My thoughts on how to beat Floyd Mayweather

no. castillo & chavez didn't fight alike.........the only similarity to me is their stance & pressure. prime castillo could double up his punches MUCH better then chavez (on the inside & off the clinch) chavez was a better fighter then castillo but not in that regard........castillo would throw 5 6 punches while being clinched. to me La Porte gave a prime chavez hell by movement & countering. but the gift was of course given to chavez..............when ever la porta would sit there & try to bang with chavez he'd get tagged. VOLUME PUNCHING IS THE OPPOSITE OF CHAVEZ'S WORRIES. volume punching did not trouble chavez.......volume punchers usually tired themselves out & got a beating. chavez's stamina was too good for most volume punchers because they'd just tire themselves out & he would then jump on them. sweet p DID NOT BEAT CHAVEZ BY INSIDE FIGHTING. he beat chavez by standing in the center of the ring (moving) & making him miss..........whenever chavez missed he would just sock him & make him pay. sweet p also was consistently flickering that jab in julios face..........he did good inside work but thats not what won him the fight. his jab, movement, & countering won him the fight. again. i see it as a clear decision for mayweather........ :baby:Chavez was far superior to Castillo in terms of being able to put together punches. In fact, hes one of the best of all time when it comes to putting together punches at clinch range. Never would I have thought that someone would put Castillo ahead of Chavez in that respect.... Chavez wasnt prime against LaPorte, he was prime when he got to lightweight, and a little beyond there. And moving and counter punching was never an issue with Chavez, because he completely dominated Camacho, Lonnie Smith and Duplessis when they tried to fifght like that. Watch how Chavez easily cut off the ring and manhandled Camacho, who is arguably the fastest fighter of all time. And stylistically Chavez did have more problems with people that constantly attacked with volume...not from a damage standpoint, but from a points standpoint. and you have no idea what youre saying if you dont believe Whitaker beat Chavez with inside fighting. He stole the play away from him at close range by hooking one arm and muffling Chavez's offense, which neutralized his style and offense. If Whitaker did not have such outstanding infighting ability, he wouldnt have won that fight, since Chavez would have been able to begin his attack after getting the fight to close range. Not to say Whitaker didnt get some good work done on the outside, but it wasnt the deciding factor in the fight. Watch some more Chavez before you pretend you know what youre talking about.

the 2nd fight with castillo wasn't a tough fight at all........the augustus fight was much tougher then the 2nd castillo fight. speaking of sparring, a teenage mayweather would take it easy on Frankie Randall in sparring (the same frankie who gave chavez HELL) i think chavez would get pot shotted, outboxed, & picked apart to a mayweather decision. you think the pressure would be too much. we will DEFINITELY agree to disagree with that one. You're kidding yourself if you don't think the second Castillo fight was tough on Floyd. He did win clearly, but up until the 9th or 10th it went exactly the same way as the first fight, where Floyd won most the early rounds and Castillo charged back in the middle rounds.

Two guys I always thought were capable of giving Floyd hell : Winky Wright, and Vernon Forrest. Wright for his tight defense, excellent jab, and slick boxing IQ. And Forrest for his height/reach advantages, slashing jab, and sick speed/power combination.

To beat Floyd, and I'm going to generalize here because I'm not a trainer and I'm not gonna pretend to be one like some of the other posters in this thread, you need to have arm length that negates his reach advantage for his weight class, and you need an A+ Jab, as well as the ability to cut off the ring, you also need some speed and accurate punching ability I sort of agree w/ the guy about Margarito, but Floyd outpoints him unanimously. You need effective aggressiveness plus the points I stated above to beat Floyd or just hang in there with a close decision. Don't look at the DLH fight please, that fight really wasn't close

I agree 100 % with this statement. I dont have anything against Floyd, but he defiantly DID loose the first fight to Castillo A lot of people would agree with you. A lot of people like myself would disagree with you as well.

Castillo DID beat him. And he did it with a lot of pressure and rights to the body. I know, Floyd was injured, but that doesn't justify JLC not getting the decision. What a beast Castillo was. I agree 100 % with this statement. I dont have anything against Floyd, but he defiantly DID loose the first fight to Castillo

If I were Marquez and were given the chance for a rematch against Floyd, I'd just stay in one spot in the ring and let him come to me. Let the audience boo him as I know it's not me they're pissed at. I won't let myself be a tool for Floyd's exhibition matches. :usa:

Its impossible to sustain a body attack against floyd. You'll just take 5-6 elbows to the face for your trouble without landing anything significant. So scratch that off your list ts.

