All BS aside, name the fighters in your lifetime with BETTER SKILLS than Floyd, Jr...

[Naldo]

NO one and I repeat no ONE has had a better overall skill set than PBF aka Money Mayweather.

[Left Hook Tua]

NO one and I repeat no ONE has had a better overall skill set than PBF aka Money Mayweather.

you need to watch more boxing.

[ulises_solis]

valero
seriously the better skill in boxing its a one punch ko

[sandyvahra]

a prime rjj was way ahead
sugar ray leonard
sweetpea whitaker

[MACAQUEINBLACK]

alright, now you wanna put longevity as a parameter to the discussion...if that's the case then noone touches Hopkins...end thread...discussion narrowed even further

Hopkins definitely should be in the upper mix, but I don't think that kills it off. And it's not like I'm saying Roy only burned bright for a short time. I'm interested where people think his prime ends and why, though. Not just the simple wisdom that he was "shot" as soon as he was knocked out by Tarver.


Re. the Floyd Jr./Jones Jr. thing.

I see it like this. Floyd certainly relies on natural athletic gifts to an extent, but his style is more fundamental and grounded than Roy's and he's shown the ability to methodically cope with a variety of situations and styles with strategy, ring-smarts and all-around skill. That, in my eyes -- as opposed to a flexibility borne of almost total reliance on prodigous athleticism to freewheel and improvise a way through fights -- is true versatility.
You wouldn't typically expect a 160-175 elite guy to fall off as steeply as Roy did from some natural decline in their athleticism alone. You'd expect that to be more true of fighters in the classes up to welter, where the tiniest fractions mean the most. Roy's somewhat an anomaly in that way, although it wouldn't be fair to completely ignore the poor circumstances of his return to light-heavy from the much higher weight. Regardless, I just have to think that Roy is such an aberration (if a unique, wonderful one), and to some degree an illusionist, or magician, that it doesn't do either fighter any favors to compare him with Floyd. Certainly, I don't see Roy as more skilled or possessed of greater versatility. Method and skill combine to make adaptability and I don't think Roy was ever as attentively methodical a fighter as Floyd. He was an instinctive fighter, enabled by phenomenal natural gifts. At times, because of those gifts, it appeared he could do whatever he wanted to.

[wmute]

dm-roy deserves is own damn thread by itself.

i blame both guys for that fight not happening.

i blame dariusz more though.

It does not really matter (who's to blame) for the point you were trying to make. The fact is that both fought most of each other compeitition and never faced each other, hence none of the two dominated 175.

[MACAQUEINBLACK]

roy jones defence is even if not better than floyds, you did'nt jones get a bloody nose or a black eye often, and floyd's defence uses the same principle jones uses, reflexes, wants floyds reflexes are gone he wont be able to shoulder roll **** and he is'nt known for his power so when his reflexes do deplete to a noticable level he's gonna get hammered and not be able to get a majority his opponents off him

This is what I'm interested in.

Jones Jr. was always such a wildly kinetic fighter. Whereas I've seen a subtle, progressive economy to Floyd's movement as he's ascended the divisions, and, I think, there has likely already been a slowdown perceptible to Floyd (and those who work with him), owing to a combo of extra weight and passage of time, that he has adjusted to compensate for.

Floyd had already passed his physical prime 18 months ago. Any rehabilitive benefits of his time out could well be balanced by a decline in his sharpness. I don't see Floyd fighting more than 3 times before calling it a day for good, so I doubt we'll ever see him box in too extreme a state of deterioration. But it'll be interesting to see what he looks like upon his return to the ring...and, hypothetically, were he to beat Pacquiao and Cotto before he retires for good, I would consider that fairly remarkable.

[Mr. Philadel]

Roy is about the ONLY boxer in my lifetime who've showed better overall ring skills than Floyd IMO.......I haven't seen a better fighter than a prime Roy

[MACAQUEINBLACK]

p4p roy jones ktfo floyd.

if they were exactly the same size......floyd gets ktfo. make floyd bigger by a bit and he still gets ktfo.

You're just clowning. In your world, all your favorite fighters "**** on" Mayweather easily, anyway.

fighters in BOLD are fighters who roy fought at least once.

as you can see , the only significant fighter that roy didn't fight that was a top ranked light heavyweight during roy's reign was darius michalczewski.

Ring Ratings at Light Heavyweight in 1999
Ring Ratings at Light Heavyweight in 2000
Ring Ratings at Light Heavyweight in 2001
Ring Ratings at Light Heavyweight in 2002

floyd mayweather jr. has NEVER dominated a division the way roy did light heavyweight. NEVER.

not at 130 , not at 135 and definitely not at 140 or above.

That's not even the question you were asked.

There are pros and cons to both guys' ledgers, and arguments for and to detract from some of both guys' most noted wins. Maybe Floyd should try and wrest a 160 paper title from a Felix Sturm...aside from that, their accomplishments are as near as damn-it to even, all things considered.

you need to watch more boxing.

If he watched more boxing, he'd know that Zoo was better in every department...right?

[dans]

Boxing skills include:

Sharp, accurate punching
Footwork
Positioning
Able to throw every punch in the arsenal
Defense
Speed
Mental preparedness
Ability to adapt
Versatility
Ring vision
Timing
Etc...



And you can even include "attributes":

Chin
Power
Stamina
Side note: many people disagree with my general separation of "skills" and "attributes". But I like to argue that Willie Pep are Pernell Whitaker are very skilled. But they didn't have the natural attribute of power.
Maybe the best way for me to put it is that "skills are improvable", and "power is generally not improvable".


Muhammad Ali?
Pernell Whitaker?
Sugar Ray Leonard?
Marco Antonio Barrera?
Shane Mosley?
Roy Jones, Jr?? (????)
Pinklon Thomas
Bernard Hopkins
Manny Pacquiao?


Who are the guys you would say are "more skilled" than Floyd?

I ask this because Floyd SENIOR and Roger are very critical of other fighters, and I think they have been spoiled by being so close to Lil Floyd.

Ricardo Mayorga.