Kostya Tszyu vs Floyd Mayweather at 140

[Silencers]

Yes, absolutely. The only problem here is that Mayweather always fights from a stand point throughout a fight in certain parts to get a rest etc. He will always lie on the ropes at some point. Always. Mayweather very rarely 'runs' and moves a lot and in every fight even if he has used a lot of movement there are always points throughout the fight in which he will stand or lie on the ropes for long periods of time. It's just how he fights.

That's true and that would be Tszyu's best moments in a fight between them but it wouldn't be enough IMO because once Mayweather feels uncomfortable on the ropes, he'll try to get off them right away.

[IMDAZED]

I thought about it too, but only in hindsight: since Baldomir is slowmotion compared to Hatton, in those sessions Mayweather was going to just stay there with him.

EDIT: the way Mayweather fought that fight, and the fact that neither Hatton nor Oscar landed a significant left hook, not even in the early rounds, convinced me that Mayweather not watching vids is bull****

Anyone who actually watched Mayweather before the Gatti fight knew that he was an EXCELLENT in-fighter. He held his own against Jose Louis Castillo and beat up guys like Jesus Chavez, Emmanuel Augustus and others on the inside. Him doing it to Ricky Hatton came as no surprise to those who witnessed him do it at the lower divisions.

[dans]

Floyd. Easy Decision.

[Pugilistic™]

Mayweather UD.

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Yes, absolutely. The only problem here is that Mayweather always fights from a stand point throughout a fight in certain parts to get a rest etc. He will always lie on the ropes at some point. Always. Mayweather very rarely 'runs' and moves a lot and in every fight even if he has used a lot of movement there are always points throughout the fight in which he will stand or lie on the ropes for long periods of time. It's just how he fights.

We are talking about 140 Mayweather... higher workrate throughout the fight

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Anyone who actually watched Mayweather before the Gatti fight knew that he was an EXCELLENT in-fighter. He held his own against Jose Louis Castillo and beat up guys like Jesus Chavez, Emmanuel Augustus and others on the inside. Him doing it to Ricky Hatton came as no surprise to those who witnessed him do it at the lower divisions.

I watched every single Mayweather pro fight. We all knew he was an excellent infighter. Him doing what he did to Ricky Hatton came as a big surprise to those who watched him, because the fights you mentioned look NOTHING like the Hatton fight. None of the fighters you mentioned were holding and wrestling like Hatton was doing, and never before Floyd stood in there with a guy hugging him, roughing him up in that way.

In those fights he was shooting uppercuts and hooks, digging to the body, controlling the other guy (who was punching for the most, not wrestling), fouling occasionally with the elbow. What he did with Hatton was completely different: he stood in there wrestled and fouled the **** out of Hatton. He looked like Bernard Hopkins 2.0, that didnt happen before.

[Joe2608]

It's a tough decision and i have been thinking about it for a while, but i think Mayweather would take it by UD.

[IMDAZED]

I watched every single Mayweather pro fight. We all knew he was an excellent infighter. Him doing what he did to Ricky Hatton came as a big surprise to those who watched him, because the fights you mentioned look NOTHING like the Hatton fight. None of the fighters you mentioned were holding and wrestling like Hatton was doing, and never before Floyd stood in there with a guy hugging him, roughing him up in that way.

In those fights he was shooting uppercuts and hooks, digging to the body, controlling the other guy (who was punching for the most, not wrestling), fouling occasionally with the elbow. What he did with Hatton was completely different: he stood in there wrestled and fouled the **** out of Hatton. He looked like Bernard Hopkins 2.0, that didnt happen before.

Hmm...let me show you what I wrote several months before the Hatton fight (can show a link if you need proof). Bottom line is, Mayweather's earlier fights (and Hatton's career) told you everything you needed to know about what was gonna happen. Check it out - I was responding to someone who kept hyping Hatton's win over Castillo:

Yes, I do believe Castillo grew old overnight. Kinda like how Corrales did. The guy is 33, has initiated more wars than the Bushes and was fighting the first opponent who was stronger than him. Fighters like him don't go too far past 30 in those weight classes anyway.

He looked absolutely dreadful against Reyes, following that spectacular KO of Corrales. And that was the first REAL sign. When was the last time you've seen Jose Luis Castillo start out slugging...and then opt to box? He got tagged plenty in that bout, looked slower and sluggish. And then turned around and looked equally sluggish against Ngoudjo.

Throw in the countless battles he's had, the struggles to make weight, and then fighting a powerhouse 140-pounder and what do you get? You know a fighter is on his last legs when he just doesn't want to get up off the canvas. Not disrespecting the man but he's lost a lot of juice.

