Quote Originally Posted by p4pking
Quote Originally Posted by zhubin
I don't think anyone can question Floyd's skill and work ethic...he is a supremely talented fighter. The problem is how he feels he can be mentioned in the same breath as the all time greats. Whether it's Floyd's fault or not...he simply hasn't fought truly great opponents...especially recently. JT, i certainly NEVER thought fighters like Gatti or Baldomir or even Judah could beat Floyd. In the case of Gatti and Baldo...you are talking about 2 fighters who are MUCH slower and less skilled than Mayweather. Floyd and his fans try and make a case that defeating these 2 is a tremendous accomplishment....but those fights are so predictable. Slow and limited skilled fighters against one who is very fast and very skilled...wonder who is gonna win? As or Judah...one of the most mentally unfit fighter there are...that outcome was also easily predictable. I am not gonna hate on Floyd for winning those matches...he simply won against opponents he had no business losing too...he took care of business. But i'm not gonna swing on his nuts and claim that this is further proof that he is an "all time great." So whether it's a case of great fighters avoiding him or he is avoiding great fighters or there simply aren't great fighters out there at this time to challenge him....there just isn't enough examples to call Floyd (or him calling himself) an all time great. He has fought some good fighters early in his career....but he is just coasting right now.
That's exactly it, there isn't one person Floyd could pick to fight next that wouldn't have people like you fabricating every excuse in the book as to why they never had a chance in the first place, and weren't the best fighter he could have picked.. Face it, there's noone out there who doesn't have any major flaws, except Floyd himself.. Say he fights Margarito... Too slow as you say, just like Baldomir and Gatti. terrible footwork, akward wide punches. And who has he ever beaten? Mosley- past it, looked bad recently, hasn't beat a good dangerous fighter in years. Cotto- too green, just moved to 147, suspect chin, blah blah blah. Hatton- just not as good at welterweight, look at the Collazo fight(although I would love to see this one just to shut ppl up). Oscar is the only guy he'll get credit for beating, and he obviously want's that fight.... What more can he do? It's not Floyds fault there's no Thomas Hearns, Duran, and Leonard around to fight. It's pathetic the lengths people go to rag on him. What do you think people said about Sugar Ray Leonard back when he was around(the guy who's jockstrap Floyd will never be able to carry according to many here ).. When he fought Duran the 2nd time, he probably received the same flak Floyd is right now.. People saying oh that bitch ran, look what happened when he really tried to fight him. Or when he beat Hearns, people started saying Thommy had a bad chin otherwise would have won easily, rather than acknowledge it having anything to do with the way SRL fought. Hagler, goes without saying that he was criticized for running in that fight. Forget the fact that he came back to fight at 160 after being retired for years, and fought his a** off with the best strategy he could, absorbing a great deal of punishment. But people forget these things as soon as he retired, because all they were doing is hating in the first place.

I understand and respect what you are saying but that doesnt hide the fact that Floyd simply doesn't have the resume to be considered an all time great at the moment. And with all due respect...he has never come close to fighting anyone in the class of a sugar ray, hearns, duran, or hagler. I am not making excuses for who he fights...but the bottom line is...fighters like Baldo, Gatti, Judah, etc...just arent great fighters...no where close. I don't doubt Floyd's ability, I just don't view his recent victories as evidence of his "greatness."