if floyd were around during the 80s...

[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.

[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.

[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.

[zhubin]

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.

This post asked would Floyd be the p4p king if he fought guys from the 80's. I understand that Floyd started at the lighter weight classes. But he obviously is now fighting as a welterweight...hence...in the 80's he would have faced (if he had the courage too) guys like Leonard and Hearns. He certainly could have faced Duran at the lighter weights...but Duran too could have gone up to Weleterweight. Hagler was 160. But i wouldn't have been shocked if he found a way to meet at a catch weight. After all, Floyd fought Oscar at 154. Also, if you are trying to say size is the only advantage guys like Hearns, Leonard, or Hagler had...i completely disagree. They where also ALL AROUND much better fighters than anyone Floyd has ever faced.