Who could Floyd Mayweather Jr have fought...

...to further cement his legacy and career accomplishments and appease the doubterz/haterz?

Joel Casamayor, Acelino Freitas at 130lb?
Kostya Tszyu at 140?
Paul Williams, Antonio Margarito at 147?
Vernon Forrest, 154?
Manny Pacquiao, prime?

 

Floyd could have beaten King Kong and the haters would have said that he ducked Godzilla

 

Fuck ém.

Seriously though....

 

He would have gotten credit for beating Tszyu before Hatton did...but even then people would have said that Tszyu was past prime and got old overnight. He wouldn’t have gotten any credit for either Margarito or Williams, since Shane, Pacquiao and Cotto would go on to brutalize Tony and Williams would get cold cocked by Martinez and never really accomplish much.

I don’t think beating Freitas or Cassmayor would have meant much since Floyd already destroyed corrales who was generally considered as his greatest threat at 130 (Corrales went on to beat both of them anyway)

 

His avoidance of Margarito and Williams was shameful.

Can't really blame him for anything else imo. WOuld have been cool to see him fight Freitas, Cassamayr ans Tszyu, but I don't think he ducked them

 

But then, isn´t boxing history totally littered with H0Férs, multi-weight champions, etc, who have avoided someone along the line?

 

Sergio Martinez @ '54...




REED

 

Some Fights Just DON'T Happen...It Is What It Is...

In Floyd's Case, the NAMES Are There for Sure, but the TIMING of his Welterweight Fights is the Problem...DeLa, Sugar Shane, Pacquiao and Cotto Categorically WERE NOT the Fighters they Used to Be When they Finally Faced Floyd...DeLa Isn't Floyd's Fault but the Other 3 Names Certainly Are...

Williams and Margarito Stand Out Because of Their HEIGHT...You Can Count on ONE Hand, the Number of Significantly Taller Foes Floyd Faced...DeLa, N'Dou, Corrales, Genaro Hernandez...Who WOULDN'T Want to See Floyd In w/a 6'3 Motherfucker w/Lennox Lewis' Reach???….

More than Anything, All that "T.B.E." Shit is People's Problem w/Floyd...For Years He's Tried to SPEAK His Legacy Into Existence...& It Works w/MAINSTREAM Fans, but Hardcore's Aren't That Gullible...The TIMING Of his Latter Day Fights and the MANNER of his Victories is NOT "T.B.E." Material...

Floyd Clings to "I Haven't Lost", but that's Because He's Frequently FOUGHT NOT to Lose, vs. Fighting to WIN...




REED

 

Please name all the guys Leonard fought that were significantly taller than him

 

yeah, but the little retirement stunt to avoid them was pure disgrace

 

Hearns, for a start, one of the best WW ever to boot

 

It was a question on quantity not quality

 

SRL wasn't a midget as PBF was. There was a lot less WW that were taller than him than it was the case for Floyd

 

Yeah but still, the taller guy he fought was one of the most dangerous motherfuckers to ever box professionally, and he fought him when he was unbeaten and in his prime. In this case the quality is so good it DOES count over quantity.

 

Agreed but that wasn’t the specific issue that reed raised which I addressed in my question.

Anyway...when Leonard was WBC champion , Hearns was an unbeaten WBA champion and hadn’t yet become the legend that he retired on. Floyd facing Unbeaten much taller KO power Corrales was a similar act of bravery

 

The Pacquiao fight was Floyd's moment really, there was a point in the late 2000's where there was a bit of an Old Firm situation, two guys who were so far ahead of everyone else in the p4p rankings, who were fighting at the same weight, I mean come on. A win over 2009 Pacquiao seals it for sure, none of Floyd's previous opponents had the standing Manny did at the time. It was Mayweather who put the roadblocks there. Don't get me wrong, Floyd is a great fighter and I'm sure he doesn't care about his career path as he's close to being a sporting billionaire now, but in terms of legacy it was right there and he chose to bypass it.

 

Myth.

Floyd had just fought de la Hoya for his fifth title in as many weigh classes. He had earned his retirement. He only came back because Hatton was a highly heralded unbeaten top 5 p4p fighter who called him out publicly. He didn’t duck Margarito or Williams. Those guys weren’t considered shit at the time...certainly no where near Oscar’s level

 

First I heard of this was 2009, when Floyd called up R.A. The Rugged Man's radio show who, along with calling him out for ducking said to Floyd: "Paul Williams would spank yo ass"

 

As JoM Stated, There WEREN'T Many Welterweights TALLER than Ray Leonard...Not Even Historically...

Leonard was CLOSER to Roy Jones' Height than Floyd Mayweather's Height Bruh...

To Put It in Perspective, Leonard was TALLER than Spence, Brook, Thurman, Crawford, Porter and Garcia...REED just Rattled Off EVERY Relevant Elite Level Welter of Today, All SHORTER than Sugar Ray Leonard...

And the 1 Guy w/Physical Advantages @ '47, Leonard Faced...And Defeated...






REED

 

mayweather jr clearly avoided stevie johnston

 

Not at all. You had to know nothing about boxing to be impressed by PBF beating a part time fighter/part time singer, who was one fight removed from one of the most disgraceful quitjob in a high profile match.
And everybody who followed boxing knew Marg and williams were not shit, and that they would pose some stylistic problems for PBF. But then, you think that DLH was a great fighter at the time PBF beat him, so it shows that you are a causual.

 

yeah, the pac duckjob was also disgraceful. That makes 3 fighters that PBF avoided

 

Srl wasn't a short ww

 

Exactly. And to choose a 0-0 boxer as your milestone 50th win makes matters even worse.

 

Even though they were mediocre fighters beating Margarito after he killed Cotto or Paul Williams would’ve gone a long way towards me respecting Floyd as a welter. The only gripe I have with Floyd fans is they seem to think he was a legitimate great welter just because that’s when he started selling ppv’s.

Floyd avoiding those guys and fighting a bunch of guys his exact height or shorter in a division he was small for makes it clear this was the tactical part of his career. Nothing really wrong with that, he was small, older and he worked himself in the position to cash in.

 

Problem Is, That's When Floyd Barked LOUDEST, Sucking His Own Dick on Some "T.B.E." Shit, KNOWING He was Being Ultra Selective About WHEN he Faced Certain Guys...





REED

 

mayweather jr wanted to fight tszyu and cotto. those fights couldve happened when both were at 140lbs

 

Who PROMOTED Floyd Then???...





REEDo_O

 

I remember Floyd calling out Cotto and Cotto saying he wasn’t ready, but I’m pretty sure that was promo and the fight was supposed to happen after the margarito fight.

Floyd opting out of the opportunity to fight an inferior fighter that pulled an upset says a lot. He didn’t see Margarito as a Jeff Horn type freebie, but he knew if he “outlasted” him people would assume he’d win

 

Arum and duboef didnt want to put cotto in with Mayweather jr when both were at 140. The tszyu fight was conflicting networks and zero money in it at that point