How to defeat Floyd Mayweather

It seems popular opinion on this board is that in order to defeat Floyd Mayweather, you have to make into a brawl. Cut off the ring, apply as much pressure as possible, and throw a lot of punches. The problem with this gameplan is several things: 1. You're trying to cut off the ring and apply pressure against Floyd Mayweather Jr - one of the most slippery and slickest fighters boxing has ever seen. This will have your fighter whiffing at air all night long, leaving him to get tired. 2. Floyd is one of the best counter punchers of all-time. Floyd WANTS you to throw a lot of punches and exposing yourself to his counters. This gameplan is exactly want Floyd wants you to do. It plays into his strengths. You're walking forward as Floyd uses his legs to dance around you as you walk into his pot shots all night long. You have to ask yourself, what does Floyd NOT want you to do? What does Floyd least expect? Floyd doesn't want to be the agressor - he doesn't want to be the one to have to make the first move. Floyd also doesn't expect anyone to try and outthink him - so this is exactly what you must try to do. You have to be able to think quickly, be patient, and set traps for Floyd. God-given hand speed doesn't hurt either... Here's an example: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-hBx4oZqpspA/UjEXuVYzSfI/AAAAAAAAFHk/zKl2jt1sqxY/Floyd%252520Mayweather%252520jr.%252520vs%252520Shane%252520Mosley.gif?imgmax=640 Above, you don't see Mosley applying pressure and throwing 500 punches He's posied and he's thinking and he's effectively lulled Mayweather into a passive state... Suddenly you see him take a half a step into his range and setting a trap. He occupies Mayweather with a jab to the body (the trap), while Mayweather is occupied with the jab, Shane puts a right hand right over the top catching Floyd off guard. Once again, an example of out-thinking Floyd. Example #2: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-dIwO7KMDLBQ/UeVZHFtPv5I/AAAAAAAABt0/I9YIkbCnwxs/Floyd%252520Mayweather%252520vs%252520Zab%252520Judah%252520%2525282%252529.gif?imgmax=640 Zab pretty much does the same thing that Mosley did in the above GIF. Zab, standing his ground, occupies Mayweather with a couple half-hearted jabs (the jab) then rips a straight left hand down the pipe. http://ioneglobalgrind.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/floyd-mayweather-vs-zab-judah.gif?w=540&h=335 Here we go again, Zab lets Mayweather act first, and counters the jab to the body. Zab was poised and he didn't fall for the feinted jab, instead he waited for the REAL punch, the jab to the body, and caught Mayweather coming in.... A final example: Corley setting a trap for Floyd with a jab and landing a nice follow shot. http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/1750/shoulderrollfloyd.gif The above are all examples of fighters being poised, standing their ground, and thinking WITH Floyd. Using a jab to set up their offense. Now of course, both Zab and Mosley and Corley went on to lose their fights because of Mayweather's adaptability but also because they simple don't have the mental fortitude to stay sharp for a full 12 rounds. Let's be honest, the idea that it takes pressure + punches to defeat Floyd stems from the Castillo fight - a fight that took place 11 YEARS AGO. We can all agree that Floyd is better than he was 11 friggin' years ago and he's solved this puzzle a long time ago. We've seen boxer after boxer try this same gameplan and they all ended taking an L home for their troubles. Corrales, Castillo II, Baldomir, DLH, Cotto... Only man to have reasonable success since Castillo was Hatton. But Hatton had great foot speed and was capable of closing the distance quicker than Floyd could react. Hatton didn't have the conditioning to keep it up. Nor did he have the boxing IQ to know what to do once he caught Floyd. It's the dog chasing the car analogy - the dog chases the car but once it catches up to it, it has no idea what to do with itself. The old 'apply pressure + punches' gameplan needs to be discarded. Thinking with Floyd sounds like a fool's task, but this is the avenue to victory. You have make Floyd come to you and set up your offense with a jab, and get Floyd to fall for your traps.

