I would expect Spence to make the HOF one day, just because he was a big star, and thats all it takes to make the HOF. My question is: Does he deserve it? Notable wins: Brook Porter Both Garcia's Ugas What hurts him is how utterly he was blown away by Bud, and also because being an alchy cut his prime short. Does he deserve the Hall?
All these people claiming crawford is better than Mayweather jr would seemingly have a hard time making that claim if Alvarez is the onliest hall of famer he defeated
No, they could still make that claim. Know why? Because we're talking about better, not greater. Floyd is greater than Bud. Noooooooooo one can dispute that, me included. I think Crawford's a better fighter. Just like I think Roy was better than Floyd, though Floyd surpassed Roy in greatness.
Other than dropping a few early rounds to Gamboa, Bud has not struggled AT ALL in his entire career. Not even a little bit. Floyd had plenty of struggles, against guys I believe Crawford would have beaten more comprehensively. Hence, I think Crawford's better, but Floyd is greater based on superior resume. Be honest, who do you think would give say, prime Leonard, a tougher fight: Bud or Floyd? The answer is undoubtedly Crawford.
Crawford isn't better than a prime Floyd imo, he's just more well rounded so he doesn't struggle against specific styles as much. Since he kicked Spence's arse, people have forgotten that he was basically even with an old Porter before the stoppage and was badly hurt in a competitive fight with Kavalauskas. And despite fighting in the same divisions, Crawford is huge compared to Floyd. Crawford is a really bad style for Floyd though, I'm not convinced he wins that one.
I'll take Mayweather jr to beat crawford at 135-140. Once you get above that it's a naturally 150lb guy vs a naturally 170lb guy, I've maintained Mayweather jr is not some all time great welter or top 10 in the division
135 I got Floyd. At 140 I'd take Bud. 140 makes the most sense for these guys getting it on. I think both peaked at that weight, and both were around 28 when they peaked at 140.
I think he was just fighting bigger names at 147, but I won't really argue this one. Youre probably right. Bud's PEAK performance was probably the Horn fight. Spence is obviously his defining performance, but I think THE very best version of Crawford, in terms of him at his physical peak, was the Horn version.
I'd have to rewatch Crawford-Porter, but I dont remember watching that fight and ever feeling like Bud was struggling. Porter was fighting well enough to stay competitive, but to me, it was inevitable that Crawford was gonna kick it into second gear and pull away. I felt SPENCE was struggling with Porter, but not Crawford. The surprise to me was that Bud got him outta there. Therein lies the separation between Bud and Floyd --- Bud had fight-ending power. Both were supremely skilled, but Bud's huge edge in power is enough for me to declare him better, overall. As an example, I dont think Cotto would have seen the distance with Crawford like he did Floyd. Nor do I think Cotto would have pushed Crawford as hard as he did Floyd. Bud would have beaten ten shades of shit outta Cotto and knocked him out.
Cotto at 154 had a fairly decent size edge on Mayweather jr that wouldn't be the case vs crawford, but id still expect him to be competitive at that point in his career vs the crawford who faced madrimov
Styles and also Crawford fighting to the level of his opposition. You overrated Madrimov beyond belief. The guy is not that good. Bud would be more motivated to bring his best against Cotto, and he would.
Yeah, its total nonsense to claim the only time bud struggled was against Gamboa. And let's not forget that the madrimov fight was also super close. To his credit. Every time he was in a close one, he went into another gear to win cleary, but that's another story
I’m 50-50 on it. But I think a guy like Ike Quartey for instance, is a better fighter than Spence and he’s not in the hall. But Tim Bradley is in, like REED said, so…
I am one of the guys who thinks Crawford would have beaten Mayweather. I love Bud, but at the same time I would agree that Floyd was smoother and more aesthetically pleasing to watch at their very peak. Saying that, yes, Bud wins imo.