How high would you rank Manny in ATG if he beats PBF?

[JazMerkin]

IMO Mayweather still has a lot more to prove, he is without doubt the best defensive boxer i have ever seen, he has managed his career well, avoiding the likes of Tszyu, Mosley, Cotto, Margarito and a well timed retirement just as Paul Williams becomes a dominant force? He still has good wins over Castillo, Corrales, DLH and Hatton. Pacquiao has done it all, coming from Flyweight!! His last 4 fights define his career with wins over Marquez, DLH, Hatton and Cotto. Many on this forum gave him little chance against DLH (me included) he then destroys Hatton in 2 rounds with a text book left hook, he then goes up against the solid, big hitting Cotto who many believe should still be undefeated after Margogate! How high would i rank him if he beats Floyd? Top 20 ATG for certain, he is pretty close to that now! Floyd needs to beat Manny convincingly to achieve the same recognition. Currently i have Manny ahead of Floyd. I reckon Floyd has more to lose here in a fight with Pacquiao.

Ok, this is what annoys me when people rearrange history to fit their opinion.

Paul Williams was not becoming a dominant force when Mayweather retired, in fact, at the time he retired Williams was coming off a one-sided decision loss to Carlos Quintana. It is only since his retirement & comeback that he has fought his way to the position he is now.

I also get sick of hearing that he ducked Tszyu & Mosley. There was an arrangement in place that Mayweather & Tszyu would meet after they both made some money fighting easier opponents (let's not forget neither was BIG bucks then). Mayweather beat Gatti easily, but Tszyu didn't fulfill his part of it & got beaten by Hatton a month earlier if I remember rightly.

Mayweather called Mosley out in 1999, when Mosley priced himself out of a fight demanding $10m (fair enough as he had an Oscar fight on the horizon) & in 2006, when he wanted to have a vacation rather than make the fight. I have no problem with him doing that, but let's not then claim he's been avoided.

As for Margarito & Cotto, I can certainly some truth there, but only with them. Margarito he could have fought in 2006 for $8m (although you have to wonder if that was there seeing as Margarito only made $3m fighting Mosley this year - remember this is pre-ODLH Mayweather), but he chose to fight the Lineal Champion Baldomir for the same money.

As for Cotto, I can definitely see the argument that he retired at a time when Cotto was coming up. There was recently a rumour that they tried to make the fight at when both were at 140, but the fact is Cotto was a different beast at 147.

Plus, can we please stop pretending that Hatton was one of PBF's best wins? He was a good win, but Corrales, Castillo, ODLH & Genaro Hernandez all are worth more, not to mention Marquez even if that fight was a tune-up.

I'm not going to take credit away from any of Manny's victories because what he's done is amazing, but don't rewrite history (his last 4 fights have been Cotto, Hatton, ODLH & David Diaz btw) just to suit an argument. Why can't people just accept that we're lucky to have 2 of the best in the history of this profession almost certain to fight one another & sit back & enjoy it rather than acting like they need to denigrate one or the other.

[Jimanuel Boogustus]

Ok, this is what annoys me when people rearrange history to fit their opinion.

Paul Williams was not becoming a dominant force when Mayweather retired

Actually, Floyd Retired after the Hatton fight (December 2007).
But this was after Williams had just beaten Margarito (June 2007).

Williams didn't fight Quintana until February 2008

So personally, i think we should add Williams back to ''the list of the ducked''

[Rantcatrat]

Jaz,

First, is Floyd ranked higher on your ATG list than Manny at this point in time? And would a win over Floyd for Manny mean more to you than a win for Floyd over Manny in terms of legacy and ATG status?

Second, regardless of whether Floyd "What Have You Done For Me Lately?" Mayweather ducked Margarito, Mosley, Cotto, or Williams, or just chose not to fight them for whatever reason, we can both agree that he hasn't fought them and as such, at welterweight, he really hasn't done much. When he retires, because it is too soon to pass judgment, if he still hasn't fought any of those names, it should be taken into account when considering his ATG status.

