Meldrick Taylor vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

[Live Dog]

Taylor was a beast and I would pick him over Floyd. Lighting fast hands, high workrate, could fight inside and out, and could take a punch. Man I wish that Chavez fight would have never happened. What a waste.

[Boofdatruth]

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.

mel taylor is not in floyd's class.......he was too easy to hit............he had fast hands, and fought well on the inside, but against boxers..........he was totally outclassed........he did take part in one of the worst robberies ever......but the loss showed that he was not a complete fighter.......he was close..........but his defense was too suspect...........floyd has no flaws..........like anyone rising in weight......power is the first thing to go amongst many champs.........but floyd is still the best fighter today........

[-Swizzy-]

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.

mayweather isn't a defensive fighter. he fights defensively against offensive fighters. if he's fighting a defensive fighter, mayweather can be one of the best punchers around.

[tredh]

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.

The bold is not completely true. Yes PBF is a pure boxer but when he was at 130 and 135 he fought a lot in the pocket and right in front of his man. Now that PBF has gone up in weight he has changed his style to fighting more on the outside since he fighting heavier men.

[tredh]

I don't agree at all that Taylor was a brilliant boxer. Great hand speed will sometimes create that illusion. He also got hit plenty, so I don't buy him being very elusive.

Perfect example of the underlinded would be Shane Mosley.

[HOLD UP]

Meldrick was better skilled an way tougher and a way faster fighter than Mayweather Jr. and could take a punch he would have made Mayweather fight and Mayweather would have loss because Meldrick would not have ran out of gas he would have been there the hole 12 rounds in his prime. The only reason we are not talking about him as being one of the greatest fighters of all time is because he fought during a time when there were several great young fighters. Unlike now.

[GTL]

Meldrick was better skilled an way tougher and a way faster fighter than Mayweather Jr. and could take a punch he would have made Mayweather fight and Mayweather would have loss because Meldrick would not have ran out of gas he would have been there the hole 12 rounds in his prime. The only reason we are not talking about him as being one of the greatest fighters of all time is because he fought during a time when there were several great young fighters. Unlike now.

I didnt read thru all 7 pages.. But I'm sure that Meldrick would win this one..

He was a excellent boxer, with speed and better combos than mayweather..

He takes a close decisoin.. No1 is out of their mind if they picked a prime meldrick.. I suggest people watch more Meldrick before judging

[QuCongee]

This is one of the most evenly split polls i've ever seen.

I voted Taylor by decision btw

[Kilrain]

Good thread. I think Mel was a lil faster but Floyd a sharper puncher and better defensively. Could be a bit of a snorefest, Mel expending energy by missing a lot of fast punches, May countering with stinging punches, I think it would be pretty close though Taylor worked hard fighting in the pocket and his body shots were good too, even if the shots dont land completely cleanly and hit gloves they're very eye catching. Floyd MD