Comments (20)

I called it way before the fight with Canelo was announced that Canelo was not ready for Floyd. I pointed out his inexperience and his flaws that he needed to fix if he wanted to try to beat Floyd. Canelo had stamina issues and I'm sure the CW didn't help in that department. Hatton fought in the wrong division. He looked very average in his only fight at 147 but was King at 140. Floyd fought him at 147. Yes, on the cards Castillo lost the first fight but it proved that Floyd was beatable that night. That is the point. Many of you Floyd fans are saying that he is unbeatable but on that night, you saw that Castillo was beating Floyd. Floyd took some of the early close rounds on the cards but once Castillo warmed up, he won his rounds more decisively. The HBO announcers and Lederman had it for Castillo. Many here at BS had it for Castillo but again the point was that it proves that Floyd was beatable so don't go exaggerating and saying it's not possible to beat Floyd. How many times have we gone over the Hatton fight concerning weight , and you just keep spinning the same baseless dribble , we know what they weighed on fight night , and we know what Hatton weighed on fight night with KT Castillo Floyd and Collazo , so we KNOW Floyd fought Hatton at the same ring weights as all his biggest wins with a 140 weigh-in , and we also KNOW he was 8lbs heavier than the Floyd fight when in the ring against Collazo , and still you talk sht you moron . Bottom line kid you don't know sht what your talking about , even when PROOF is in your face , pointed out , quoted and stamped , and 2 posts later your spinning the same sht , my dog retains better than you do , you hatters are the biggest cowards on the site . Here is a question your all afraid off . Why does Manny get weak and need a 14 day cut off with Floyd , but he doesn't get weak and need a cut off date with Rios . The Cut off dates is why the fight fell through in the first place , and NOW we see that the " I get weak from taking blood story " was all Manny BS to duck the fight .

12y ago

ADP02

if you can corner him, go balls to the wall with combinations. if you can. but that shts impossible. You just need the right fighter(s) to do it. Not green. Not out of prime. Not inactive and not old .... been in the division for a while (not 0, 1 or 2 fights) and proved they belong ..... hint hint at who he has been fighting of late. To start off, against someone like Floyd, you don't want to lose the early rounds because then Floyd will fight even more defensively and move away from you even more. See against Castillo, even his corner was telling him that it's time to fight because he was losing that fight. So he began trading more with Castillo.

12y ago

ADP02

You always need another right fighter !! Castilo lost to Floyd twice , first time injured and instant rematch for another much clearer win uninjured , if you comment is not delusional its down syndrome . Every time he beats one of them he wasn't the right one , but before the fight the guy is gunna KO him ! Lots of haters in here said Canelo was going to destroy him , lots said Hatton was going to destroy him , every fight he has a whole bunch are picking the other guy , or why would they keep buying to see Floyd win so easy . They just broke every viewing record ever made in boxing with the Canelo fight , why , you think its because everybody thought Floyd was going to win in cruise control LOL , wake up ! So when is it the right guy for every one ? when the right guy changes from fight to fight , you said he was ducking Canelo , and here you are spinning sht again , does not matter who Floyd fights , if he wins it was always the opponents fault . Your watching a truly great fighter and your too busy hating to see anything but hate . I called it way before the fight with Canelo was announced that Canelo was not ready for Floyd. I pointed out his inexperience and his flaws that he needed to fix if he wanted to try to beat Floyd. Canelo had stamina issues and I'm sure the CW didn't help in that department. Hatton fought in the wrong division. He looked very average in his only fight at 147 but was King at 140. Floyd fought him at 147. Yes, on the cards Castillo lost the first fight but it proved that Floyd was beatable that night. That is the point. Many of you Floyd fans are saying that he is unbeatable but on that night, you saw that Castillo was beating Floyd. Floyd took some of the early close rounds on the cards but once Castillo warmed up, he won his rounds more decisively. The HBO announcers and Lederman had it for Castillo. Many here at BS had it for Castillo but again the point was that it proves that Floyd was beatable so don't go exaggerating and saying it's not possible to beat Floyd.

12y ago

KING_MEAT

if you can corner him, go balls to the wall with combinations. if you can. but that shts impossible.