[UKPH]

The problem with Floyd when he returns he just clearly pick his opponent like what he did picking smaller Marquez.

I'm not against Floyd but the timing is, tho I really give a small margin beating Pacquiao by points but again for me beating midget Pacquiao doesnt give him a credit like beating a real welters like Cotto, Mosley or Margarito even we can scratch out Paul Williams.

I guess his comeback is really to fight Pacquiao moneywise thus what he said for money than fight those Welters i've mentioned above.

[THE THIRD MAN]

IMO Mayweather still has a lot more to prove, he is without doubt the best defensive boxer i have ever seen, he has managed his career well, avoiding the likes of Tszyu, Mosley, Cotto, Margarito and a well timed retirement just as Paul Williams becomes a dominant force? He still has good wins over Castillo, Corrales, DLH and Hatton. Pacquiao has done it all, coming from Flyweight!! His last 4 fights define his career with wins over Marquez, DLH, Hatton and Cotto. Many on this forum gave him little chance against DLH (me included) he then destroys Hatton in 2 rounds with a text book left hook, he then goes up against the solid, big hitting Cotto who many believe should still be undefeated after Margogate! How high would i rank him if he beats Floyd? Top 20 ATG for certain, he is pretty close to that now! Floyd needs to beat Manny convincingly to achieve the same recognition. Currently i have Manny ahead of Floyd. I reckon Floyd has more to lose here in a fight with Pacquiao.

Ok, this is what annoys me when people rearrange history to fit their opinion.

Paul Williams was not becoming a dominant force when Mayweather retired, in fact, at the time he retired Williams was coming off a one-sided decision loss to Carlos Quintana. It is only since his retirement & comeback that he has fought his way to the position he is now.

I also get sick of hearing that he ducked Tszyu & Mosley. There was an arrangement in place that Mayweather & Tszyu would meet after they both made some money fighting easier opponents (let's not forget neither was BIG bucks then). Mayweather beat Gatti easily, but Tszyu didn't fulfill his part of it & got beaten by Hatton a month earlier if I remember rightly.

Mayweather called Mosley out in 1999, when Mosley priced himself out of a fight demanding $10m (fair enough as he had an Oscar fight on the horizon) & in 2006, when he wanted to have a vacation rather than make the fight. I have no problem with him doing that, but let's not then claim he's been avoided.

As for Margarito & Cotto, I can certainly some truth there, but only with them. Margarito he could have fought in 2006 for $8m (although you have to wonder if that was there seeing as Margarito only made $3m fighting Mosley this year - remember this is pre-ODLH Mayweather), but he chose to fight the Lineal Champion Baldomir for the same money.

As for Cotto, I can definitely see the argument that he retired at a time when Cotto was coming up. There was recently a rumour that they tried to make the fight at when both were at 140, but the fact is Cotto was a different beast at 147.

Plus, can we please stop pretending that Hatton was one of PBF's best wins? He was a good win, but Corrales, Castillo, ODLH & Genaro Hernandez all are worth more, not to mention Marquez even if that fight was a tune-up.

I'm not going to take credit away from any of Manny's victories because what he's done is amazing, but don't rewrite history (his last 4 fights have been Cotto, Hatton, ODLH & David Diaz btw) just to suit an argument. Why can't people just accept that we're lucky to have 2 of the best in the history of this profession almost certain to fight one another & sit back & enjoy it rather than acting like they need to denigrate one or the other.

I didn't say he ducked them, i said he avoided them, for whatever reason the fights did not take place and they could have. Very convieniant i would say that he didn't fight them. I'm not knocking Floyd's resume, there are some great wins there (DLH, Hatton were great wins!) and don't tell me he has not kept a watchful eye on the taller more awkward Paul Williams. I just think Pacquiao has done more, coming from Flyweight to beat Miguel Cotto at Welterweight is an extraordinary achievement, it will take an extraordinary fighter like Floyd Mayweather jr to beat Manny Pacquiao.