Quote Originally Posted by Hulk
Quote Originally Posted by SweetPea
Quote Originally Posted by 'The Boxer'
when it's all said and done PBF will be remember as a better fighter than jones
Maybe that will be so, but we don't know this yet.
There have been lots of fighters over the years who have been dominant in their primes, but it's the years after their primes that defines just how good they are.
For example, Jones was always a great athlete who didn't pay attention to the fundamentals, because he could get away with it. But once age took away some of his skills, he was exposed. He didn't know how to adjust, and his chin was shown to be suspect.
Mayweather is the #1 fighter on the planet right now, but what he does 3 or 4 years from now is what will determine where he ranks all-time. What will he do in the ring when he can't dominate guys with his speed and movement? Will he adjust? I think he can, but we won't know until we see it with our own eyes.
Thats BS right there. What fighters do in their PRIMES determines their legacy not what they do after. So what are Evander Holyfield's great wins at HW against Douglas, Tyson, Bowe, Foreman etc overshadowed by his losses to John Ruiz? Do we ignore or diminish Iran Barkley's wars with Hearns and Duran and look at him losing his last 6 fights and fighting at HW, losing to Trevor Berbick? Sure its great, and icing on the cake when fighters who were awesome in their prime come back past their prime to pull off big upsets, but that is not what defines them. We remember them when they were at their best in their primes.
You read my post incorrectly.
My point was, Mayweather is undefeated and #1 PFP in the world, but we can't say that he will finish ahead of Jones (or anither similar fighter) until we see how Mayweather's entire career plays out. I've said time and time again on this site that fighters of Mayweather's mold (great defense and speed) generally do not lose while they're at their physical peak. However, it will be interesting to see how Mayweather fares once he ages and is no longer in his absolute prime.
Fighters who rarely get hit in their primes often have toughness or ability to take a punch brought into question. People think that the reason a fighter fights defensively is because he's afraid to get hit. For example, Pernell Whitaker and Roy Jones were the two elite fighters of the 1990's. During their primes, both were unhittable. No one ever saw them get hit with big shots. Later in their careers, when they became hittable targets, Jones proved to have a very suspect chin, while Whitaker proved that he could take anyone's punch.

Right now Mayweather is proving that he is the best technician and the fastest fighter out there. As he gets older, he will prove how well he can adjust, how well he can take big punches, etc. And this will affect his all-time legacy. Will he be like Whitaker, or like Jones? Or will he end up being better than both of them, or worse than both of them? We don't know this yet, and we won't know it after May 5th either.

The post I was responding to was someone saying that Mayweather would end up being a better all-time fighter than Jones. I was saying that we do not know that, because Mayweather's career is far from over.