at the end of the day. I agree with you that they both deserve a good placing, but for me it wouldn't be the right time to reflect.

Personally I like to appraise a fighters career once they have retired. The timeline of opponents and their standing(s) is an important factor, but an overall picture of all possible opponents/career directions is always interesting and informative.