Mayweather, Underrated?

[rambov]

Whichis why I said underrated to casual fans

[PAC-BOY]

It really comes down to this:

Ability - Floyd is elite. he is not the top as Roy Jones was clearly more gifted than Floyd in nearly every category as it pertains to physical attributes.

Skills - Floyd may be one of if not thee most skilled boxers in history. Most acknowledge this.

Work ethic - second to none. Acknowledged by his peers as the consummate professional. A gym rat. Stays in shape between fights. Trains year round. True dedication.

Now here's where things get sticky ....

Career - Floyd has done everything that any excellent fighter has done to cement his status as an ALL TIME GREAT.

Floyd has consistently fought the #1 & 2 in every division save 140(Tszyu).

Floyd has dominated with incredible longevity.

Floyd has moved up to seek bigger challenges once a division is stale.

Floyd has always sought the champions. He has never sought to raise his standings by capturing vacant titles.

To date, Mayweather has been dominate in 5 divisions. He has, every time he's moved up, been underestimated.

There is no question that there is little else that Floyd could have done outside of letting Arum manipulate him into handing over more of his own money by being forced to fight Top Rank boxers. Pretty much that is the only factor in contention.

Legacy - Floyd Mayweather .. either you hate him or you love him .. which is really no different than how folks felt bout Jack Johnson, Ray Robinson and Ali in their day. A legacy cannot be weighed while a fighter is active. Never has been done and never will be.

All we can discuss is Floyd's career as of now, and if you go by the merits of what Floyd has actually accomplished and compare it to his closest rival, its a no-brainer that Floyd is destined to among the greatest ATG's IMO.

Not because of his personality. Not because of his money. Its solely based on Floyd's skills, and the men he displayed them upon and their rank at the time when they met.

Historians will weigh in whether or not Floyd met these men at their best. The one thing Floyd won't ever have to worry about though is historians having to factor in catchweights or vacant titles. Floyd needed no such shortcuts or special needs advantages.

On the scale that weighs value in terms of legacy, Floyd is old school in that he trained hard and fought men at their best without making excuses or seeking unfair advantage.

Time will tell for all of the guys.

Still, it should be mentioned that had all of these so-called future ATGs done what Floyd has done, boxing would be a much more exciting sport with a much bigger fanbase. There would be no shortage of great fights. There would always be a megafight once a month. There would always be a clear-cut champion because everyone would have fought each other.

I'm asking forum members ... who else for over a 15 years span has consistently faced the #1 & 2 fighters in a division and then moved up to do the same thing over again and again and again?

Who?

I'm not saying that other fighters weren't good or even great for that matter. I am saying that being great in one specific are and being great under all criteria are two very different things.

For instance Kostya Tszyu was a very dominant boxer, but he never tested his mettle outside of 140lbs which was pretty much a dead division for most of his reign.

Another example is DLH who was willing to fight nearly everybody, but outside of a few passed their prime HOF's, DLH lost every significant match he's ever had at the top of the world stage.

There will always those whose efforts are appreciated and respected. That doesn't make them elite and it doesn't mean that they are truly special when compared to the best that have ever done it.

legacy .....

[Dubbed90]

legacy .....

This is a Mayweather thread.

Why do *******s always jump on articles and bring Pacquiao in to it?

[Brother Jay]

legacy .....

That's about right.

Whenever a ******* is asked about anything deeper than who he worships, he gets insecure, puts on an autistic-looking smile and begins doing a nervous dance.

Yeah, you look good in yellow. No pun intended.

[PAC-BOY]

This is a Mayweather thread.

Why do *******s always jump on articles and bring Pacquiao in to it?

its called the world wide web...aka the internet..aka...the net. Hope that answered your question!

Also...whhen did i bring up Pacquaio. Oh wait...its my presence isnt it.

[PAC-BOY]

That's about right.

Whenever a ******* is asked about anything deeper than who he worships, he gets insecure, puts on an autistic-looking smile and begins doing a nervous dance.

Yeah, you look good in yellow. No pun intended.

nobody asked me nothing, I was laughing at the ridiculous part on the post about Floyd so called Legacy! heheeeee

[Brother Jay]

nobody asked me nothing, I was laughing at the ridiculous part on the post about Floyd so called Legacy! heheeeee

I know. That was my point. Your best offering was to use emoticons because you know that anything else would be judged by your understanding of the subject matter, and your ability to articulate your opposing views.

It was a safe play to use emoticons because no one can compete with that level of ******ity.

In that regard, you are very crafty, my friend.

Carry on.

[turbotime]

Guarantee most on here don't even remember Hernandez, Corrales, Castillo or Manfredy.

[New England]

I genuinely believe he is.

I don't think boxing fans give him enough credit. If they do, I don't hear it often.

People generally judge him based on his out the ring antics, and the persona he put on.

I think everyone will look back, and start giving credit, eventually, when he retires.

Or maybe the won't.

Either way, I think he's a special fighter who'll be missed when he hangs up the gloves.

he's an active fighter who is universally recognized as a bonafide ATG
a horrific h2h and fantasy matchup for literally anybody below the biggest and best WW
and he's in the discussion for the greatest defensive fighter of all time

already

no, he's not underrated. i also think his persona and his antics outside of the ring at least partially responsible for how damn popular he is. they dont bother me in the least when i evaluate him as a fighter. i'm not evaluating him as a man

he's one of the best to ever lace up gloves.

[CubanGuyNYC]

I get the sense that Floyd is more often overrated. But it baffles me how some people can overlook Mayweather's blatantly obvious skills and talent. It's truly amazing.

I'm not a Floyd fan. I would love to watch someone place a "one" where that precious "zero" of his now stands. However, I acknowledge his superiority as a boxer. I used to think Pacquiao had the edge in a head-to-head match-up. After Pac-JMM III, I'm leaning towards Floyd.

Anyway, back to topic...Mayweather is probably an ATG, but it makes me roll my eyes when I hear (read) for the millionth time that Floyd is the GOAT. I would be willing to bet that 99% of people who say that started watching boxing just a few short years ago. As already stated, Duran probably beats Mayweather at 135. Leonard probably beats Floyd at 147. We can go on, but no need...or is there? lol