12y ago

ADP02

Castillo lost twice so need to talk about made up victories In the first fight, Castillo appeared in control of the fight and proved Floyd was beatable. If you think Floyd won, it's because you gave him most of the early rounds where BOTH fighters did little but once Castillo got going, it was clear on who you would rather be that night. Castillo was the better man that night but lost on the cards.

12y ago

Stallion_

There are several ways in my opinion, but neither of them guarantees victory. First way would be to have a great stamina and be able to go put the pressure on and keep firing for 12 rounds. The fighter needs to be extremely well conditioned in order to keep that rhythm. Being southpaw would also help, because it would cut the effectiveness of Mayweather's defense. Speed and power is also required, as well as high volume of punches. All of that combined would definitely cause Floyd problems and might result Floyd being outworked as well. Wait... these characteristics actually look familiar. Another way would be, believe it or not, to outbox him. Right now I can't think of a fighter around his weight class that could do that. If only Rigo was in Lara's skin... Rigondeaux' style looks absolutely brilliant and IMO it's the only style superior to Floyd's. If they were the same weight, I'd pick Rigo. Floyd would be forced to pressure Rigondeaux at times and that's the very wrong thing to do against Rigo. So yeah, Rigo's style, skills and IQ beats Floyd's style, skills and IQ, imo. The next thing would be being some elite jabber, outside fighter and also being bigger guy than Floyd, with longer reach. Right now I can't think of an active WW/JrMW fighter with those characteristics, but anyway, jabbing Floyd and keeping distance would work, especially if you hug him (also lean) and do whatever possible to prevent the fight on the inside. Refs tolerating that would also help. That would be an awful fight to watch, but imo some mini-Wladimir style could bring a quite comfortable UD. And finally, Oscar's style. I felt he was doing very well against Floyd but he just couldn't keep it until the end. Imo a younger, more durable Oscar would beat him to an UD. No fighter is unbeatable and no one will ever be unbeatable, but also, nothing guarantees a 100% victory. That's boxing. It's generally considered that Castillo defeated Floyd in the first fight, but was robbed, so it's not like there is absolutely no blueprint for Mayweather. Also, Marciano was going to lose against Walcott but he caught him in the 13 round and won. Not even sure if I should mention Ottke and his wins. Is there not a blueprint for Ottke? Of course, it's a banal example but in reality nobody is truly unbeatable.

12y ago

Carpe_Diem

Those examples you gave are the complete opposite of what you wanted. What you showed there is actually examples of Floyd out thinking his opponents and then dominating them. In boxing, punches always land. You gave single examples of some good punches being landed, but then they didn't land another shot that good for the rest of the fight. That means they didn't outthink Floyd at all, and in fact were out thought themselves. Landing one punch early in the fight, then being unable to land anything else significant is the best example of being completely out thought. Anyone can say "you have to outthink Floyd to beat him". Well, no ****. How is that done though? You gave great examples of Floyd out thinking his opponents, so now give some examples of the opposite. Landing one punch isn't out thinking someone. Landing the same punch, or one with slight variations, over the course of a fight is. Or, if they can adjust to your gameplan, being able to change yourself and land different punches over the fight. But, the best thinkers/adjusters in the game, Floyd, Ward, Hopkins, Marquez all get hit. The difference is they rarely get hit with the same shots over the course of a whole fight and can adjust to allow them to hit their opponents more and stop the incoming stuff. http://i41.tinypic.com/2vtdul3.gif

12y ago

SkillspayBills

I think the Jab is still key. Floyd still gets hit by sharp fast jabs, **** that was the only thing Canelo hit him with. I also think you have to totally forget about the head. Bodywork FOR AT LEAST 5 straight rounds. You have to risk losing all 5 rounds just to somehow slow Floyd down. You MUST cut off the ring and the second his back touches the ropes you have to throw combos like your life depended on it.

12y ago

BennyST

12y ago

Reloaded

You need a baseball bat. Is it possible to fit a baseball bat in your boxing gloves. You could just take it out and start swinging away, but you may get countered and strike out. Nacho agrees with you he said you cant beat Floyd with a bat , Marquez said Floyd is invincible , those two would have to be super heavy weight opinions .

