Old fighters' antics that wouldn't fly today

[Beanz]

Most? I smell invention and the whiff of double standards. Maidana is hugely over rated and Floyd fought him twice already.

[Silkeyjoe]

Most? I smell invention and the whiff of double standards. Maidana is hugely over rated and Floyd fought him twice already.

?? Maidana isnt that good. His best win is a blown up Broner who was poor against Carlos Molina and Emmanuel Taylor. He was beaten comfortably by Khan and Alexander and lost to Kotelnik. He is not that good and certainly not elite level. My only issue with Mayweather being regarded as a top 10 fighter of all time is lack of elite opposition. Leonard had Hearns, Haggler and Duran. Robinson had Armstrong. Part of that is due to the weaker division but if Mayweather really wanted the Pac fight he could have it. He can have whatever opposition he wants and in my opinion he takes the easier options.

[mikeeod]

Most? I smell invention and the whiff of double standards. Maidana is hugely over rated and Floyd fought him twice already.

?? Maidana isnt that good. His best win is a blown up Broner who was poor against Carlos Molina and Emmanuel Taylor. He was beaten comfortably by Khan and Alexander and lost to Kotelnik. He is not that good and certainly not elite level. My only issue with Mayweather being regarded as a top 10 fighter of all time is lack of elite opposition. Leonard had Hearns, Haggler and Duran. Robinson had Armstrong. Part of that is due to the weaker division but if Mayweather really wanted the Pac fight he could have it. He can have whatever opposition he wants and in my opinion he takes the easier options.

Good post. I agree with it being hard for me to rank Floyd in the top 10-15 all time due to his quality of opposition. Before anyone freaks out and says accuses me of calling Floyd a ducker or a bum...etc., I want to be clear that he is an ATG and that many of his biggest fights fell apart due to the other party. Still, I agree with you that he had a MAJOR part in the Paq fight not coming to fruition.

[greynotsoold]

Robinson wouldn't have to hold out to get more money if he was fighting today. If Mayweather can get $40 million a night, they'd just give Ray ALL the money upfront.

[beenKOed]

Robinson wouldn't have to hold out to get more money if he was fighting today. If Mayweather can get $40 million a night, they'd just give Ray ALL the money upfront.

Yes, and Ray being Ray, would ask for more.
Ray was a strange one, so he'd be having as many problems as Floyd, with the ravenous media getting into every nook and cranny of his life.

[El Kabong]

Fritzie Zivick...everything the guy did was dirty.

Roberto Duran's thunderous uppercut to the balls vs Ken Buchannan wouldn't fly


Muhammad Ali's holding on the neck wouldn't fly and the rope-a-dope might not work as well because refs are very quick to stop fights these days

George Foreman's pushing would probably get a warning or two

[Bill Paxtom]

Cassius Clay

Would be 'ripped' apart by today's media.

[mikeeod]

Fritzie Zivick...everything the guy did was dirty.

Roberto Duran's thunderous uppercut to the balls vs Ken Buchannan wouldn't fly


Muhammad Ali's holding on the neck wouldn't fly and the rope-a-dope might not work as well because refs are very quick to stop fights these days

George Foreman's pushing would probably get a warning or two

I wonder about some of those. Floyd uses the elbow pretty effectively in his fights and he does tend to hold on the inside without penalty or even a warning.

Lennox used to and now Wlad hold smaller guys and lean on them. I feel that is one of the main reasons that Wlad has so many late knockouts. He punishes guys with his jab and combos, but he also exhausts them by leaning on them.

Hop, one of my favorites, breaks just about every rule there is. I live watching him do it, because he can be very clever, but he can be blatant also and use his head following a straight right and then clinching or pushing the other guy after.

Evander, another one of my favorites, used his head very effectively as a third fist. None of those guys mentioned were penalized often, although Hop was on the verge if a DQ loss vs Keith Holmes during their unification fight.

Honestly, I don't mind most of that stuff. It's a fight, it's supposed to be rough. To beat a prime Roy, Floyd, Wlad...etc., you need to make it ugly. Fast, technical boxers like that are very tough to deal with. Hop figured that out after his loss to Roy n learned to maul effectively and exhaust the other guy. He was too old to effectively implement it vs Dawson n Calzaghe, although he was much more effective vs Joe than Chad. Watching Hop take Joppy and Holmes apart showed me how far Hop had come. Not that those guys were on Roy's level, but just how he completely controlled that fight and nullified those guys' speed advantage.

[powerpuncher]

Fritzie Zivick...everything the guy did was dirty.

Roberto Duran's thunderous uppercut to the balls vs Ken Buchannan wouldn't fly


Muhammad Ali's holding on the neck wouldn't fly and the rope-a-dope might not work as well because refs are very quick to stop fights these days

George Foreman's pushing would probably get a warning or two

Good ones. Zivic was another super dirty fighter. I know that foreman excessively pushed. I'm not sure the refs would allow that now because it's impossible to subtly push somebody across the ring.