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i personally think as great a fighter as Mayweather is , i can see no way he could either outbox or out fight Tommy Hearns , i think he outpoints Duran , and its a pick em between him and Leonard .
But im sorry i just think he gets not only a boxing lesson from Hearns but he has never been anywere near any fighter who even comes close to Hearns's power .
I dont even think it would be competitive , Hearns by brutal KO , to big to powerful and to be fair i think he even outboxes Mayweather.
He beats Duran at either 135 or 147 for me. I think it would be more competitive at 135, but at 147, I think it would be relatively comfortable (116-112.117-111).
The Leonard fight is a pick-em, but over 12 rounds I'd fancy Floyd to do it, like VD said, when Benitez made him miss, he didn't make him pay, but Floyd does. I think a Mayweather decision.
I just don't see him beating Hearns, not to say he couldn't, but Hearns is more wrong for him than any other fighter in history. Long, stiff jab, a better chin than many on here give him credit for and nice body-punching. Maybe Floyd could figure it out, but I don't see it. I don't think Hearns would stop him, I think Floyd is too clever for that, but it would be a close, clear decision for the Hitman.
At lightweight Floyd had MAJOR issues with Jose Luis Castillo in their first fight...if Duran fought Floyd on that night it would have been BRUTAL for Floyd and yes he would have been stopped by Duran.
Ray Leonard could box and he could brawl he had COMBINATION speed and not just quick 1-2 punch speed, he could put together 4-5 punch combinations that you could barely see. Ray had solid yet underrated power and a great chin.
Tommy Hearns was just a BEAST....solid jab, HUGE power in both hands and the best part was his ability to get his bonecrushing power delivered to the point of impact via the straight right cross that was lightning quick...he didn't throw wildly or have to work his way inside to land...he landed from distance and Floyd has NEVER EVER EVER EVER fought a guy like Hearns and everyday he has a fight vs someone not like Hearns he should fall down on his knees and praise God.
The guys I personally would like to see how Floyd stacked up against are as follows:
Alexis Arguello - Tall, lanky, and powerful like Hearns but a little smaller I think it's a more even fight for him.
Pernell Whittaker - Arguably the only guy this side of Willie Pep with as good or better defense than Floyd.
Julio Cesar Chavez - Mainly because his uncle Roger got the shit slapped out of him by JCC
Aaron Pryor - Great chin, big power, decent handspeed
Kostya Tszyu - Big power, great chin, durable fighter
Salvador Sanchez - One tough hombre, fantastic work rate, great chin, solid power
Anyone who thinks Floyd beats Hearns at 147 must be a huge Floyd fan. Because that wouldn't ever happen.
Leonard is too big and just as fast. People forget the 1980 version of Leonard. I think Floyd could have given him problems big time, it's just that I think Leonard would solve them.
The Duran scenario is 50/50 in my view. I could see Roberto getting inside and roughing up Mayweather. I could also see Mayweather being too fast and outboxing him. I pick Floyd by SD.
Floyd beats Duran at welter, loses at lightweight.
Hearns beats Floyd.
Ray Leonard vs Floyd I'd like to see. I'd go with Leonard.
To all the people who are coming here and saying Floyd loses to all of them, I hope you guys have done your homework and watched the fights of all of these guys. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I can respect the fact that people may feel these guys destroy Mayweather, but I hope that opinions about this are formed on the basis of logic and in-ring ability, not nonsense like "who fought harder opposition", "who ducked who", "who is a legend and who isn't", ect. Because at the end of the day its just two guys in a ring, and like we all know styles and attributes make fights, not statistics or public opinion.
Anyhow that out of the way, here's how I see it.
Duran is one of my favorite fighters of all time. P4P one of the greatest of all time. But IMHO Floyd is a TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE matchup for him, and beats him at LW, WW, or any other weight. I think this "Roberto kills Floyd at LW" notion is nonsense. Roberto was a beast at LW but De Jesus showed what you can do with a pair of fast hands and slick boxing technique. At LW, Floyd outfoxes Duran on the outside and uses his slickness inside to counter Duran and limit Duran's offense. I've seen just about every Duran fight on film, and I can't imagine him beating Floyd. I think Floyd is a god awful matchup for him.
Sugar Ray Leonard would be a much harder task for Floyd. A slick boxer with power and speed would be a tough proposition for Floyd. In SRL's fight with Floyd's daddy, Leonard whipped his ass but you can see Floyd fluster and fustrate Leonard with his defensive style at times during the fight. I think Floyd could do likewise, as we all know Floyd is 10 times the fighter his daddy was at the very least. Its a tough matchup, and it could go either way, but I would put my money on Floyd to outfox him and win a decision.
