Is Floyd considered "prime" or declining?

[The Promoter]

I'm not sure how you could say he's passed his prime. We would need to find somebody that could push him to the wall to see if he's still as good as the guy who absolutely wrecked Diego Corrales almost 9 years ago. The only area I've seen were he may have gotten a bit less speedy is is footwork as he tends to stand a bit more now. But his lack of footwork now may be due to his added weight or more basically because he whips everybody without having to work that hard. Again it's hard to say he's slipping until somebody can actually bring out his best in him as I thought Corrales did...

[ruthless rocco]

the comparison to roy jones jr is a good one. when those natural talents go the fighter is left with a bunch of bad habits exposed... they can't fight the same style that they used to... and their ego often impedes adapting their style. when it goes it goes...

[jahmez]

the comparison to roy jones jr is a good one. when those natural talents go the fighter is left with a bunch of bad habits exposed... they can't fight the same style that they used to... and their ego often impedes adapting their style. when it goes it goes...

I don't agree. The only chink I see in Floyd's armour being exposed if he loses his reflexes and speed is when he baits his opponents with his head and weight over his front foot with his hands held low. I hear alot of peole saying that the shoulder roll relies on reflexes and speed when it doesn't. It depends on stance, balance, technique, experience and knowledge of your opponent's combos. This allows you to anticipate punches and essentially defend them before they are thrown. Look at Toney, Hopkins or alot of the old school fighters. Alot of the time Floyd moves out of range while rolling anyway when he could just shoulder roll counter right hand or simply parry and circle away while jabbing. That's the one thing I see catching up to Floyd. Sometimes he moves back in a straight line too concerned with not getting hit and finds himself against the ropes. This happened against Hatton and De la Hoya but they didn't have the ability to capitalize.

This same mistake of retreating in a straight line is part of the reason why Roy keeps getting KO'd. However, unlike Floyd Roy routinely retreats leaving his left hand low while putting his head and weight over his front foot. This means he cannot raise his shoulder. Instead, he leans back looking for the counter left hook. This is a move that depends on speed and reflexes and nowadays anyone who can throw an overhand right with enough power has a serious chance of hurting him.

Floyd gets away with alot of things because of his speed but he always has solid fundamentals to fall back on. The problem is that he employs some old school techniques that alot of contemporaries think are too risky or should only be done by "freaks" when they really just don't undestand the principles behind them. Even his lead right hands and leaping left hooks are well set up by feints to the body or jabs. End at the end of the day Foyd can still fight the "modern" way with his hands held up too high.

[rjj tszyu]

I'd say still prime. He looked very sharp in his last bout and it's not as though he has been in many all out wars that age fighters!!

[littlebif]

I think he's still prime but its hard to tell cause no one pushes him after 4 rounds he works you out and after that he wins the fight easy.He has just slightly changed his style to suit the extra weight.

[Taeth]

I think a skilled tactician like Floyd who does everything right for his body won't "age" physically the same way Leonard and Whitaker did. Guys like him and Hopkins train so hard and properly that they can still push themselves like younger men. I think Mayweather is a little slower than in his prime which was around 140 in terms of age. I also think at welterweight he is past his prime sizewise. People never seem to bring this up but Mayweather is a really small welterweight, and unlike Pacquiao he isn't a natural puncher who throws a million combinations. So is Mayweather past his prime? I would say no and that he has circumvented that issue because of his skill level and work ethic. However Floyd's style still relies a lot on reflexes, and it could hurt him if he faces a fast opponent in a couple of years(like Berto if he improves considerably). I'm only worried because Floyd has really stopped using lateral movement lately when his back is against the ropes and I think once he slows down just a bit he may be in trouble with that style. Hopkins had a similar shoulder roll, but he would always move his feet while making defensive maneuvers. I remember James Toney against Roy Jones, and I could in worst case scenario see Pacquiao doing something similar to Floyd.

[Gandalf]

I think any athlete starts to decline between the ages of 30-32 depending on how well you look after yourself, but I think it is quite possible to hide the physical slips with effective tools and strategies. I think Floyd is probably slightly past his physical best, but because his skill set is so accomplished, it hasn't shown; especially against a smaller man fighting 2 weight classes outside his usual weight. Obviously the Mosley fight will tell us more about where Floyd is really at.

[salty trunks]

I think Mayweather is past his physical peak but still leagues ahead of most in ability. I do believe his body is now more suited to being a true welterweight. Even against the likes of Oscar and Hatton Floyd didnt appear as physically big as he did against Marquez in his last fight. The time off has allowed him to mature more into a welterweight frame which might be a good thing against the better fighters at 147.