is it possible for Mayweather to retire the greatest ever?

[HattonTheHammer]

I've just realised how dissapointing and misleading it is for a fighter to actually RETIRE with a 0 loss record.... Now I think about it, to me, that means that fighter never reached their limit.. We never saw them pushed to the end of their capabilities and come up short... If Floyd starting taking fights now that there was a big risk of putting a 1 on his loss record, then that would be going some ways towards his greatness..

Show you've got something at 154.. LOOK for fights that test the shit out of you...

Did he really come back thinking Marquez was going to be a big challenge? Is a "challenge" even an im for the rest of his career?

Lyle is mirroring my thoughts 100%... Mayweather has got to risk his nuts. He's gotta take fights where he's not favourite... He's got to take fights where all odd's are against him...


Not that Pac vs ODLH ended up being any risk to Pac at all, but to MANY people, he was taking a big risk with that fight.. It seemed like he would be totally outsized, outclassed etc....

Floyd NNNNNNEEEEDDDDSSSS fights like that on his record and on him ambition to be classed in true greatness..

If right now he was chasing a fight will Williams at 154, that would be something.... And the fact fighters of past have made those moves in their career then Floyd has to do the same to be even considered in the same class as them....


He's got the skills to probably even conquer such tasks, but the greatest of all time's are remembered for what they acheived,,,,,, and then their are the guys who "coulda been"... Floyd may just be remembered as a coulda been that had the skills, but settled for money and a perfectly intact win loss record instead...


And this is taking nothing away from what Floyd has done and won so far, which is brilliant for any fighter... Amazing even... But expanding the picture into the G.O.A.T. frame, he should be taking the whole of boxing from 147 UPWARDS by the balls until he's reached his absolute limit, and pushed as far past that as possible...

And why the hell isn't he doing that!!!!! He's proved himself where he is.... He's kept his zero... Why not just fucking go for it...




because he's "money" mayweather.... The thing that our society teaches us is the pinacle of acheivement and pursuit.. money... but boxers aren't remembered for how much money they made.. they are remembered for heart, resiliance, balls, fearlessness, acheivement...

Floyd's proved he's got half of what it takes to be an all time great, unforutnately that is enough to make him the money he wants to make..... So he doesn't have much ambition for more..

understand what your saying

pac actually had the balls to get back in with marquez after that 1st fight when he could easily of won a world title at 130 fighting anyone else. At the same time though floyd did similar with castillo and his victory 2nd time around was far more resounding than pac-marquez which still to this day is considered 2 succesive draws.

Floyd cant help beating good opponents with ease. Lets be completely honest here it took a lot of balls to fight marquez one of the most underrated fighters in world boxing and nobody but nobody has been able to outwork juan like floyd did.

Ultimately his legacys shortcoming may be his failure to extend himself further in fights and put fighters like marquez away instead of taking decisions. But with floyds style of fighting why on earth would he bother attempting to KO pacquiao, cotto or mosley when he could conceivably just let his superior footwork do the talking and cruise past all 3 on points!!

To be a great champion you have to be a great fighter. Floyds an ultra skilled boxer but has he really got that duran/leonard esque ability to go toe to toe with the very best and knock them out??

I get what your saying.. I'd love to see Floyd step up and knock people out.. But at the same time, i'd be equally happy to see him outbox opponents at higher weights....
You used the key words "Extend himself".. The great boxers of all times have extended themselves beyond anyone else.. that is what made them great in my opinion...


And your right, floyd can't help beating the great fighters he has, with the ease he has. but at the same time, if he doesn't start extending himself, that is entirely his fault... Right now I think he's taking comfortable fights.. I mean, as comfortable as they can be at the peak of boxing, but comfortable none the less compared to fights that could be seriously adding big things to his legacy..

He's not getting younger.. I think in the next 2 years, he has to have at least one fight that really makes a statement... A statement that say, "I want to claim the crown of greatest boxer of the last 30 years, and here is the fight that is going to prove it"

Its just really hard to envisage where thats gonna come from

The obvious answer to cementing floyds legacy is to not just beat but actually stop shane mosley. If floyd did that not a single person would be able to deny him his place as an all time great.

Pacquiao has a far greater opportunity to rubber stamp his legacy because unlike floyd at 147pds people simply dont expect him to roll over his opponents. If floyd beats pacquiao over 12rounds so what....he`s more adjusted to the weight, has far superior reach etc. But if pacquiao beats floyd on points....that there and then is pacs classification as an ATG alongside leonard, robinson etc because he has managed to defy all logic and reason in doing so