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Is Floyd Mayweather the standard for greatness?

3K views 83 replies 16 participants last post by  RingDocter 
#1 ·
Everybody talks about other fighters and say things like "He doesnt deserve to fight Floyd.." or "He isnt a big enough name.." I dont think he is GREAT at all, he's really really good, he's unbeaten, has been a champ in what 5 divisions? But to look down on other fighters because of him isnt right. He isnt that far above some fighter in the sport, I wouldnt even say he is above Cotto until(if) he beats him.

Oh and did I mention he only fights for money..:thumbsdown:
 
#2 ·
If hes the standard for greatness? No hes not

But he is a great fighter, not the greatest, but a great fighter. Whether you like it or not he beat some good names along the road. I dont know if I'd rank him above De La Hoya because despite that Floyd fact is unbeaten, oscar faced far bigger names than he did.. Anyways, a fight with Cotto would mean alot on his career, a prime contender to dominate a division without a doubt
 
#6 ·
No he is not.

He has the skill of a great fighter but not the heart or persona.

He is not fighting the best comp he hasnt since 135lbs his resume is weak.

He will never be mentioned with the likes of a Leonard, Robinson or Hearns as they fought the best to prove they were the best. He will be rememberd like Jones, and Hopkins who wasted large spells of there prime fighting questionable oppoisition.
 
#8 ·
Everybody talks about other fighters and say things like "He doesnt deserve to fight Floyd.." or "He isnt a big enough name.." I dont think he is GREAT at all, he's really really good, he's unbeaten, has been a champ in what 5 divisions? But to look down on other fighters because of him isnt right. He isnt that far above some fighter in the sport, I wouldnt even say he is above Cotto until(if) he beats him.

Mayweather isnt even great in my opinion. OK he is a supremely talented boxer with the world at his feet, BUT he lacks a champions heart. He handpicks his opponents, joins dancing shows, plays the fool with the WWE, which did nothing to aid his legacy, just made himself look foolish. All the time his top contenders are avoided.
He is following the same path as Roy Jones Jr. both Jones and Mayweather were born with all the God Given talents to make them all time greats except one The heart of a true champion
Just my opinion for what its worth
 
#11 ·
I'm not going to pull any punches. I can't stand Floyd Mayweather. I'm not a fan of the way he fights and as a person, I have absolutely no use for him. I will say that I appreciate his talent and preparation. We all know that you can only get so far based on talent alone. It's tired, but true. Floyd obviously puts in the work, stays in great shape, and is as mentally focused as any fighter around. No doubt, he's many people's standard for greatness in this, the day and age in which he fights. As far as who he has fought and when he as chosen to fight them, that's a whole different story. I think he's been carefully handled. I'm sure a lot of people will cry foul with that remark, bringing up the names that he has fought and titles he has won, but I stand by my belief. I hate to keep bringing up one fight on a guy's record out of the 39 he's been in, but the first Castillo fight still weighs heavily in my mind. He can be beaten, he did get beaten in that one. Had the Vegas judges not been out of their collective minds, Mayweather would have walked out of that ring 27-1 and the aire of greatness wouldn't have disappeared altogether, but it certainly would have been tarnished. Yes, it would only have been one loss, but a loss nonetheless. And just to namedrop some of his opponents since the two Castillo fights...Victoriano Sosa, Phillip N'dou, DeMarcus Corley, Henry Bruseles, Sharmba Mitchell, Carlos Manuel Baldomir. Corley and Mitchell, let's not get too wound up with these guys. They were never what I would call top-flight. As for Sosa, N'dou, and Bruseles...what needs to be said? Yes, Baldomir managed to spring two big upsets and had a great chin, but really now, what else did he have? Mayweather dominated a wide open and basically defenseless Gatti who was a shot fighter at that point. De La Hoya was past his prime and he still just barely eaked out that split decision. Hatton was the smaller guy and yes, he dominated him authoratatively, with a little help from his friend Joe Cortez. It sounds like I'm trying to take all the credit away from Money May and in effect, I guess I am. Ultimately, my disdain for the guys may cloud my judgement to an extent, but I believe that a guy's all time greatness has to be judged in the context of the time in which he fought. Put Mayweather as a lightweight or welterweight in the 80's, maybe we don't even remember him come 1991, much less 2008.
 
G
#15 ·
I'm not going to pull any punches. I can't stand Floyd Mayweather. I'm not a fan of the way he fights and as a person, I have absolutely no use for him. I will say that I appreciate his talent and preparation. We all know that you can only get so far based on talent alone. It's tired, but true. Floyd obviously puts in the work, stays in great shape, and is as mentally focused as any fighter around. No doubt, he's many people's standard for greatness in this, the day and age in which he fights. As far as who he has fought and when he as chosen to fight them, that's a whole different story. I think he's been carefully handled. I'm sure a lot of people will cry foul with that remark, bringing up the names that he has fought and titles he has won, but I stand by my belief. I hate to keep bringing up one fight on a guy's record out of the 39 he's been in, but the first Castillo fight still weighs heavily in my mind. He can be beaten, he did get beaten in that one. Had the Vegas judges not been out of their collective minds, Mayweather would have walked out of that ring 27-1 and the aire of greatness wouldn't have disappeared altogether, but it certainly would have been tarnished. Yes, it would only have been one loss, but a loss nonetheless. And just to namedrop some of his opponents since the two Castillo fights...Victoriano Sosa, Phillip N'dou, DeMarcus Corley, Henry Bruseles, Sharmba Mitchell, Carlos Manuel Baldomir. Corley and Mitchell, let's not get too wound up with these guys. They were never what I would call top-flight. As for Sosa, N'dou, and Bruseles...what needs to be said? Yes, Baldomir managed to spring two big upsets and had a great chin, but really now, what else did he have? Mayweather dominated a wide open and basically defenseless Gatti who was a shot fighter at that point. De La Hoya was past his prime and he still just barely eaked out that split decision. Hatton was the smaller guy and yes, he dominated him authoratatively, with a little help from his friend Joe Cortez. It sounds like I'm trying to take all the credit away from Money May and in effect, I guess I am. Ultimately, my disdain for the guys may cloud my judgement to an extent, but I believe that a guy's all time greatness has to be judged in the context of the time in which he fought. Put Mayweather as a lightweight or welterweight in the 80's, maybe we don't even remember him come 1991, much less 2008.
Sound post. Coudn't agree more.
 