Floyd vs Hearns for me is the tossup. Tommy was a masterful boxer when he needed to be, had HUGE power obviously and very good handspeed. As far as I know, Floyd has never been at a big reach disadvantage, which he would be against Tommy. Truthfully, this fight is a tossup for me. I can see Tommy keeping him honest and outpointing him, or I can see Tommy landing that big right hand and knocking Floyd out cold. On the other hand, I can see Floyd moving effectively, smothering his offense on the inside and sapping Tommy with jabs to the body and that rapier lead right, which Tommy always seemed to be a sucker for.
At least thats how I see it, anyway
True, but Duran was made to look amateurish by De Jesus in their first fight. He was easily outboxed and nullified by hand speed and a jab. And I think its safe to say Floyd is far superior to De Jesus (RIP) in just about every catagory.Quote:
Originally Posted by rjj tszyu apprentice
I can't even picture Floyd in a fight againsed a prime SRL, probably because most of his opponents of late are old and nowhere near as fast or active or prime.
Duran at 147 I think he could handle due to the size difference, like Marquez, Duran just wasn't suited to the higher weights. Hearns I think beats him.....I mean who has Floyd ever fought that was anywhere near as good as any of these guys really?
Baldomir, Judah, Mitchell, JMM, Hatton, & ODLH and Mosley....oh wait I'm only helping you by naming those guys, that's not my intention.;DQuote:
Originally Posted by Kel
Pretty much agree with thisQuote:
Originally Posted by Violent DemiseThe 2 tall fighters he dominated that stand out were Diego Corrales and Phillip N'dou. N'dou was a good fighter. Diego was very good. Hearns was a great fighter. And he had an excellent jab. Hearns chin was weak. But it would stand up to Mayweathers power. I see noway Floyd could beat HearnsQuote:
Originally Posted by Majesty
Duran beats him (he beats everybody) at Lightweight. But not at Welterweight. Mayweather would take a competitive, but clear cut win.
Leonard I think would pose the least problems for Floyd. Mainly cuz of Mayweathers outstanding defense. Leonard had all kinds of problems against Wilfredo Bentiez defense. He was luckly Bentiez couldn't make him pay every time he made him miss. Mayweather would
beats hearns and duran and just gets edged out by leonard in my honest and superior opinion
Mayweather probably beat Duran at welter but do not think he would beat Hearns and SRL. Leonard was a great welter which means he would find a way to win no matter what the odds. I do not like Leonard but have to respect his skills, concentration, speed, chin, power and sheer will to win. He would find a way to win.
I agree with you.Quote:
Originally Posted by rjj tszyu apprentice
You ever seen the man fight? De Jesus was a highly underrated fighter. There was no shame in Duran losing to him like there was when he lost to Kirkland Laing or Pat LawlorQuote:
Originally Posted by BeanflickerTrue, but Duran was made to look amateurish by De Jesus in their first fight. He was easily outboxed and nullified by hand speed and a jab. And I think its safe to say Floyd is far superior to De Jesus (RIP) in just about every catagory.Quote:
Originally Posted by rjj tszyu apprentice
You bring up Benitiez and the issues that Leonard had with him, but what about Hearns? he had issues with him as well, or are we ignoring that fight because it was at 154? At 147 Hearns really never fought someone with a key big defensive style like Floyds so I'm using Benitez for reference even though it was at 154. So I'm not seeing no way that Floyd can beat hearns? As was the case with Leonard. Mayweather could make both Hearns and Leonard pay in ways that Benitez didn't. And it isn't a stretch to say that Floyd may have had a better chin at 147 then Hearns did, strictly because Floyd has yet to be stopped or dropped at that weight class. At the same time he hasn't fought anyone close to Hearn's speed or power. But the only person at 147 that Hearns fought with a style close to Floyd in terms of speed and power would have been Leonard, and I think Mayweather was a much better defensive fighter then Leonard. Leonard didn't beat Hearns with the shoeshine combinations he is known for he did it from firing from the outside between the openings when Hearns created them. Floyd is much better at that then Leonard and can get out of the way from a response better then Leonard could do too. So I don't think that Hearns beating Floyd is a foregone conclusion by any stretch.Quote:
Originally Posted by BIG HPretty much agree with thisQuote:
Originally Posted by Violent DemiseThe 2 tall fighters he dominated that stand out were Diego Corrales and Phillip N'dou. N'dou was a good fighter. Diego was very good. Hearns was a great fighter. And he had an excellent jab. Hearns chin was weak. But it would stand up to Mayweathers power. I see noway Floyd could beat HearnsQuote:
Originally Posted by Majesty
Duran beats him (he beats everybody) at Lightweight. But not at Welterweight. Mayweather would take a competitive, but clear cut win.
Leonard I think would pose the least problems for Floyd. Mainly cuz of Mayweathers outstanding defense. Leonard had all kinds of problems against Wilfredo Bentiez defense. He was luckly Bentiez couldn't make him pay every time he made him miss. Mayweather would