On paper, guys who would be tailor made for the greats

Name some greats, and a list a fighter who would probably have been tailor made for them. Can't be a total "bum" fighter... must be a top fighter.

I'll list a few:

Floyd: Kostya Tszyu - I think Tszyu would have been made to order for Floyd.

Duran: Cotto - I can't think of a guy more made in Heaven for Duran than Miggy.

Roy: Kov - I like the Krusher, but he was to made to order for a prime Jones.

Hagler: Canelo. Stylewise, the Ginger would give Hagler a hard-on.

Whitaker: Ricky Hatton. Pea would have a wet dream thinking of Hatton's style.

Jose Napoles :Tim Bradley. Good God almighty this would be ugly.

Tyson: Michael Moorer. The odds of Moorer even lasting a round would have been slim.

Others?

 

Nice thread, but I disagree with some

Roy Jones is miles better than Kovalev, but Kovalev's one-punch power makes him not tailor-made for Roy. The same way Nigel Benn wasn't made for Jones, even though his chances of landing the KO shot were slim. A guy with more reliable chin, such as Michael Spinks, beat Kovalev 99/100.

Kostya Tszyu was at his best against slick guys. Floyd beats him, but Tszyu's counter right would make him a bit uncomfortable. Tszyu was more made for the likes of Duran.

Whitaker does not win every round against Hatton, as he did against Haugen and some other top guys. Hatton with his quick feet and strength has the ability to smother Whitaker at times and Pee Wee doesn't have the punch to hold him off. Instead of Whitaker, I'd offer Tommy Hearns.

How about Larry Holmes vs David Tua

 

Ali-Tua

 

1. I definitely see your point. Given Kov's power, he can't TOTALLY be counted out, but his chances of beating the 94-02 Jones remain very slim. I'd give him a better chance if he was the type of guy who was willing to take abuse, and still go all out. But I think Roy's speed and power would intimidate him, to be quite honest.

2. I think Tszyu was too robotic for Floyd, and continually walks into right hands over his lead left. Does he land a some good shots early? Yes, but Floyd's proven to have a dependable chin. Other than that, Tszyu gets picked apart. I'll go as far as to say that I wouldn't be surprised to see the 140 Floyd stop Tszyu late.

Duran stops both Tszyu and Cotto, but I see Cotto as MORE made for Roberto than Tszyu.

3. We'll have to disagree. I think Hatton gives Whitaker "some" difficulty very early on, but not that much. I feel Whitaker was better suited to handle Ricky than Floyd was. I think Pea not only outboxes Hatton, but beats him up pretty bad.

 

Yeah, I can't think of a guy more made for Ali than Tua.

 

Ray Leonard: Paul Williams

 

Actually Ugo, you convinced me. I think Kov is more tailor made for Dwight Qawi than Roy.

 

Agree, obviously Floyd is the favorite but that's far from tailor made.

 

We'll have to disagree. I think of all the greats from 130-140, Tszyu is most made for Floyd.

Floyd knew it too. That's why he had always had an interest in fighting Tszyu.

 

Benitez: Danny Garcia. Garcia is slow of foot, not the quickest of hand, easy to hit, and tends to loop a lot of his punches. Yeah, Benitez would have loved him.

 

Aaron Pryor: Paulie. I struggle to think of a worse matchup for Malignaggi than Pryor.

Tszyu: Khan. This one goes without saying. Tszyu would be smiling thinking of this matchup.

 

Ok...this thread has been too amicable up to now, so time to inject some Slyesque chaos...

Duran is made to order for Mayweather.

Orthodox, shorter, short arms...a guy that gets frustrated at pot-shotting and movement. Mayweather has his way with him.

 

What's stupid about that statement is that we've Castillo, Hatton, and Maidana give Floyd Hell using swarming aggression. It's not the style Floyd shines against. Floyd shines against methodical, slow footed guys like Corrales and Canelo who are more counter punchers than pressure fighters. If you're not quick on your feet, and you give Floyd time to operate, he'll eat you up. But that doesn't describe Duran.

Pressure IS the way to beat Floyd. He just never faced a guy who was great at it.

Duran had every tool necessary to beat Floyd, with foot speed being at the top of the list.To say either man was made for the other is PURE fan boy shit.

 

Not to mention the feints, Duran mastered them

 

I refuse to turn this into a Floyd thread, so let's move on. We're talking to a man who picks Floyd over Robinson at welterweight.

 

Literally???...




REED

 

Marvin Hagler-Iran Barkley

Hagler would pick him apart and give him a bad beating.

James Toney-Gerald McClellan

See above.

 

Yes.

 

Trinidad: Maidana. It would get pretty ugly for poor Chino.

 

Floyd avoided every fighter who he thought could beat him with the possible exception of Corrales.

Tszyu was much stronger and avoided.

 

The odh from odh/mosley I beats pbf

 

Yes and I stand by it. Picture Floyd in the 50s with his new millennium talent; potshotting, check left hooks, pull counters, shoulder roll etc....those meat packing district Italian sluggers of those days wouldn't know what to do. Floyd would have easily beaten all of Robinson's welterweight opponents. As for Robinson himself...stylewise you have to favour Floyd based on better defence and ring generalship. Robinson was ahead of his time in terms of style and ability but his victims were typically big head pressure fighters and sluggers...he never tested himself against a slick fast elusive African American fighter in his prime. Floyd would have won a close decision.

 

LOL! Nice meme

 

Seriously though...people need to get over this Ray Robinson was unbeatable bullshit. He clearly wasn't. People also need to get over this "boxing has regressed since the 50s" stuff as well. Mayweather was a better boxer than Robinson for example. Robinson was a better "pain inflictor" but Floyd was a smarter fighter.

 

Robinson was 128-1 in his prime. People didn't pull the "unbeatable" claim out their asses.

You're the one who comically pretends that Floyd is unbeatable, even though Castillo begs to differ.

With proper judging, Floyd should be 48-1.

 

I've never claimed that Floyd is unbeatable (Hearns and Leonard would have beaten him at 147) . However, he definitely won the first Castillo fight.

 

The better question, the one for the ages, is Robinson vs Leonard at 147.

Floyd at welter doesn't compare to either one. He never gave an awe inspiring performance above 140.

 

Both Robinson and Leonard could be befuddled by swarming aggression (Fulmer and Duran) and out-boxed (Turpin and Hearns). It's a pick'em.

Floyd's performance against Canelo was dominant and Canelo's a very good fighter. When has Leonard dominated a fighter as good as Canelo?