no. castillo & chavez didn't fight alike.........the only similarity to me is their stance & pressure. prime castillo could double up his punches MUCH better then chavez (on the inside & off the clinch) chavez was a better fighter then castillo but not in that regard........castillo would throw 5 6 punches while being clinched. to me La Porte gave a prime chavez hell by movement & countering. but the gift was of course given to chavez..............when ever la porta would sit there & try to bang with chavez he'd get tagged. VOLUME PUNCHING IS THE OPPOSITE OF CHAVEZ'S WORRIES. volume punching did not trouble chavez.......volume punchers usually tired themselves out & got a beating. chavez's stamina was too good for most volume punchers because they'd just tire themselves out & he would then jump on them. sweet p DID NOT BEAT CHAVEZ BY INSIDE FIGHTING. he beat chavez by standing in the center of the ring (moving) & making him miss..........whenever chavez missed he would just sock him & make him pay. sweet p also was consistently flickering that jab in julios face..........he did good inside work but thats not what won him the fight. his jab, movement, & countering won him the fight. again. i see it as a clear decision for mayweather........call me crazy. :baby: You make good points. But Chavez at 135 would've been a handful. That said, I still believe the one guy made to beat Floyd was Hearns. One punch power, deceptive, excellent jab and boxing skills and a long well-sculpted frame that would negate Mayweather's reach (an advantage no one ever discusses). Look at that gif of Oscar landing that right after flicking out the jab. Think Hearns-Duran.

i agree with your #3. i believe a close range fight is mayweather's big weakness and that's why the fighter i would have given the best chance to beat floyd is....prime margarito, the one that beat cotto. no joke. i know margarito is not the fastest, strongest, or most skilled, but he was a good pressure fighter and did it at a constant pace for the full 12. even if he was being outpointed and outboxed, he was always on top of you. the only way to keep him off was a power punch and floyd was never a big hitter. another reason i give margarito the best chance is his ability to never mentally break down, an ability floyd also has. i notice a lot of floyd's opponent's break down after they realize they are being outclassed by a superior boxer, you can see it in their face when they go to their corner. when this happens, they just start going through the motions and lose their intent to win and ease off. with marg's mental strength, i think he would have tested floyd's own mental strength to its limits. put in anyone else other than marg with floyd and floyd will pick him apart mentally. i don't think floyd could do that to a prime marg though. when i first heard other people say that margarito was the one to beat floyd, i laughed. but now i think i'm starting to see why they think that and it's actually not a crazy thought.

Have an exceptional jab. Very fast hands. ATG skills and ability. Be unpredictable. Basic tools I believe you need before you can think about beating Mayweather. Edit: Not necessarily need. Bad choice of words on my part. More like; "The best or easiest way to be effective against him"

http://www.geezersboxing.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/3/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/a/castillo_front2_1.jpg http://www.sportphotogallery.com/content/images/products/Sports/74083627/main/74083627-product.jpg http://s0.uvnimg.com/deportes/boxeo/photo/2011-09-01/victor-ortiz-en-un-entrenamiento_214x320.jpg

As you noted Mayweather was uncomfortable in the rematch against Castillo, I agree with you there, although he dominated he was uncomfortable because he couldn't pick and choose where he wanted to take the fight as Castillo was the bigger stronger guy. So for Chavez to have had the same if not more success against Floyd, or make Floyd uncomfortable, he would have needed the same luxury Castillo had. Like I said, at 140 Floyd doesn't get pushed around and since coming back after the Hatton fight he has filled in, Floyd is different now. He may have lost a few things but he also gained some things too. Floyd's first two bouts at 135 were against Castillo. Fighting the strongest guy in your division, an intelligent pressure fighter to boot, can definitely cause some discomfort. The second time was easier - though not easy - and I suspect that if Floyd would've had settled in a bit more at the weight, the fight wouldn't have deserved much discussion.

Personally I believe Floyd was at his best at 130 and 135, and not much different if at all at 140...its just that he ended up fighting guys he could easily pick apart. imo his best performance ever is Corrales. love that fight. As you noted Mayweather was uncomfortable in the rematch against Castillo, I agree with you there, although he dominated he was uncomfortable because he couldn't pick and choose where he wanted to take the fight as Castillo was the bigger stronger guy. So for Chavez to have had the same if not more success against Floyd, or make Floyd uncomfortable, he would have needed the same luxury Castillo had. Like I said, at 140 Floyd doesn't get pushed around and since coming back after the Hatton fight he has filled in, Floyd is different now. He may have lost a few things but he also gained some things too.

I completely left of the jab. Speed is important too, but Floyd showed us against Zab that speed alone isn't the answer. You need a great jab to nullify Floyd's left hook. You'd need an even better one to stop his right lead and pull-counter. Welterweight Hearns would be ideal but even then he'd have to throw every last jab with authority, land enough of them, and he'd need to something else. Fighters like Floyd, Bernard, and Pernell have a way of taking an opponents best punch away from them- in Hearns case, the right hand. I won't spend much tome talking up a hypothetical matchup, but I do see tactics in Floyd's arsenal that could be very effective with a Hearns type. I don't think punching in combination is the answer. It's never worked before and usually leads to a fighter wearing himself out physically and/or mentally. Per compubox, opponents land 16% oft sir punches on Floyd. That's 1 landed punch for about every 6 thrown. That's the type of frustration that led to guys like Oscar and Shane giving up, and Ortiz to jumping headbutts. Thank you, one of the most unbiased and knowledgeable post ive seen. Thank you.:hail:

