if floyd were around during the 80s...

[DAWGSWIN]

For someone to say that Floyd would get knocked out by anyone, wouldn't they first have to see him get hurt by someone? I mean I saw him get outworked in Castillo I, but I have never seen him hurt.

[bertolacylee]

^^^ i agree i have never seen him hurt, worried, flustered, or panicked. He has one recorded knockdown and it was because he broke his hand and accidentally let his knee touch the canvas but brought it right back up.

[donnydarkoIRL]

Not pound for pound king, but he would have been the No.1 Lightweight in the world.

You can bet he would have stayed put at Lightweight and cleared it, because stepping up was a formidable task.

[Master]

Agreed but who were the Lightweight kings in the 80's?

[donnydarkoIRL]

Agreed but who were the Lightweight kings in the 80's?

Duran was finishing up at Lightweight. It's unlikely they would have crossed paths.
Chavez and Camacho would have been outclassed.

Sugar Shane Mosely came along in the early nineties....
had his first championship in 1994.

[Master]

I would be rooting for JCC against Mayweather at Lightweight, and the greats above this weight Pryor, Hearns and Leonard would beat Mayweather if he decided to fight them. He probably would have settled for Comacho and Rosario, good but not great.

[southakron314]

Agreed but who were the Lightweight kings in the 80's?

I dont know? Ray Mancini and who is my all time fav but Floyd would eat him up. Just like the Gatti fight.

[zhubin]

For someone to say that Floyd would get knocked out by anyone, wouldn't they first have to see him get hurt by someone? I mean I saw him get outworked in Castillo I, but I have never seen him hurt.

It's true...he has never been truly hurt or knocked down...but then again...his resume isn't filled with highly dangerous opponents. Oscar was the closest he ever got to fighting a highly skilled fighter who could maybe hurt him. But Oscar wasn't exactly a young buck when they fought. Floyd is a great defensive fighter...no question. But how he would have fared against the likes of Duran, Hearns, or Hagler is a whole different question. Those fighters, along with guys like Pryor and Leonard, where in a whole different class than the guys Floyd has fought in his career. I'm not saying they would have knocked Floyd out...but i just don't think his resume should be a measuring stick for how would have fared aginst some of the all time greats.

[Taeth]

For someone to say that Floyd would get knocked out by anyone, wouldn't they first have to see him get hurt by someone? I mean I saw him get outworked in Castillo I, but I have never seen him hurt.

It's true...he has never been truly hurt or knocked down...but then again...his resume isn't filled with highly dangerous opponents. Oscar was the closest he ever got to fighting a highly skilled fighter who could maybe hurt him. But Oscar wasn't exactly a young buck when they fought. Floyd is a great defensive fighter...no question. But how he would have fared against the likes of Duran, Hearns, or Hagler is a whole different question. Those fighters, along with guys like Pryor and Leonard, where in a whole different class than the guys Floyd has fought in his career. I'm not saying they would have knocked Floyd out...but i just don't think his resume should be a measuring stick for how would have fared aginst some of the all time greats.

You can see Pryor was a better fighter than Castilllo and Corrales, but you can't deny their power. Castillo had a crazy KO record before he got older, and Corrales hit as hard as anyone I've seen in the lower weight categories. Oscar is undoubtably a great fighter, as great as Hearns, Pryor, etc. and a guy who could stand in there with Leonard and Duran and hold his own.

[njackets]

Lets for arguments sake drag his career back 20 years,which would put the 1980s in the 2000s if u get me?! Im a bit drunk but hey,I think this works.... Floyd was at 130/SFW 1976/1996 Who did he fight?? # 135/LW 1982/2002 Who did he fight?? # 140/LWW 1983/2003 Who did he fight?? # 147/WW 1985/2005 Who did he fight?? # 154/LMW 1987/2007 Who did he fight??#

If that doesn't work/cant be arsed! just picure him getting smashed round the Ring at whatever weight that takes your fancy by Duran,Benitez,Pryor,Hearns,Leonard,Chavez

[eagle]

I think too many guys on here are letting their dislike of Floyd cloud their judgement.
There is also a classic case of seeing older fighters with rose coloured glasses during this thread.
Some have said that Chavez would beat him easy. I doubt this, chavez had problems with slick fighters, and Floyd may be the slickest of all time.
As for Camacho, Floyd would have beat him wide UD.
Its true Pryor had great power, but he has to land on PBF to do any damage and that is far harder done than said. Pryor usually had more stamina than his opponents, but Floyd could match him there too.
Duran would be the toughest test at 135-140, but even the great Roberto Duran had his flaws. Floyd could easily frustrate him.


