Meldrik Taylor vs Floyd Mayweather Jr @ 140

Feels like this one has just been done, doesn't it? :: 'Hasn't.

How does this go?

 

I'll be damned if Taylor doesn't match up very well here, style wise. Volume, mobility and speed (hey who does that remind you of? ::) seem like just the ticket against Floyd. I think I'd favour him.

Taylor SD 12

 

I think it's close either way. Probably one of those fights that warrants a rematch even if the outcome isn't necessarily controversial.

 

I'd also favor Taylor.

He took Chavez's best shots (lead rights, counters, digs to the body) and was never fazed in throwing back. And he threw a ton all throughout. He'd outwork Floyd. Might even hurt him.

 

That's how I see it, too. The guy threw 100 punches a round against Chavez.... in anticipation of Sly saying so, he won't throw that many against Floyd but he has the foot and hand speed to get off way more than anybody has ever been able to against Floyd.

I can just see him flat outworking Floyd. He's the speed to make it work & the total indifference to getting punched in the mush. McGirt landed lots of sharp counters but it didn't stop Taylor punching until smoke came out the (imaginary) compubox machine.

swarmer>counter puncher>slugger>swarmer - if the talent levels and physical intangibles allow. They do here, IMO.

 

Although maybe Taylor is just too easy to hit. McGirt was a tremendous fighter but he wasn't Floyd.

 

Guaranteed controversy in this one

Half of the people will believe Taylor won on the basis of being faster of hand and throwing way more... The other half will believe Mayweather's clean single shots and better accuracy over the long haul carried the day...

 

Harold Lederman will have it 118-110 Taylor.

I think Mayweather wins a competitive decision. I feel his superior intelligence and defense would be key.

 

Very well possible. Another scenario i can see is something like Hopkins-Taylor.

Obviously not with styles or the same fight, but sort of how it played out. Bernard was getting too Taylor after he made adjustments but by the time he did he had lost too many rounds. I can see something similar happening with Meldrick and Floyd.

Mayweather is an absolute master of making whatever adjustments he has to. However he'd be up against an opponent with a ridiculous combination of hand speed, toughness and work rate. No way Floyd can pot shot his way in this one. I think he would "figure out" Taylor but it's a good possibility he doesn't have enough time left to pull out the win.

 

Spot on, exactly what I was thinking

 

word.

What has been missed in this discussion so far though is Floyd's ability to HURT Meldrick Taylor. Floyd Mayweather may be a slick speedster...but this doesn't mean he can't bang when he wants to.

I do admit though that Floyd would have his hands FULL in this one.

 

Chavez had much heavier hands than Floyd and he had a lot of trouble hurting him to the point of being able to reduce his effectiveness... Floyd is not a bad puncher, obviously, but I don't think he's such a hitter that Taylor would be in danger of being stopped or anything close to it

 

Perfect synopsis.

Count me in Mayweathers half.

 

Put me on the Taylor side.

One thing that seems to be ignored is how Floyd will handle the incoming from Taylor. Taylor wasn't a bonebreaking hitter but he had good pop and blazing speed. What happens when Floyd gets nailed with a shot he doesn't see? He weathers the storms but loses too many rounds.

 

I really don't know about this one. I might lean towards Floyd actually. He'd be able to land flush shots really easily and he always knows how to position himself defensively on the back on them to neutralise a guy. It's very difficult to get going against a guy who can make you reset again and again. I can see a very frustrating night for Taylor.

Dunno. I'll rewatch some of the McGirt fight and see how I feel.

 

McGirt was legitimately drained, but even so, that was arguably Taylors finest hour (I think this was just before the knee injury?) . He absolutely shone.

 

Still looked very hittable.

 

Consider this a complete 180 actually. Floyd wins this going away, Taylor just isn't all that good.

 

disagree completely

He's the fastest handed fighter I've ever seen and his offensive output is both remarkable and undenibaly varied and effective... He also had tremendous confidence and desire... While I could see Floyd winning, I don't see him easily defeating Taylor

 

You might be right. I'm rewatching the McGirt fight and my opinion's occillating on a roundly basis. He really is easy to hit when he stops punching.....punching is basically his only defence.

 

RJJ is allot faster, IMO

 

:jaw:

Somewhere a vortex has been created, the Celtic alliance is falling apart! ::

 

Of body, I agree

but I never thought so of hand

 

::::

 

Meldrick was hittable but he took away McGirt's best weapon, the left hook, for long stretches in the fight. And even when Buddy caught him he took 3 or 4 shots in the process. Taylor just wore him out. And once Buddy tired and got more flatfooted Meldrick lit him up. He gave counterpunchers absolute hell.

 

Taylor doesn't really follow through on most of his shots, I notice

 

I think the sense that the shots come in such blinding array and an unpredictable sequence negates the above quite a bit. Taylor had some sting in his Left Hook and he landed it on everybody and in McGirt landed it on a guy who was expert at countering left hooks... I think he was a really formidable fighter whose reputation has been downgraded somewhat over time because of how he faded

 

I disagree, CDogg. I think the controversy of the first Chavez fight has made him over-rated.

 

Taylor was an excellent fighter, but always was going to be a shooting star rather than a fighter with longevity at the highest level.

Chavez or not, does anyone really see Taylor (who said he had weight issues at 140, and it's believable with his stocky frame) staying at the top at 147 during that era?

 

RJ put his full body into his combos. Taylor often times did not.

RJ was faster. To be quite honest, I dont think they'll EVER be a fighter faster than Roy. At BEST we might see one years from now who's AS fast, but even thats highly doubtful. Roy had comic book handspeed.

Taylor is 3rd on the all time handspeed list behind RJ, and Camacho.

A case can also be made that Leonard had faster hands than Taylor.

As for Taylor vs Floyd, I go back n forth with it all the time. AWESOME matchup though. The Taylor that beat McGirt vs the Floyd that beat Gatti...... it'd be VERY fun to watch.

I sometimes favor Taylor, but tonight I'm picking Floyd. Taylor had FASTER hands than Floyd, but Floyd pulled the trigger QUICKER..... which is a factor nobody has discussed yet. Floyd might not be one of the fastest handed fighters ever. But he DAMN SURE is one of the quickest handed fighters ever.

Floyd also has a big edge in reflexes, accuracy, and a HUGE edge in ring IQ.