Teddy Atlas: It's insulting to compare Mayweather to great fighters

[FeFist]

People also can't reward Floyd for avoiding the guys that he does.


"oh well, he was great at 130 and 135, so hes great at 147".


Nah, doesn't work like that.

So you compare him to the 130lbs and 135lb of history. It goes both way, yes you can question his work at 147lbs but you can't deny the work he did at the lower division that deserves recognition in its own right.

[Shadow boxer 3]

The praise of Floyd Mayweather’s extraordinary athletic ability is not always matched by the critiques of his actual boxing skills or opponent choices.

Right or wrong, that is the sole curse upon his professional boxing career that must be addressed in choosing candidates for his past few opponents.

Increasingly, there is some question whether that will happen.

In an interview with a boxing Web site this week, Richard Schaefer, chief executive officer of Golden Boy Promotions, suggested an outside candidate for a 2010 fight with Mayweather is 19-year-old Saul Alvarez of Mexico, whom no one without an intimate understanding of the sport knows.

It is worth noting that Schaefer does not speak for Mayweather, whose past three bouts have been under the Golden Boy banner, although they have no promotional contract.

Schaefer just might be angling the undefeated Alvarez for a major bout and using Mayweather’s name to advance that cause.

Let’s hope so, because if that fight actually happened next year, in lieu of the major proposals on Mayweather’s immediate horizon, it only would serve to fuel criticism of the Grand Rapids native’s accomplishments.

In an outstanding book by Mike Silver, “The Arc of Boxing,” one section is devoted to dissecting Mayweather’s career.

Some of the most knowledgeable boxing figures of this era said Mayweather’s ability would not translate to the sport’s golden past because his superior speed and a diminished talent pool never required him to develop skills beyond natural athleticism.

Veteran matchmaker Bill Goodman said Mayweather benefits from an era of “unskilled labor.”

“They talk about Mayweather’s speed, but he isn’t as fast and as skillful as Bernie Docusen, who fought Sugar Ray Robinson for the title in 1948 and gave him plenty of trouble,” Goodman said in the book. “Would you say Mayweather’s going to give Ray Robinson as a welterweight plenty of trouble? There’s no comparison. But you go and tell that to a young boxing fan today and they think you’re a psycho.”

Television analyst and trainer Teddy Atlas cited the fight with Oscar De La Hoya as evidence that Mayweather was unable to create offensive openings until “De La Hoya made it easy for him and just opened the door for him by walking in with no jab and not offering up the answers and the resistance that he should have.”

“You cannot get intoxicated to the point where you are comparing Floyd Mayweather Jr. to one of the great fighters of all time,” Atlas said. “I’m not taking anything away from Floyd, but I think it’s insulting to the great fighters and to the great history of the sport to make that comparison.”

Former lightweight and junior welterweight champion Carlos Ortiz called Mayweather “just a regular fighter with great speed.”

The only way for Mayweather to temper some of those criticisms is to continue beating the best fighters of his era.

Mayweather probably won’t start negotiating seriously for his next fight until the Nov. 14 Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto bout is completed. The winner is his best possible opponent and the loser might be second-best.

Failing that, a fight with Paul Williams or Shane Mosley is next on the wish list.

There is a substantial dropoff after those four.

Andre Berto is undefeated and has the World Boxing Council welterweight title that Mayweather abicated during his leave of absence, but may not be quite ready for such a big fight. Antonio Margarito has to recover from the loaded-hand-wraps incident, discovered before his loss to Shane Mosley, which clouds his achievements. Joshua Clottey must bounce back from his split-decision loss to Cotto.

Mayweather drew criticism for fighting blown-up lightweight Juan Manuel Marquez in his September comeback. But fans recognized Marquez’s skills and propelled Mayweather into a new strata of mainstream popularity with 1 million pay-per-view buys.

Whatever happens next, opponents with similar resumes to Marquez’s meet only the minimum requirement to step into the ring with Mayweather.

That does not include some teen-aged nobody with promotional ties masquerading as true qualifications.

http://www.mlive.com/mayweather/inde...s_top-not.html

so floyd doesnt hav boxing skill, he's just athletic ????

[FeFist]

so floyd doesnt hav boxing skill, he's just athletic ????

Haterade, it ****s with the mind.

Seriously though, I have no problem with constructive critism I applaud it actually. What I don't respect is people who say bad things for the sake of saying bad things.

If Mayweather relied on his athletic capabilities alone Zab Judah would have beaten him. I'd actually say his boxing ability is better than his athletic capabilities.

[-Antonio-]

People also can't reward Floyd for avoiding the guys that he does.


"oh well, he was great at 130 and 135, so hes great at 147".


Nah, doesn't work like that.

Never said that. Never thought that.

Matter of fact Floyd's reign at 147 has been a joke. He's only fought one true sized Welter and it was Baldomir. He doesn't go without criticism from me, but you can't deny his talent overall.

[project xxx1]

**** teddy

[-Antonio-]

so floyd doesnt hav boxing skill, he's just athletic ????

That's what they are getting at, and it's hilarious.

The way he uses his elbows to create openings, uses clinching as defense, keeps his opponents guessing with lead hooks and right hands, jabs to the stomach to create space, etc.

It's ridiculous. They are clouding their judgment because of how they feel about his bravado.

[KILLA RIGHT]

Atlas always attacks defensive fighters. And he doesn't like the klitschkos because of their ethnicity.

wtf? So why would he train povetkin? He's russian or does he only like russians and americans?

[Kalion]

Bottom line is this.

Is PBF one of the greatest if not the greatest fight of his era?
Certainly, and he can still add to this.

Is he an ATG?
Hes certainly in the top 40, top 10 in his weight classes

Among the ATG where does he rank?
Not among the likes of Ali,Johnson,Dempsey,Louis,Robinson. Hes in the same section with RJJ,Bhop,Tyson,Holyfield.

[Vasyl’s dad]

So you compare him to the 130lbs and 135lb of history. It goes both way, yes you can question his work at 147lbs but you can't deny the work he did at the lower division that deserves recognition in its own right.

Nobody in their right mind does question his lower work.

But you can't base his entire body of work based on that, which is what some people do.

The less great fights that get made in the prime of his career, which have been the last 4 years,


the lower his standing will be when its all said and done.


All people want to see is the best fight the best.


Seeing how Floyd is amongst those at the welterweight division,

seeing as how he is in place to make history,


there isn't any reason why these fights shouldn't happen.

[Vasyl’s dad]

Bottom line is this.

Is PBF one of the greatest if not the greatest fight of his era?
Certainly, and he can still add to this.

Is he an ATG?
Hes certainly in the top 40, top 10 in his weight classes

Among the ATG where does he rank?
Not among the likes of Ali,Johnson,Dempsey,Louis,Robinson. Hes in the same section with RJJ,Bhop,Tyson,Holyfield.

No,

you have to actually prove it rather than just rely on talent and past achievements.