Why do I say Floyd's a stronger fighter? First, his strength is extremely underrated. For a guy who has little pop, he sure surprised when he rocked the sturdy chin of De La Hoya. And he won plenty of battles in the lower divisions on the INSIDE - Chavez, Augustus, and many other bouts where he showed those skills. Flip in the first Castillo bout (you know, the one you told me to go watch?) and skip to rounds 10 or 11 (it's been a while). Listen to Roger tell Floyd to get on the inside and fight. And then watch the round and tell me Floyd can't fight inside. You haven't seen it as much as he's encountered welters.

Hatton, on the other hand, didn't look like the overpowering warrior against Louis Collazo, not the strongest guy in the division, with far less skill than a Mayweather. And he won't be overly powerful against Mayweather, who is thanking his lucky stars that someone is coming UP in weight to fight him, instead of a natural welter or junior middle.

I like Hatton, I think he's a good champ and can dominate the 140lb. division for years. He's a smart fighter - listening to his quotes about Kostya prior to their bout, one could see that he'd spent a lot of timing watching what Phillips did to him. Couple that with his fighting style and it was all over for Tyszu.

But his strength - his greatest attribute - will be neutralized by moving up. It'll look even worse against a p4p talent like Floyd. Floyd will potshot him on the outside and make him pay when he comes in - like Collazo did in the later rounds. And Floyd will work that body too. I expect Hatton to start fast but fade in the middle as Mayweather puts on his best performance in years. 8th round TKO. Hey, I've been wrong before.

[C'MONMANG']

PRIME for PRIME: Tszyu vs Mayweather at 140

Who Wins???

Hard to tell. Floyd was never tested at 140..I mean c'mon..Brusels, Chop Chop and GATTI? ZOO stops two outta three of them.

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Hmm...let me show you what I wrote several months before the Hatton fight (can show a link if you need proof). Bottom line is, Mayweather's earlier fights (and Hatton's career) told you everything you needed to know about what was gonna happen. Check it out - I was responding to someone who kept hyping Hatton's win over Castillo:

Yes, I do believe Castillo grew old overnight. Kinda like how Corrales did. The guy is 33, has initiated more wars than the Bushes and was fighting the first opponent who was stronger than him. Fighters like him don't go too far past 30 in those weight classes anyway.

He looked absolutely dreadful against Reyes, following that spectacular KO of Corrales. And that was the first REAL sign. When was the last time you've seen Jose Luis Castillo start out slugging...and then opt to box? He got tagged plenty in that bout, looked slower and sluggish. And then turned around and looked equally sluggish against Ngoudjo.

Throw in the countless battles he's had, the struggles to make weight, and then fighting a powerhouse 140-pounder and what do you get? You know a fighter is on his last legs when he just doesn't want to get up off the canvas. Not disrespecting the man but he's lost a lot of juice.

Why do I say Floyd's a stronger fighter? First, his strength is extremely underrated. For a guy who has little pop, he sure surprised when he rocked the sturdy chin of De La Hoya. And he won plenty of battles in the lower divisions on the INSIDE - Chavez, Augustus, and many other bouts where he showed those skills. Flip in the first Castillo bout (you know, the one you told me to go watch?) and skip to rounds 10 or 11 (it's been a while). Listen to Roger tell Floyd to get on the inside and fight. And then watch the round and tell me Floyd can't fight inside. You haven't seen it as much as he's encountered welters.

Hatton, on the other hand, didn't look like the overpowering warrior against Louis Collazo, not the strongest guy in the division, with far less skill than a Mayweather. And he won't be overly powerful against Mayweather, who is thanking his lucky stars that someone is coming UP in weight to fight him, instead of a natural welter or junior middle.

I like Hatton, I think he's a good champ and can dominate the 140lb. division for years. He's a smart fighter - listening to his quotes about Kostya prior to their bout, one could see that he'd spent a lot of timing watching what Phillips did to him. Couple that with his fighting style and it was all over for Tyszu.

But his strength - his greatest attribute - will be neutralized by moving up. It'll look even worse against a p4p talent like Floyd. Floyd will potshot him on the outside and make him pay when he comes in - like Collazo did in the later rounds. And Floyd will work that body too. I expect Hatton to start fast but fade in the middle as Mayweather puts on his best performance in years. 8th round TKO. Hey, I've been wrong before.

no need for a link I trust you.

Good post, especially back then, but still... do you see what I am saying? Against Castillo and Chavez he showed excellent inside fighting, but the Hatton fight looked different than those.

I can find a post from a discussion with Azteca where I said I wanted a lassez-faire ref so I could see Mayweather "elbow his way out of the clinches". He did elbow, but not really to get out of the clinch, he was more than happy to stay there. That's the part that I did not expect. He played exactly Hatton's game and ****ed him up right there. What I imagined going back to the Chavez would be him creating just enough room when needed and land those beatiful uppercuts, that I could see, based on previous fights.