if floyd were around during the 80s...

[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?

[zhubin]

@ 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.

Floyd's opponents are no where near the level of fighters from 70's and 80's. As i have said before...the best fighter, BY FAR, that Floyd has fought...is a 35 year old Oscar. Guys like Duran, Leonard, Hearns, Hagler...fought each other at their primes.

[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.

Floyd's opponents are no where near the level of fighters from 70's and 80's. As i have said before...the best fighter, BY FAR, that Floyd has fought...is a 35 year old Oscar. Guys like Duran, Leonard, Hearns, Hagler...fought each other at their primes.

[zhubin]

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.

Floyd's opponents are no where near the level of fighters from 70's and 80's. As i have said before...the best fighter, BY FAR, that Floyd has fought...is a 35 year old Oscar. Guys like Duran, Leonard, Hearns, Hagler...fought each other at their primes.

Good, mature response.

[eagle]

Floyd's opponents are no where near the level of fighters from 70's and 80's. As i have said before...the best fighter, BY FAR, that Floyd has fought...is a 35 year old Oscar. Guys like Duran, Leonard, Hearns, Hagler...fought each other at their primes.

Good, mature response.

U continually compare Floyd to Hagler, Hearns and Leonard, all guys who started atleast at 147 and in haglers case 160. Floyd started at 130 and is much smaller than all these guys. The main reason they woud beat him is cos they are far bigger. If they were all the same size as Floyd it would tip the scales back in hi favour massively. Of the guys u named Duran is probably the only fair comparison cos he started in the small weights, and i'd give PBF a great chance v Duran cos he' frustrate Roberto even more than Leonard did.

[Thread Stealer]

It's a little unfair (and actually a compliment to Floyd) to compare Mayweather to guys like Hearns and Leonard.

Mayweather started at 130, and that was probably his best weight class. Mayweather's fourth weight class was 147, and unlike some other fighters, it wasn't a case where Mayweather was huge at 130 and 135 and didn't belong there. Guys back at 130 and 135 like Chico and Castillo were outweighing him by 10 pounds on fight night. Hearns and Leonard started at 147, and were successful at higher weight classes.

It's like holding it against Whitaker because he would likely lose to Hearns at 147, or McCallum or Norris at 154.

[zhubin]

It's a little unfair (and actually a compliment to Floyd) to compare Mayweather to guys like Hearns and Leonard.

Mayweather started at 130, and that was probably his best weight class. Mayweather's fourth weight class was 147, and unlike some other fighters, it wasn't a case where Mayweather was huge at 130 and 135 and didn't belong there. Guys back at 130 and 135 like Chico and Castillo were outweighing him by 10 pounds on fight night. Hearns and Leonard started at 147, and were successful at higher weight classes.

It's like holding it against Whitaker because he would likely lose to Hearns at 147, or McCallum or Norris at 154.

I agree to an extent. But that's exactly why i think he would have a tough time against those past all time greats. Guys like Hearns, Leonard, Hagler, Duran...where MUCH better fighters than anyone Floyd has ever faced. I have never said Floyd wouldn't stand a chance or even beat them...just saying his resume doesn't inspire confidence IMO.

[DaxxKahn]

@ 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.

Mayweather would not take the chance of getting witin hitting rang of Hearns to even attempt to outbox him on the inside....Leonard was a hell of a lot harder hitter then Floyd also...

Agreed on the Hatton Duran comparison at 147 but at 135 even with the lack of defense Duran beats Floyd...at 147 actually might pick Floyd but funny enough at 154 the version of Duran that beat Davey Moore beats Floyd...Not that Moore was a better fighter then Floyd in any way just that Duran seemed rejuvinated

[Master]

Do you think the Duran that beat Leonard could not beat Mayweather at 147lb? I think Mayweather is a great at 135 and below but not above.

[Thread Stealer]

I have a very tough time picking Mayweather over the Duran in Montreal, or the one who beat Palomino.

Mayweather is a special fighter, so I think he'll have his moments and give Duran fits and be competitive, but as far as beating Duran?

I'd make Mayweather the underdog.