Tried it again: http://i44.tinypic.com/rwi43c.gif

Castillo doesnt fight like Chavez? youre joking right? Smart pressure fighting backed by excellent body punching and infighting expertise? A very annoying myth is that Chavez had problem with movement and counter punching, which is actually very incorrect. Chavez dominated guys like that, just look at his fight with Camacho, John Duplessis and Lonnie Smith, with his outstanding ability to cut off the ring. Chavez stylistically had problem with volume punchers, because he would stay defensive for too long sometimes waiting for the opponent to finish, which would give that opponent the opportunity to steal rounds. We can see this by watching his fights with Sammy Fuentes and Meldrick Taylor, who stole a number of rounds in that fashion. Whitaker won not because he fought on the outside, but actually because he was so good fighting on the inside...he fought on even terms with Chavez at that range, which took the play away from Chavez. Not to mention that he threw many more punches than Mayweather. Saying it wouldnt be close is a bit ridiculous. To be fair, saying that Castillo fights like Chavez is like saying Broner fights like Floyd. And Floyd is pretty damn good at in-fighting, I would say. I don't know if Mayweather could beat Chavez at 135. Above lightweight, yes. I honestly think the person with the best chance would be Hearns.

you mentioned castilo being a sparring partner for chavez (which is kinda stupid because everyone sparred with each other @ some point or the other in that era) BTW if you knew anything you would know that chavez & castillio barely sparred. & chavez was way past faded when the 2 did meet..........yea randall doesn't fight like mayweather. in realty Castillo doesn't fight like chavez, the only similarity is the pressure.......mayweather is light years better then randall (even when he was a teen) my point is chavez had problems with movement & counter punching.......i thought the sweet p fight was a blow out not a draw........chavez also got discouraged when he couldn't catch his opponent & was taking in counters for his efforts. i see a clear UD in mayweathers favor..........believe it or not i don't even think it would be all that close. Castillo doesnt fight like Chavez? youre joking right? Smart pressure fighting backed by excellent body punching and infighting expertise? A very annoying myth is that Chavez had problem with movement and counter punching, which is actually very incorrect. Chavez dominated guys like that, just look at his fight with Camacho, John Duplessis and Lonnie Smith, with his outstanding ability to cut off the ring. Chavez stylistically had problem with volume punchers, because he would stay defensive for too long sometimes waiting for the opponent to finish, which would give that opponent the opportunity to steal rounds. We can see this by watching his fights with Sammy Fuentes and Meldrick Taylor, who stole a number of rounds in that fashion. Whitaker won not because he fought on the outside, but actually because he was so good fighting on the inside...he fought on even terms with Chavez at that range, which took the play away from Chavez. Not to mention that he threw many more punches than Mayweather. Saying it wouldnt be close is a bit ridiculous.

head movement so he can't time you with the right hand. If Ortiz won 3 outta 4 rounds without any head movement, just imagine what he could've done if he did move his head. You don't have to worry about floyds power, There are fighters at 140 that hit harder than floyd ever has or could. Just bob and weave your way in and throw combinations and floyd gets KTFO. The philly shell defense is also known as fagg0t boxing for a reason :nonono: Your whole post was stupid. Especially about the philly shell. But, i forgot you pac fans think manny created boxing and its all about him. Look up tommy hearns or james toney guy.

Chavez probably beats that version of Floyd, but at 140 where Floyd was at his absolute peak, I'd say Floyd beats him. Floyd was still new to the LW division and Castillo was a huge LW, physically he was a lot stronger at 140 and more so right now.Personally I believe Floyd was at his best at 130 and 135, and not much different if at all at 140...its just that he ended up fighting guys he could easily pick apart. imo his best performance ever is Corrales. love that fight. Last thing to go is your power. Mike Tyson could still KO heavyweights today, the problem is they wouldn't stand still with their arms down and allow him to take his shot. Your legs, speed, fluidity, stamina, coordination all go but punchers are always punchers- just heavy-handed men. Disagree on the effectiveness of the punch- Shane got good leverage, followed through, and landed it completely flush while Floyd was relaxed. As for Oscar, he didn't really attempt the flick to the body-right upstairs until late in the fight when he landed it. It wasn't something where he was doing it and having success with it all night. And he did not hurt Floyd with that punch, or any other for that matter. Look at Floyd's legs after that shot lands. they stiffin up and has to start bouncing around to get his legs back. he obviously wasnt in a 'oh **** hes about to get ktfo' moment like Mosley, but theres no doubt the punch had effect. And that 'power is the last thing to go' part is a big myth. Speed is a large part of power for many fighters, and speed goes quickly as you age. Coordination and timing as also a huge part of power punching, and that goes as you age. Look at someone like Hopkins. He actually kept a lot of his speed and coordination as he aged, but his age severely limited his offense. Its been forever since he got a stoppage, which is a big difference from his earlier prime. regardless, even if Mosley was prime, that type of punch isnt his best shot. He didnt get all his body behind it.