What would Mayweather's career been like if he had lost that '0' vs Castillo?

[Luilun]

This is not about whether Castillo should have got decision more whether Mayweather would have been less cautious in choosing opponents if he wasn't too wary of losing his undefeated record. I'm a huge Mayweather fan but if he lost that '0' vs Castillo would we have seen him take the Margarito fight & pick him apart? Would we have seen Mayweather-Tszyu at LWW? Would we have seen him fight Pac when it really mattered a few years ago? (not saying only Mayweather is to blame for that one) What else would we have seen? Please discuss

He would have never been a PPV star that's why the fix was in by HBO and the crooked judges to rob Castillo. Margarito constant pressure, constant punching iron chin and possible cast wraps would have been to much for Floyd after watching Castillo Man handle him. Margarito was Castillo but with more power that's why Floyd stayed away

[SpeedKillz]

He would have never been a PPV star that's why the fix was in by HBO and the crooked judges to rob Castillo. Margarito constant pressure, constant punching iron chin and possible cast wraps would have been to much for Floyd after watching Castillo Man handle him. Margarito was Castillo but with more power that's why Floyd stayed away

no wonder why no one cares about your opinion. this is priceless right here...

[4Corners]

The only fights that didn't happen that would have meant anything major were Pacquiao, Wright, Margarito, and Tszyu.

Pacquiao....I'm not even going to get into a who ducked who debate, because they both wanted it and appeared not to want it at different times all the time the past 2-3 years.

Wright.....Floyd was willing to move up two weight classes to fight him in 2005, but Shaw and Arum couldn't come to an agreement on a split. Shaw said that Winky had too much to lose and nothing to gain, which was basically true though.

Tszyu......he was injured in 2004 when Floyd entered 140, and Floyd openly voiced wanting the Tszyu-Hatton winner, Tszyu lost. Oh well. Not Floyd's fault here.

Margarito....the only one with any claim or beef that Floyd didn't seem interested in fighting. Floyd did maintain he'd fight Margarito for 8 million, and long as he could get guarantees for Oscar, Cotto, and Hatton. Bob said he didn't want to guarantee Floyd that type of money, which Floyd ended up getting fighting Baldomir, Oscar, and Hatton anyway. You also have to equate that Floyd had his sights set on much bigger and legit fights against Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya at this time too. Still, Margarito is the only fight where you could really honestly make this claim.

[R-NEAL]

He would have never been a PPV star that's why the fix was in by HBO and the crooked judges to rob Castillo. Margarito constant pressure, constant punching iron chin and possible cast wraps would have been to much for Floyd after watching Castillo Man handle him. Margarito was Castillo but with more power that's why Floyd stayed away

I dont know if I agree with that. It was like 4-5 years after he fought Castillo before he became a PPV attraction. Even if Floyd did lose, thats plenty of time to recover from it. Especially when most people acknowledge that Floyd went into the fight handicapped with a bad shoulder. But I dont believe the fight was fixed. A close fight that could go either way is not a fix.

[4Corners]

He would have never been a PPV star that's why the fix was in by HBO and the crooked judges to rob Castillo. Margarito constant pressure, constant punching iron chin and possible cast wraps would have been to much for Floyd after watching Castillo Man handle him. Margarito was Castillo but with more power that's why Floyd stayed away

Castillo > Margarito

Castillo has a better resume than Margarito and is higher all time, fact. Margarito is probably one of the most overrated fighters in the past decade or so.

And Floyd-Castillo I was close, could have gone either way. There were tons of swing rounds that could have went either way. I had Castillo winning by one point. Floyd erased all doubt in the rematch though and won convincingly.

[R-NEAL]

The only fights that didn't happen that would have meant anything major were Pacquiao, Wright, Margarito, and Tszyu.

Pacquiao....I'm not even going to get into a who ducked who debate, because they both wanted it and appeared not to want it at different times all the time the past 2-3 years.

Wright.....Floyd was willing to move up two weight classes to fight him in 2005, but Shaw and Arum couldn't come to an agreement on a split. Shaw said that Winky had too much to lose and nothing to gain, which was basically true though.

Tszyu......he was injured in 2004 when Floyd entered 140, and Floyd openly voiced wanting the Tszyu-Hatton winner, Tszyu lost. Oh well. Not Floyd's fault here.