12y ago

sugarsmosley

You need a baseball bat. Is it possible to fit a baseball bat in your boxing gloves. You could just take it out and start swinging away, but you may get countered and strike out.

12y ago

Reloaded

I agree. I think it would have been a competitive fight. I just watched the Roger-Pernell fight, and I thought that Floyd would have done better against him than his uncle did. Roger looked clumsy and tired in that fight. He didn't really used his height and reach advantage and the time that he did it, he was able to knocked down Pernell, but he didn't threw punches downstairs to hurt Pernell after the KD. I know fans have the tendency to hold past athletes to higher standards than present athletes, but i really think that Floyd would have been able to hold his own against him or even win the fight. Off course Floyd would do better than Roger he is about 5 times a better fighter .

12y ago

Carpe_Diem

sweat pea would not beat Floyd...no way....to the poster above. I agree. I think it would have been a competitive fight. I just watched the Roger-Pernell fight, and I thought that Floyd would have done better against him than his uncle did. Roger looked clumsy and tired in that fight. He didn't really used his height and reach advantage and the time that he did it, he was able to knocked down Pernell, but he didn't threw punches downstairs to hurt Pernell after the KD. I know fans have the tendency to hold past athletes to higher standards than present athletes, but i really think that Floyd would have been able to hold his own against him or even win the fight.

12y ago

The_Gambler1981

He covers his body well too. You rarely see him get hit with a lot of body shots. I'm surprised that he hasn't suffered a career-ending shoulder injury considering the amount of punishments he has taken on his shoulders and elbows to block punches. He usually doesn't take full force blows though even on his arms though because he is usually out of the other person wheelhouse. But then you think about how much sparring he did to acquire that ability and that is pretty amazing that his arms are still working so well.

12y ago

Carpe_Diem

You have to be able use your jab well enough to keep him on the ropes without giving him space to look for counter openings as Oscar and Cotto did. He'll still land sneaky shots anyway, but you have to be able to outwork him on the inside. Hatton, Cotto, Oscar all had the right game plans, but Floyd just knows how to win. Manny's style would definitely gives Floyd problems, but Manny doesn't like to operate on the inside and he's not good at cutting off the ring. He'd give Floyd problems with his foot and hands speed, crazy punching angles, but Manny likes to fight at mid range in the center of the ring and as long the fight is in the center of the ring, Floyd will find a way to figure out your rhythm unless you take him out in the early rounds.

12y ago

Carpe_Diem

I think pressure is still the key to beat Floyd. Smart Pressure. Canelo tried boxing and "thinking with" Floyd... problem is, Floyd is unsurpassed in that area.. Why go against a man's strongest trait when you can seek to exploit whatever weakness you can detect? Floyd's biggest weakness in that style is shots to the body, point blank. His head is a mobile fortress do not head hunt Floyd, tenderize the rib cage. He covers his body well too. You rarely see him get hit with a lot of body shots. I'm surprised that he hasn't suffered a career-ending shoulder injury considering the amount of punishments he has taken on his shoulders and elbows to block punches.

12y ago

malcolm

Everytime I turn around I hear Floyd hasn't fought anybody. He can beat GGG, Ward and Adonis Stevensen. Ppl will still say "but he DUCKED PRIME MARGARITO, ESE! he was SHOOK of prime MANNY too...he ducked prime COTTO...he chicken..." FOH LOSERS!! Floyd is the GOAT, period! Put money on a Floyd opponent and end up broke. PERIOD!

12y ago

Reloaded

Cut off his ring movement and ATTACK the body. Too many boxers keep trying to get that headshot. Work him with HEAVY AND CONSISTENT body shots. He will wilt. He will smother them , you will get tired then he will dominate you , Floyd has so many attributes its like playing chess with a guy that has 4 queens .

12y ago

BKM2010

I know how to beat him. The blueprint on how to beat Mayweather is to punch him in the face a lot.

12y ago

strykr619

Cut off his ring movement and ATTACK the body. Too many boxers keep trying to get that headshot. Work him with HEAVY AND CONSISTENT body shots. He will wilt.

12y ago