Floyd Mayweather Avoided Everyone Who Had A Physical Advantage Over Him ... Genius or Fraudster?

[Cypocryphy]

I was thinking about this today from a different post, that Floyd never fought anyone who had a size advantage over him, and I don't mean height because height doesn't mean anything if it doesn't include a reach advantage.

But everyone Floyd fought never had a reach advantage over him. At 5' 8" he had a a 72" reach. You can go down Boxrec and see for yourselves that Floyd never fought anyone with an excess of 72" in reach. And it just so happens that the big names that Floyd is accused of ducking had a longer reach than him. Sergio Martinez, Antonio Margarito and Paul Williams.

The Paul Williams one definitely stands out to me. Here's Paul's own words about Floyd avoiding him:

"I don't think Floyd Mayweather will fight me anytime," Williams said. "Manny Pacquiao, he might do it, he might step up but not Floyd. I guess Floyd won't fight me because I don't have a vagina."

That X-rated shot, obviously, is a reference to the Baby Mama drama which briefly sent Mayweather to jail and led to domestic battery charges in Las Vegas.

Williams and Peterson don't think that Al Haymon's status as adviser to them, and to Mayweather, is what keeps the fighters apart.

"I was in the barbershop in (Washington) D.C., the other day and the guys were talking about it. They respect Floyd's skills like I do but they were saying they know he won't ever fight me," Williams said.

"If Floyd went to Al and said, "Hey, I want to fight Paul Williams, what can Al do? But Floyd is not going to ever say that. Pacquiao, he fights bigger guys, he's different than Mayweather so maybe I will get to fight him."

Like many others, Williams thinks Mayweather's obsession is being undefeated.

"Floyd ranks himself with Ray Robinson, with Joe Louis, all these guys..but all those great guys, they all lost sometime. Mayweather won't take a hard fight, he won't take the chance of losing."

And that's really what it comes down to, that Floyd avoided any fighter that could have a good chance of beating him, and those fighters were fighters who had a physical advantage over Floyd. It's not secret that Floyd cherry picked his opponents. That was no more evident than when Floyd put out a poll for his fans to pick his next opponent, with Khan and Maidana as polling options. The fans picked Khan, so of course, Floyd fights Maidana. If anyone still doubts that Floyd ducked and dodged opponents, that right there should tell you otherwise. And Maidana was almost a "cherry pick gone wrong."

I suppose it's not secret that Floyd's career is partly a magic act, but I was suddenly aware that Floyd didn't fight anyone with a physical advantage over him. A boxer with a reach advantage over Floyd would have drastically negated one of his biggest advantages—controlling distance.

[GrandpaBernard]

did margarito fight like a tall man though

Paul Williams was avoided by all

Floyd Sergio Martinez would have been a terrific fight with a very narrow window to make happen

May 2011 right after Sexy Sergio clapped Tall Paul

[GrandpaBernard]

Irony is Floyd was a better outside fighter than all those mentioned guys with height AND reach over him

Only Sexy Sergio would be trying to use length

[TheIronMike]

why fight Khan who just got beaten by Lamont Peterson and KTFO by Danny Garcia at 140lbs, dropped by Julio Diaz, when he could unify titles at 147 with a dude who just had a career defining fight and turned his career around under Robert Garcia?

You tripping if you think Amir Khan had anything to give Floyd trouble...

Paul Williams was a genetic freak, only big money would attract that fight.

[Cypocryphy]

did margarito fight like a tall man though

Paul Williams was avoided by all

Floyd Sergio Martinez would have been a terrific fight with a very narrow window to make happen

May 2011 right after Sexy Sergio clapped Tall Paul

Yeah. Paul was definitely avoided. But Floyd was the guy, and fighting Paul would have been a legacy defining statement if he fought him and beat him. And I'm glad you brought up Martinez because I believe he had a reach advantage over Floyd too. (I'm going to check right now ... YES! 73" reach, so he would have been another fighter with a reach advantage over Floyd.)

Paul beat him the first time too.

Anyway, Margarito could fight tall at times but like you said, he was more of an aggressive pressure fighter that didn't use his jab too much. But still, he had the reach advantage over Floyd.