Margarito....the only one with any claim or beef that Floyd didn't seem interested in fighting. Floyd did maintain he'd fight Margarito for 8 million, and long as he could get guarantees for Oscar, Cotto, and Hatton. Bob said he didn't want to guarantee Floyd that type of money, which Floyd ended up getting fighting Baldomir, Oscar, and Hatton anyway. You also have to equate that Floyd had his sights set on much bigger and legit fights against Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya at this time too. Still, Margarito is the only fight where you could really honestly make this claim.

I agree with this except for the Margarito claim. Mainly due to him with loaded gloves. He doesn't deserve that type of respect

[Slip Stream]

This is not about whether Castillo should have got decision more whether Mayweather would have been less cautious in choosing opponents if he wasn't too wary of losing his undefeated record. I'm a huge Mayweather fan but if he lost that '0' vs Castillo would we have seen him take the Margarito fight & pick him apart? Would we have seen Mayweather-Tszyu at LWW? Would we have seen him fight Pac when it really mattered a few years ago? (not saying only Mayweather is to blame for that one) What else would we have seen? Please discuss

IMHO if Mayweather would have lost at any point early in his career we wouldn't be seeing the same fighter. The fans that watch the sport don't always appreciate the belief it takes for a given fighter to succeed in a bout. And when the aura is shattered, primarily for the fighter himself the results are catastrophic. Winning is 95% belief and 5% of the physical circumstances whatever they may be.

Mayweather's confidence in himself is absolute because he's kept winning all these years, that Castillo win simply allowed him to continue and grow as a fighter. Once you lose confidence, growth or advancement is nearly impossible.

[Marvellous1]

One thing that is for certain: Mayweather couldn't have had a PPV against Ricky Hatton billed: "UNDEFEATED".

[bojangles1987]

IMHO if Mayweather would have lost at any point early in his career we wouldn't be seeing the same fighter. The fans that watch the sport don't always appreciate the belief it takes for a given fighter to succeed in a bout. And when the aura is shattered, primarily for the fighter himself the results are catastrophic. Winning is 95% belief and 5% of the physical circumstances whatever they may be.

Mayweather's confidence in himself is absolute because he's kept winning all these years, that Castillo win simply allowed him to continue and grow as a fighter. Once you lose confidence, growth or advancement is nearly impossible.

I don't think that would have happened with Mayweather. Just look at the improvement from the first Castillo fight to the rematch. If he lost, not only would he have pushed himself harder for that fight, but he would have spent the rest of his career trying to erase that loss from everyone's memory. I think Mayweather's a fighter who would work harder than any of us could imagine to avoid another loss, and would fight anyone he could to make us forget or disregard that loss.

[Bushbaby]

The only fights that didn't happen that would have meant anything major were Pacquiao, Wright, Margarito, and Tszyu.

Pacquiao....I'm not even going to get into a who ducked who debate, because they both wanted it and appeared not to want it at different times all the time the past 2-3 years.

Wright.....Floyd was willing to move up two weight classes to fight him in 2005, but Shaw and Arum couldn't come to an agreement on a split. Shaw said that Winky had too much to lose and nothing to gain, which was basically true though.

Tszyu......he was injured in 2004 when Floyd entered 140, and Floyd openly voiced wanting the Tszyu-Hatton winner, Tszyu lost. Oh well. Not Floyd's fault here.

Margarito....the only one with any claim or beef that Floyd didn't seem interested in fighting. Floyd did maintain he'd fight Margarito for 8 million, and long as he could get guarantees for Oscar, Cotto, and Hatton. Bob said he didn't want to guarantee Floyd that type of money, which Floyd ended up getting fighting Baldomir, Oscar, and Hatton anyway. You also have to equate that Floyd had his sights set on much bigger and legit fights against Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya at this time too. Still, Margarito is the only fight where you could really honestly make this claim.

Now while the post overall is solid, I can't help but believe you're operating under the assumption that concerning Wright you're making it seem like it was Winky's fault. I remember when talks of that match-up came up. It was talk from both sides & empty. I wouldn't even have Winky as a fighter Floyd ducked or avoided.

Winky was at 154, no star & quite frankly no fighter coming from any lower weight class could probably beat that guy, Floyd included. It was just a name thrown around. The talks weren't serious enough to put on a list of fighters Floyd avoided.