I know i'll get called names for this, but i believe Floyd would be a top 3 P4P guy at any era. Never before has a guy gone 38-0 against the type of fighters Floyd has beat and never really looked in big trouble. I daresay he beats anyone at 130 ever, would be competitive against any 135 or 140 pounder ever and may well be a top 10 147 fighter ever. If thats not good P4P credentials, what are.

[zhubin]

For someone to say that Floyd would get knocked out by anyone, wouldn't they first have to see him get hurt by someone? I mean I saw him get outworked in Castillo I, but I have never seen him hurt.

It's true...he has never been truly hurt or knocked down...but then again...his resume isn't filled with highly dangerous opponents. Oscar was the closest he ever got to fighting a highly skilled fighter who could maybe hurt him. But Oscar wasn't exactly a young buck when they fought. Floyd is a great defensive fighter...no question. But how he would have fared against the likes of Duran, Hearns, or Hagler is a whole different question. Those fighters, along with guys like Pryor and Leonard, where in a whole different class than the guys Floyd has fought in his career. I'm not saying they would have knocked Floyd out...but i just don't think his resume should be a measuring stick for how would have fared aginst some of the all time greats.

You can see Pryor was a better fighter than Castilllo and Corrales, but you can't deny their power. Castillo had a crazy KO record before he got older, and Corrales hit as hard as anyone I've seen in the lower weight categories. Oscar is undoubtably a great fighter, as great as Hearns, Pryor, etc. and a guy who could stand in there with Leonard and Duran and hold his own.

I am not questioning Castillo and Corrales power. But neither was truly a great all around fighter. And neither was anywhere near as good as guys like Hearns, Pryor, or some of the other greats from the 70's and 80's. Skill wise...Oscar is by far the best fighter Floyd has faced. And as highly as i rank Oscar's skills...i just can't put him in the same category as some of the greats we have mentioned. With arguments like this...there really cannot be a definitive answer. Just a lot of "what ifs." I just personally have never seen Floyd against a truly great, prime fighter. Does that mean i don't think he could beat some of the past all time greats...no. It's just that his resume doesn't inspire supreme confidence in these match up. Just my opinion.

[canary]

@ 135
id take duran against floyd anytime. if castillo can hit floyd with clean shots, imagine what more somebody like duran could do at 135. if duran can close the gap to leonard at 147, what something special floyd has got to keep duran at bay? footwork, speed and jabs? loz. duran at 135 would swarm all over him.

@ 140
benitez is the guy. you cant outbox a master boxer in his home division. floyd has the grace and speed but benitez is simply much better than him in many respects. he can box and mix it up (even with bigger guys) when need be. benitez has all the tools to beat floyd: power, forward offense, non-stop aggression, speed, grace and top notch defensive abilities. its not even close imo

@ 147
benitez, duran, leonard, hearns. no way floyd could win any of these fights.

@154
forget it. those guys wins against him anytime by murder

[Taeth]

@ 135
id take duran against floyd anytime. if castillo can hit floyd with clean shots, imagine what more somebody like duran could do at 135. if duran can close the gap to leonard at 147, what something special floyd has got to keep duran at bay? footwork, speed and jabs? loz. duran at 135 would swarm all over him.

@ 140
benitez is the guy. you cant outbox a master boxer in his home division. floyd has the grace and speed but benitez is simply much better than him in many respects. he can box and mix it up (even with bigger guys) when need be. benitez has all the tools to beat floyd: power, forward offense, non-stop aggression, speed, grace and top notch defensive abilities. its not even close imo

@ 147
benitez, duran, leonard, hearns. no way floyd could win any of these fights.