#13 ·
This all comes with being the top guy. Yes, he is great. Not the greatest. In my opinion there are only two guys that are close to Floyd in boxing and that is Miguel Cotto and Joe Calzaghe. Don't even get me started on Pacquiao.
Exactly, not the greatest, I think some people perceive him as that. But im not gonna hate. He's got his. He has only impressed me in the Hatton fight.
What?!?! That was far from his best offensive fight. Have you seen his fights at 130/135?
 
#18 ·
This all comes with being the top guy. Yes, he is great. Not the greatest. In my opinion there are only two guys that are close to Floyd in boxing and that is Miguel Cotto and Joe Calzaghe. Don't even get me started on Pacquiao.

What?!?! That was far from his best offensive fight. Have you seen his fights at 130/135?
He was brilliant in the Corrales and Gatti fights. And it's not hard to figure i don't like Mayweather :thumbsup:
 
G
#20 ·
I liked Mayweather alot in the N'dou fight although you'd expect him to school him. His combinations were outstanding and I remember N'dou had him up against the ropes a few times and couldn't even land a punch on him. He really impressed me that night.
 
#21 ·
Yeah the Ndou fight was great. I still love the Augustus fight. Floyd got beat up in that fight and it didn't phase him. The fight with Genaro Hernandez was great too as well as Manfredy. Kid Rock rapping on the way to the ring with Manfredy was classic lameness.
 
#23 ·
Floyd is a great fighter but he's not the standard for greatness. The only thing he's lacking is great opposition but you can't blame him for fighting in a not so great era. I believe he has the ability to beat prime Leonard, Hearns or Duran. None of these guys would beat him easily.
People blame Floyd for not facing great opposition but they say nothing about Tyson's.
People blame Floyd for being defensive oriented but they praise Pernell Whitaker and Willie Pep.
Hypocrisy at its finest.
 
#25 ·
No hypocracy at all Sweet Pea and Willie Pep didnt pick and choosetheir opponents neither guy ducked anyone nor did they go dancing with a 7'2 400 pound pro wrestler instead of meeting their top contenders
Hearns, Duran & even Leonard would decimate Floyd
 
#24 ·
Just because hes probably the greatest active fighter, it doesnt mean he's the standard of greatness.
The Castillo fight matters at it is as a fight, he did fight Castillo, twice, and thats what counts, along with the victory of course. He didnt clean the lighweight, super featherweight, jr welterweight, welterweight, jr middleweight - but in each division he beat at least 1 good name. The fact that he might not be the most exciting fighter or charismatic one doesnt make him any smaller, hes the second biggest name in the sport today.
 
#27 ·
If Floyd got caught with one shot from Tommy Hearns, forget about James Toney, this would have been the epitome of LIGHTS OUT! I see a prime Ray Leonard taking care of Floyd just as he did with Wilfred Benitez; almost to a tee. As for Roberto, he had trouble with boxers/movers, so it's hard to say how he'd fare. He is truly one of the all time greats, though, and Floyd really isn't in his league, so that's got to be worth something.
 
G
#28 ·
There are so many fighters that would have beat Floyd. Prime Tito, prime Oscar, SRL, Duran, Hearns, SRR just to name a few. Prince Naseem recently said he rates Floyd as possibly the best fighter ever. How nuts is that?

Floyd is a supreme althlete but there were alot of guys that would beat him.
 
#47 ·
He was best at 35/40 IMO, but if he beats Cotto at 47 his welterweight stock will soar.
No doubt about it man. He's got plenty of opportunities to cement his legacy in the division and his career as a whole. The division is stocked. He needs to take out the winner of Cotto/Margarito, an up and comer like Berto, a hall of famer like Mosley, and a styles threat like the lanky Paul Williams if he's able to get past Quintana. How about unifying the division? Novel concept, right? That would be my goal if I were a fighter of his caliber, but I guess it's easy for me to say.
 
#46 ·
If he beats cotto at ww, he's an atg welterweight imo. He's already an altime great 130-140 pounder. He's a modern day ATG. Not very many of them around. His name will come up alot in 10 to 20 years.
And that's what I disagree with. Beating one good WW does not make you an ATG. Hell, Cotto is not yet an ATG at WW. I don't even see Floyd being an ATG a 140. I just don't see him being remembered like you guys think he will, especially they way he is managing his career now.
 
#59 ·
If you term 4 as "a lot" then you could say that most people have been beaten up. Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley, Roy Jones, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Juan Manuel Marquez and Felix Trinidad have all lost 3 or more times :thumbsup:
 
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