Floyd would dominate the SRL that beat Benitez

Not really a popular prediction had they fought because some ppl favor older eras weather its the 1985 Laker fans with 220 pound Kareem saying he would dominate 320 pound 2000 Shaq completely forgetting Moses Malone at 250 pounds pimp slapped Kareem in 1981 and 1983 with his rebounding cause he was just to strong for the cap. Or saying Michael Cooper would lock up Kobe completely forgetting Sleepy Floyd of the Warriors dropped 50 on Cooper and Isiah and Dumars used to destroy him. Some just favor older eras. Im a big Ray Leonard fan and as a kid cried when mom was like do your homework 1st then you can go across the street to your friends house to watch Leonard vs Duran 2. I finished but my math homework was wrong and mom was like do it again. So basically i missed the fight and was crying. So im a big SRL fan but not a fan to the point where i favor him for the next 60 years of my life like some old school Ray Robinson fans who are now in there 80s. I look at simple fights like Ray's fight with Benitez, Larry Bonds, Ayub Kalule. The fights are on youtube in full and when you take off the old school favoritism and actually watch the whole fight, Ray looks very good but not as good as when i was 13 years old. His fight against Floyd sr looks awesome if you only watch round 10 when Ray unleashes the flashy flurry but when you watch the whole fight Ray looks so mediocre. Not exactly dominant. This is why i feel Floyd wins handily. Go to youtube and watch the entire Benitez fight and picture that being Floyd who's offensive arsenal is 10 tims better than Benitez. Wilfred made Ray miss time and time again and confused him, problem is his offensive punches were all wide, you could see it coming and his speed was average at best. Floyd would have the same sucess as Benitez making Ray either miss or block with the difference being he would make Ray pay with counterpunches over and over and over. Also Floyd is stronger, trains harder than 1979 Wilfed Benitez. Mayweather doesnt drink, smoke and lives in the gym. Benitez only trained 2 weeks for that fight. Floyd is benitez with a much better offensive arsenal and way better conditioning because he doesnt drink or smoke.

Comments (20)

And Floyd isnt?He sure is special. But not special enough to beat a prime Ray Leonard, who would hold almost every physical advantage possible over him, and the man wasn't exactly a bum. More power. More height. Longer reach. (Remember, Mosley actually has shorter reach than Money.) Better chin. Better footspeed. Equal handspeed or possibly better at the given weight. Ray Leonard was a God-gifted talent. So is Floyd. They just aren't similar enough in size, in my opinion, for the fight to be even close at 147 pounds.

16y ago

Telepath

Well Duran fought at lightweight and hung with him, Benitez fought at 140 and hung with him, Viruet came from lightweight and hung with him.Err. Yes, Benitez fought at Junior Welterweight. And Leonard stopped him. Viruet had both weight and reach advantage on Leonard in their fight. And, he was outclassed. Duran is Leonard's only loss at 147 and I think we can all agree that Duran was quite special. The man was a beast.

16y ago

BUSINESSMAN

unless you dream of floydballs srl wins in your view. true story. sugar would clown floyd however good he seems today. :nonono:

16y ago

Telepath

You call Hatton a smaller fighter then say Floyd isnt a welterweight, which is it?Both. Floyd is strong as an ox and can handle his own.I'm not disputing that. But welterweight isn't his prime weight class. Please do understand the point I'm trying to make. Floyd could never hang with a prime Ray Leonard. Hell, he would probably be stopped by a prime De La Hoya - and that is NOT meant as a diss on Floyd. A prime De La Hoya would beat every fighter currently in the division in their current form, and few would survive the distance.

16y ago

Telepath

Come on guys. You really need to put this into perspective. Floyd Mayweather Jr IS NOT A REAL WELTERWEIGHT. That is not his PRIME. He just fights there now because he's getting old and can no longer make lightweight, plus there were financial reasons to move up. He will go down as probably the best super featherweight of all time. I can see no fighter that could beat him there in all of the history of boxing. He chooses his opponents VERY carefully at this stage. A half-shot and inactive Oscar. a 39-year-old Shane Mosley (which by the way, I still give him full credit for - the win, that is.) Ricky Hatton, a small fighter who had been somewhat exposed as not too durable under fire and with quite poor defense. The list goes on. And now, possibly, Manny Paquiao - ANOTHER person who is NOT a real welterweight, and who does exactly the same thing - handpicking big name opponents when the time is right to capitalize on them. Leonard at welterweight was a MONSTER. It was his PRIME. Stunning two-handed knockout power. Incredible workrate. Granite chin. Great speed. An indomitable will to win. I know I might be in minority here but I'd give him a chance versus Robinson. Leonard by decapitation, and that's coming from a Floyd fan.

