As discussed/promised previously, a more in depth analysis and study of each man's best wins and how they stack up. To limit the subjectivity, I will be posting the names of the biggest wins, if they are or will likely be Hall of Famers, weights fought at, and if these fighters were in their primes or not. Here we go:
Floyd:
1. Chico Corrales, 33-0, P4P #5 at time of fight, Prime of his career, not a strong HOFer, at both men's weight of 130
2. Ricky Hatton, 43-0, P4P #8 at time of fight, Prime of his career, may end up a HOFer, Hatton moved up to 147
3. Jose Luis Castillo 45-4-1, not ranked P4P, Prime of his career, not close to HOF, Both men's weight of 135, Floyd probably lost this fight in reality
4. Shane Mosely, 46-5, Ranked #3 P4P, 2nd prime (?) of his career, HOF fighter, Both Men's weight of 147
5. Miguel Cotto, 37-2, Unranked P4P, not in his prime, HOF fighter, Floyd went up in weight to fight Cotto at 154
Manny:
1) Marco Antonio Barrera, 57-3, Ranked #3 P4P, Prime of his career, HOF fighter, Both men's weight of 126
2) Erik Morales, 48-3, Ranked #6 P4P, Prime of his career, HOF fighter, Manny moved up to fight at 130
3) Juan Manuel Marquez, 48-3-1, ranked #4-6 P4P during various fights, Prime of his career, HOF fighter, both men's weight of 126 (and 130, 147)
4) Timothy Bradley, 31-0, Ranked #3 P4P, Prime of his career, not HOF at this time, fought at both men's weight of 147
5) Miguel Cotto, 34-1, Ranked #7 P4P, Post Margarito/past absolute best prime, HOF, Cotto fought at a catchweight to suit Manny
Looking at top wins, I see Manny as facing hands down the better competition, especially considering the trio of Barrera, Morales and JMM. I can't see a case at all for Floyd's top wins being better competition, and of the shared opponents Floyd beat JMM easily after JMM jumped to weightclasses and Floyd didn't make weight, Manny destroyed a tougher/more prime Cotto where Floyd struggled a bit with the older version, and Manny destroyed a Hatton and Oscar who Floyd had already beaten (although he struggled more with both and Oscar was ahead against Floyd until the later rounds).
Floyd has names like Oscar de la Hoya, Arturo Gatti, Canelo Alvarez, Zab Judah, Demarcus Corley, Marcos Maidana, Jesus Chavez, Famoso Hernandez, Genaro Hernandez, Angel Manfredy, N'dou, Carlos Baldomir and Sharmba Mitchell on his resume' and most of those were good, solid wins. None of those guys were P4P ranked at the time, and some of them (Oscar, Zab, Mitchell) had seen better days, for sure. That being said, it is a good resume' with solid competition.
I feel that Manny's second tier wins over Hatton, Oscar, Oscar Larios (good fighter if you don't know who he is, look him up), Lehlo Ledwaba (great win where Manny annihilated the odds on favorite), Shane Mosely, Antonio Margarito, and Josh Clottey were just as good if not better. While Floyd was brilliant in shutting most of the guys listed above out, Manny savaged most of the names on this list and had some memorable knockouts against Ledwaba and Hatton, two of the most vicious ever seen (knockouts).
So, to sum up my point: Floyd is a better all around fighter and in my opinion would win the head to head match up vs. the smaller Manny (although I can see a case for Manny getting up for this fight and outworking Floyd for a close decision). Floyd has fought good competition and in my opinion tried to fight many of the big fights that got away for one reason or another (younger Shane, Kostya...etc.). All of that being said, Manny, in my opinion and from what I've looked up, researched and remember, fought tougher competition throughout his career and pushed himself to do things many thought were crazy (EVERYONE knew Oscar was way too big for Manny to even be competitive, let alone win).
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