Did Floyd "brawl" with Cotto, Mosley and Ortiz because his Legs are getting older?

[Pugilistic™]

It's certainly possible that his legs are slowing down so he's resorting to less movement and more inside fighting. I mean all fighters age at some point and Floyd is 35 and has fought for a long time as well, certainly in this day and age anyway.

I personally don't think that's the case just yet though. Floyd early in his career did the same thing. If he felt he could go inside and do work, he would as you see in his fights against Gatti, Corley,Hatton,etc. With his most recent fights it's the same thing. He felt he could box in range and go inside on Mosley, Ortiz and Cotto and it turned out he could.

[jimboinbigd]

He stood in front of them because he was willing to die in the ring. He didn't cared about his health at all. Now when it comes to Pacquiao it's a different story....health would come first.

Not to screw up your agenda, but Mayweather was referring to fighting a guy who wouldn't take random blood testing. It was Pacquiao and Arum who ran away from the first fight because of this...

[Frank Ducketts]

He didn't brawl those guys. Those guys you mentioned always brawl with everyone else until it comes to Floyd. And then when they get into the ring with Floyd, they never want to brawl for fear of being hit, and missing their shots. Floyds opponents punch output goes down and Floyds punch output either goes up or stays the same.

[Frank Ducketts]

And of course Floyd is slowing down. He's 35, and nobody beats father time.

[Frank Ducketts]

Floyd slowing down doesnt mean that he can be beat by any aggressive style.

[RichCCFC]

Definitely slowed down a lot footspeed wise but even against Mosley he snuffed out any lunging attack Shane made after round 2 with quick footwork.

He has slowed but what you expect him to do vs Cotto? He can't just pot shot and win vs him, never could. If you don't show Cotto any resistance he will just pour it on stronger.

[MurkaMan]

Floyd seems to stand in the pocket more than before and it started with the Mosley fight, went on through to the Cotto fight. He still uses footwork better than any average fighter but I'm wondering if his legs are getting older so he doesn't use it as much. I think Floyd claimed he fought that way to make the fights more entertaining, but is the real reason just that his legs aren't what they used to be?

Against Marquez it looked like Floyd had some great footwork, but I think it's misleading because Marquez didn't make the weight very well for that fight, he wasn't in the same sort of condition as the third Pacquiao fight so it could have made Floyd's footwork seem more impressive. Since that fight, Floyd's looked like he's lost a step, but is it for entertainment or are his legs starting to go?

No. Footwork had nothing to do with his combination punching increasing. He increased his combination punching because the media wanted to see aggression and he realized that it was more fun for him, as well as entertaining to us, to be more of a brutal beatdown machine, opposed to a one punch fighter. Floyd actually ran from Cotto for half of the fight. When he wasnt running or fighting flatfooted, he darted in and out and boxed from the outside like he did in the second round after cotto picked him up. He was very much flatfooted against Ortiz and walked him down without darting that much.

[WESS]

Floyd seems to stand in the pocket more than before and it started with the Mosley fight, went on through to the Cotto fight. He still uses footwork better than any average fighter but I'm wondering if his legs are getting older so he doesn't use it as much. I think Floyd claimed he fought that way to make the fights more entertaining, but is the real reason just that his legs aren't what they used to be?

Against Marquez it looked like Floyd had some great footwork, but I think it's misleading because Marquez didn't make the weight very well for that fight, he wasn't in the same sort of condition as the third Pacquiao fight so it could have made Floyd's footwork seem more impressive. Since that fight, Floyd's looked like he's lost a step, but is it for entertainment or are his legs starting to go?

I only say yes because its a fact of life that he is getting older. Nobody is on his level from 140-154 though so until he steps it up in weight nobody will really know for sure.

Remember Floyd tailors his style based on the fighter he is fighting. If he needs to move, he moves. If he wants to stand their and trade he will. Why? Because he has the skills to do it. You best believe that IF he actually needed to move, he would. He would also adjust.

Floyd's so A+ that even an A- performance is nearly a failure for his standards. Every single active fighter currently fighting today is not held to the same standard as Floyd. Not even close.

[IronDanHamza]

Mayweather never brawls. He will stand in punching distance but he's always thinking defense first.

But his feet have slowed down no doubt. He obviously still has legs, he still has great foot movement.

I personally think the mistake he made in the Cotto fight was after the first 4 rounds, he felt Cotto was wearing down and thought he could stand in the pocket and break him down and stop him, but it turned out he wasn't wearing down as quickly as he thought.

He said in the post fight press conference something along those lines, that their were times where he felt Cotto was breaking down but then he would come on strong and he would be like "Ok, not yet" and things of that nature.

[New England]

Mayweather never brawls. He will stand in punching distance but he's always thinking defense first.

But his feet have slowed down no doubt. He obviously still has legs, he still has great foot movement.

I personally think the mistake he made in the Cotto fight was after the first 4 rounds, he felt Cotto was wearing down and thought he could stand in the pocket and break him down and stop him, but it turned out he wasn't wearing down as quickly as he thought.

He said in the post fight press conference something along those lines, that their were times where he felt Cotto was breaking down but then he would come on strong and he would be like "Ok, not yet" and things of that nature.

agree very much.

why run half way across the ring when you can take one step?

what troubled me in the cotto fight was floyd's tendency to end up on the ropes. that's not where he wanted to get his work in, even if he wasn't necessarily scoring less in those situations. i do think that floyd's legs have slowed markedly in the last few years, but not enough for him be unable to tweak his style, and to compensate with his skills. that won't always be the case.