[Cypocryphy]

why fight Khan who just got beaten by Lamont Peterson and KTFO by Danny Garcia at 140lbs, dropped by Julio Diaz, when he could unify titles at 147 with a dude who just had a career defining fight and turned his career around under Robert Garcia?

You tripping if you think Amir Khan had anything to give Floyd trouble...

Paul Williams was a genetic freak, only big money would attract that fight.

Why put out a poll then? What was the point? And Khan beat Maidana. Floyd fought the guy who lost to Khan. Plus Khan lost to punchers, and many believed he lost to Garcia because of his garbage chin, that he lost due to a lucky punch.Floyd didn't have the concussive power that Garcia had, so it was a matchup that everyone wanted to see. And many think Khan should have got the nod instead of Peterson. Peterson barely eked out a victory.

Anyway, the point I'm making is that styles make fights. And seeing how Khan beat Maidana, Floyd knew what he had to do, knew that he could do it. Almost backfired, but still.

[TheIronMike]

Why put out a poll then? What was the point? And Khan beat Maidana. Floyd fought the guy who lost to Khan. Plus Khan lost to punchers, and many believed he lost to Garcia because of his garbage chin, that he lost due to a lucky punch.Floyd didn't have the concussive power that Garcia had, so it was a matchup that everyone wanted to see. And many think Khan should have got the nod instead of Peterson. Peterson barely eked out a victory.

Anyway, the point I'm making is that styles make fights. And seeing how Khan beat Maidana, Floyd knew what he had to do, knew that he could do it. Almost backfired, but still.

Marcos is an improved fighter in 2014 than the one khan faced and almost got KTFO by

[The Big Dunn]

Yeah. Paul was definitely avoided. But Floyd was the guy, and fighting Paul would have been a legacy defining statement if he fought him and beat him. And I'm glad you brought up Martinez because I believe he had a reach advantage over Floyd too. (I'm going to check right now ... YES! 73" reach, so he would have been another fighter with a reach advantage over Floyd.)

Paul beat him the first time too.

Anyway, Margarito could fight tall at times but like you said, he was more of an aggressive pressure fighter that didn't use his jab too much. But still, he had the reach advantage over Floyd.

Bro, how is Paul Williams a legacy fight given Floyd’s resume?

Total respect for Paul but he is nowhere near as accomplished as the top of Floyds resume. He isnt a HOF’er. He never fought like a tall man either.

I get the point about reach. Thats fair. Just dont elevate a guy unfairly to force into this narrative.

[Tankdestroyer]

Bruh it's about to be 2023, Floyd is dam near a senior citizen and been out a real boxing ring for years!!! How are you still stuck up Floyds arse? Seriously? How did floyd get stuck in your head this bad lol? You do realize floyd did keep moving up in weight and fought bigger dudes throughout his career. I have NO fuggin idea why anybody would waste a single thought thinking about who or how opponents on end would have handed floyd a loss???? Might as well throw an 60yr old Hopkins in the mix too since he did mention fighting Mayweather at 160 at one point if that helps you in your journey. Floyd was right as far as i see your life heading...all your roads lead to floyd Mayweather!!

[Cypocryphy]

Marcos is an improved fighter in 2014 than the one khan faced and almost got KTFO by

That's true. However, first let me just say that Floyd is one of my favorite boxers. He's one of the best boxers in the last couple decades. I'm not taking anything away from him. He's proved it time and time again, especially by rematching opponents where his wins were put in question. But at the same time, he's done a lot to hurt the sport by making a record of no losses the end all, be all of everything. The "Floyd Effect" has tainted the sport and made it so that it's a miracle if we ever get real fights between opponents. In my opinion, the Floyd effect prevented Crawford and Spence. I think Haymon will not risk the biggest name in his stable because of what a "loss" can mean for a fighters marketability.

Anyway, I think we all know that the triangle theory in boxing is bull****. Styles make fights more often than not, and Floyd (just like Canelo for the longest time) moved not like a boxer but a magician. And part of his strategy, from what I saw, was to chose fighters that matched up well stylistically and who didn't have a physical advantage over him.