@154
forget it. those guys wins against him anytime by murder

Your an idiot, all these guys except Benitez you have validity in them beating Mayweather, but how you say it would happen.
1) Duran couldn't close the gap against Leonard when Leonard moved in their second fight which is partly why Duran QUIT. Mayweather is faster at lightweight then Leonard was at welterweight, he is harder hit then Leonard, DUran fights nothing like Castillo, and at lightweight he wasn't the same defensive fighter he became later on.
2) Benitez is not better then Floyd in any aspect except maybe punching power, Floyd has better speed, defensive abilities, stamina, offense, grace, balance, etc. Benitez was a great fighter, but he was a poor man's FLoyd Mayweather.
3) Hearns, Duran, And Leonard at WW are valid people to beat Mayweather: But there is an honest argument for Mayweather to beat any of them.
Hearns: Is impossible for a little man to outbox, but his inferior inside skills, and lack of stamina would be things Mayweather would take advantage of.
Leonard: IMO the best of the 80's is fast, hits pretty hard, but he is telegraphed on the outside, but Benitez, Duran, etc. weren't fast enough to take advantage of that, and his flurry would be useless against Mayweather because they wouldn't land quickly. I could easily see LEoanrd winning on points by being more active, and his jab is a nightmare for Mayweather, but he is redundant in what he does in the ring and Mayweather would figure it out and make it close.
Duran: Much better defensively by the time he reached the WW division, he honed his skills a lot more and he was a lot stronger by this point. I think he would try to fight the same fight he did against Leonard, and I honestly don't know how this fight goes. Hatton used a similar style against Mayweather, but despite HAtton being faster then DUran he is in no way Duran...

That being said Its impossible to say where Mayweather compares to these because he dominated the opponents he fought just as much if not more then Leonard, DUran, Hagler, Hearns, etc. defeated what I would consider the same level of opponents they fought.

[eagle]

@ 135
id take duran against floyd anytime. if castillo can hit floyd with clean shots, imagine what more somebody like duran could do at 135. if duran can close the gap to leonard at 147, what something special floyd has got to keep duran at bay? footwork, speed and jabs? loz. duran at 135 would swarm all over him.

@ 140
benitez is the guy. you cant outbox a master boxer in his home division. floyd has the grace and speed but benitez is simply much better than him in many respects. he can box and mix it up (even with bigger guys) when need be. benitez has all the tools to beat floyd: power, forward offense, non-stop aggression, speed, grace and top notch defensive abilities. its not even close imo

@ 147
benitez, duran, leonard, hearns. no way floyd could win any of these fights.

@154
forget it. those guys wins against him anytime by murder

Your an idiot, all these guys except Benitez you have validity in them beating Mayweather, but how you say it would happen.
1) Duran couldn't close the gap against Leonard when Leonard moved in their second fight which is partly why Duran QUIT. Mayweather is faster at lightweight then Leonard was at welterweight, he is harder hit then Leonard, DUran fights nothing like Castillo, and at lightweight he wasn't the same defensive fighter he became later on.
2) Benitez is not better then Floyd in any aspect except maybe punching power, Floyd has better speed, defensive abilities, stamina, offense, grace, balance, etc. Benitez was a great fighter, but he was a poor man's FLoyd Mayweather.
3) Hearns, Duran, And Leonard at WW are valid people to beat Mayweather: But there is an honest argument for Mayweather to beat any of them.
Hearns: Is impossible for a little man to outbox, but his inferior inside skills, and lack of stamina would be things Mayweather would take advantage of.
Leonard: IMO the best of the 80's is fast, hits pretty hard, but he is telegraphed on the outside, but Benitez, Duran, etc. weren't fast enough to take advantage of that, and his flurry would be useless against Mayweather because they wouldn't land quickly. I could easily see LEoanrd winning on points by being more active, and his jab is a nightmare for Mayweather, but he is redundant in what he does in the ring and Mayweather would figure it out and make it close.
Duran: Much better defensively by the time he reached the WW division, he honed his skills a lot more and he was a lot stronger by this point. I think he would try to fight the same fight he did against Leonard, and I honestly don't know how this fight goes. Hatton used a similar style against Mayweather, but despite HAtton being faster then DUran he is in no way Duran...

That being said Its impossible to say where Mayweather compares to these because he dominated the opponents he fought just as much if not more then Leonard, DUran, Hagler, Hearns, etc. defeated what I would consider the same level of opponents they fought.

Good post. Interesting to note that the two guys most likely to beat PBF from the 80's (Leonard, Hearns) were both started at 147 where PBF started at 130 so it is not really a fair comparison is it?