Meldrick Taylor vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

[pbftxrs316]

Earlier today in a thread created by Addition, he posed the question: "If you were a trainer and your fighter was training for Mayweather, what would you advise him to do". I made a reply that said "Get in a time machine and go back and pick up a prime Meldrick Taylor.". Nobody really responded, and it got me thinking about a hypothetical matchup.

Taylor was his best at 140lbs, Mayweather at 130lbs. Mayweather has been damn good at Welterweight as well but hasn't fought any natural Welterweights in a while (Oscar is junior Middle and Hatton is light Welter).

So say the fight took place at 140lbs, a weight in which both fighters were comfortable, who do you think takes this?

I say Meldrick Taylor wins a decision. It's not because I'm biased towards philly fighters, or that Meldrick is a hometown hero either. Here are some facts that make my decision.

1.) At his peak, Meldrick Taylor had hand speed that even Sugar Ray Leonard stood in awe of (Leonard himself admitted this on HBO's "Legendary Nights" episode of Chavez/Taylor). Mayweather had trouble early adjusting to Judah's handpseed, and Taylor's is twice if not three times what Judah's was.

2.) Combinations. Everything Meldrick did was in fluid combination with the punch that preceeded it. He was poetry in motion, flowed like water. An equal opportunity punisher who mixed headshots up with brutal body assaults.

3.) He's a scrapper. Despite being one of the most technically gifted boxers I've ever seen, he had the heart of a warrior. He could've easily beaten anybody he was in the ring with on points alone, but whenever he got tagged he always engaged. This is why he went toe-to-toe with the most punishing punchers in the sport Chavez, and beat him at his own game inside.

4.) Power. Meldrick's power was deceptive. I myself am not even sure if it was a derivative of his amazing speed, cat-like reflexes, or a combination of both. But he certainly had a lot of pop in his punches.

5.) Aggression. Meldrick wouldn't wait around for an opening on Floyd, he would stalk him and force an opening and take advantage of it.

I expect Mayweather to win the public poll thanks to all of his nuthugging groupies, but I would like some intelligent input here in post form from othe,r non-biased users.

at 140, floyd takes this fight very convincingly. imo, floyd's prime weight class was 140, and it only took 3 fights for me to think this. at 140, i don't know too many fighters in history messing with floyd, period. mayweather by wide ud, or tko possibly. he put his punches together much better than taylor at this weight class. taylor was crafty to the core, but floyd was just too much of a brilliant killer at this weight, i don't see how taylor could break floyd's defense or knock him out. floyd in 2005 was unstoppable, and even though he still is that, at 140 his skillset peaked and he put on the most dominating performance i've seen in years against a bigger guy in gatti. not comparing gatti to taylor who had much much more skills, but floyd at this weight class was just too ****ing good.

[FUC_U_PAYME]

Taylor by KO

[ßringer]

at 140, floyd takes this fight very convincingly. imo, floyd's prime weight class was 140, and it only took 3 fights for me to think this. at 140, i don't know too many fighters in history messing with floyd, period. mayweather by wide ud, or tko possibly. he put his punches together much better than taylor at this weight class. taylor was crafty to the core, but floyd was just too much of a brilliant killer at this weight, i don't see how taylor could break floyd's defense or knock him out. floyd in 2005 was unstoppable, and even though he still is that, at 140 his skillset peaked and he put on the most dominating performance i've seen in years against a bigger guy in gatti. not comparing gatti to taylor who had much much more skills, but floyd at this weight class was just too ****ing good.

Are you ****ting me? Floyd's best was 130lbs, no doubt. His stint at 140 was ****ing awful! He fought Demarcus Corley, Henry Bruseles, and Arturo Gatti. That doesn't even compare to Meldrick's record at 140.

[The Gambler1981]

On the flip side if JCC could bust Meldrick up like that so could PBF. Meldrick always threw 1 to many punches in his flurries, he was never concerned about what was comming back.
It is a tough fight to call though i would most likely bet on whoever was getting the long odds.

[ßringer]

Thanks to comments like the one I just responded to and the previous one Iresponded to, I now find myself slapping myself in the head wondering why I even bothered to discuss this here....of all places.

NSB is the place where good threads come to die.

[-Hyperion-]

i think with fair judges, taylor wins a decision....8-4 but one knockdown in favor of floyd.....this fight would look similar to calzaghe hopkins imo...

meldrick taylor II(shane mosley) wouldve KO'ed Floyd in his prime as well....

[ßringer]

On the flip side if JCC could bust Meldrick up like that so could PBF. Meldrick always threw 1 to many punches in his flurries, he was never concerned about what was comming back.
It is a tough fight to call though i would most likely bet on whoever was getting the long odds.

Oh Taylor could definitely be hit. That was part of his lure. To me, he was just too damn good for it to matter. He walked bone-crushing shot after bone-crushing shot from Chavez for 12 rounds, and got up from the knockdown. Had it not been for Lou Duva's dumbass going irrate on the ring skirt, Meldrick wouldn't have been distracted, and would've answered Richard Steele's critical questions.

[slicksouthpaw16]

On the flip side if JCC could bust Meldrick up like that so could PBF. Meldrick always threw 1 to many punches in his flurries, he was never concerned about what was comming back.
It is a tough fight to call though i would most likely bet on whoever was getting the long odds.

Chavez was a pressure fighter that lives on the inside. Mayweather is a pure boxer that wants to keep the fight on the outside and control the tempo. Two completely different fighters. Chavez also punches harder than Mayweather. He has those brutal pin point accurate shots that wears you down over the course of the fight.

[Xplosivo]

How? Mayweather is a defensive fighter, Meldrick's style would've caused him serious problems. Because Meldrick was aggressive, fast, had a high workrate, could box as well as Floyd, and had some serious pop in his shots.

I don't mind the input but be a little more specific.

your a ****ing idiot, that is all.

[ßringer]

your a ****ing idiot, that is all.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's you're. Eat my ****, *****.

Chavez was a pressure fighter that lives on the inside. Mayweather is a pure boxer that wants to keep the fight on the outside and control the tempo. Two completely different fighters. Chavez also punches harder than Mayweather. He has those brutal pin point accurate shots that wears you down over the course of the fight.

Great post. Chavez hit like a sledgehammer, I don't even know how Meldrick took those shots as long as he did. A normal man would've been out of there long before Taylor was. That's why anybody who says Mayweathe rby KO/TKO must be insane.