16y ago

The_Noose

Leonard...5"11, fast, a 15 round fighter. No way. Shane didnt throw much after round 2 and looked exhausted. Theres no comparing him last night to a prime Leonard. Leonard said himself he wasnt at his best against Benitez, yet out boxed and stopped a great boxer. Leonard would have stopped Floyd if he hurt him like Shane did last night.

16y ago

Telepath

Age dont determine prime, Floyd looked better last night than Ive ever seen him look before, thats even at 130,135,140 or any weight. Hes strong as a ox.Disagree entirely. He's a very good defensive fighter, and a very smart fighter. He's strong, too. But his hand speed, foot speed and combination punching is most definitely slipping. It's not just a question of added weight really. It's age. Also, saying that Leonard couldn't KO Floyd because Floyd has a "great chin"... well, he might have a great chin, but Floyd has never, ever been hit by someone with the speed and power of Ray. No, Mosley can't match Ray's punch, he doesn't hold a candle.

16y ago

AdamantiumPI

Floyd would put up a decent fight with SRL but I doubt he would beat him much less dominate. A prime SRL would probably beat any ww or mw today.

16y ago

RayLeonard82

SRL had some problems with Larry Bonds (10 rounds) Kalule (9 rounds) Benitez [15 rounds}, Floyd's Father (10 rounds) and he just knocks out Floyd jr who's 10 times better than all of the above. Wow

16y ago

street_bully

Homie SRL knocks floyd out. He is faster than floyd and hit a lot harder than mosley.

16y ago

RayLeonard82

Maybe its just me, but outside of Ray's flashy combination punches im not overwelmed with his speed. Especially counterpunching. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RItiDsqhmro&feature=related

16y ago

The_Gambler1981

Keep in mind that Leonard fought Floyd Sr. so if he came up against Floyd he would have seen kind of what he does, Jr. is better than pops but that experiance would be quite useful to Leonard in a fight with Jr.

16y ago

The_Gambler1981

I always thought Leonard was a bad matchup for Floyd moreso than even Hearns at 147. Hearns if Floyd gets inside his best range can do work on Hearns that is easier said than done but Floyd could possibly pull that out. Against Leonard who is more versitile it is tough to say, I think the fight would swing back and forth, plus Leonard being bigger. That would be a hell of a fight to watch though.

16y ago

Ryn0

Perhaps that Leonard, but remember that was the Leonard that was having his very first champinship fight. It was his first jump up in class to world class opposition. Leonard managed to get ahead on the scorecards and TKO a undefeated defensive master, who had almost 2 times the experience. You act as if he looked terrible aganst Benitez when really he looked fine, he was just fighting a tricky opponent. You can say he would beat Leonard but to dominate him is just stupid, I think the Leonard that beat Hearns would beat Mayweather so it's all guesswork.

16y ago

jrosales13

You guys do know that Benitez was a great slick boxer right? He could arguably be in the top 10 greatest defensive fighters of all time. Do you guys even know who Wilfredo Benetiz is?

16y ago

Bushid333

dominate him? no way

16y ago

RayLeonard82

SRL was a quick volume puncher but single shot speed, making a guy miss and immedietely countering Floyd had the edge. Volume isnt gong to beat Floyd. Ray's just gonna flurry with pretty combos, Floyd will block and nail Ray with counters all night long.

16y ago

Telepath

I don't really think there is a case here. Floyd is past his prime. Really. He's 33 years old, and he's moved from JLW to WW. Is he great? Sure. Does him beating a 39 year old Mosley mean he could beat a prime Leonard? Not too likely.

16y ago

RayLeonard82

Also watch that fight how Ray had a bad habit of jabbing and leaning his head down. Floyd's upercut would nail Ray with consistency. SRL would have to make a adjustment and get out of that habit of jabbing and leaning the head down like that.

16y ago

Telepath

Didn't you just start a thread almost identical, only with Tommy Hearns? Weird for a dude with your username to spend so much time dissing Ray. And no, Ray would have knocked Floyd out if they'd fought at 147.

16y ago