I think it's safe to say, Mayweather has probably the best defence in boxing history

[Jc8804]

Nah .he didnt really challenge himself in his career

[b00g13man]

If floyd ain't the best, he is damn close.... And def in the conversation with pernell, pep, etc

Agreed.....

[Joe Beamish]

Definitely one of the best. Probably THE best in the video era (1950s and later.) The only competition I can imagine would be some of the guys in the first couple decades of the 20th C.

Offense is another story, obviously, but it's more than sufficient in today's world, where hurting the opponent isn't necessary to win the fight.

[Pretty Boy32]

Definitely one of the best. Probably THE best in the video era (1950s and later.) The only competition I can imagine would be some of the guys in the first couple decades of the 20th C.

Offense is another story, obviously, but it's more than sufficient in today's world, where hurting the opponent isn't necessary to win the fight.

At the lighter weights his offense was epic.

[firstborn]

Mayweather is up there but Toney is the best I've seen. Who else besides Toney could still be elusive at the pro level while being woefully out of shape, I mean downright fat!!.

[Showtime..]

IT FINALLY HIT ME!

















Joshua Clottey's Impenetrable Turtle Defense.

[IronDanHamza]

I think he is a great defender, but gets overrated in terms of historic ranking..


Anytime floyd fought a true top caliber guy, he got tagged...

Zab
Oscar
Cotto
Castillo
Maidana

All seemed to hit him pretty easily

He is an all time great defender but i wouldn't say he is the goat defender..


I highly doubt floyd could come in fat and 40 pounds past his prime fighting weight and be able to compete with froch, ggg, ward, kovolev, unlike james toney who's incredible defense allowed him much success even when fat and way up in weight..


You can't possibly tell me that floyd is a better defender than prime roy jones who beat two ATG fighters in their prime and didn't get touched..

Then on the flipside Toney got hit way more than Floyd has ever been hit by Dave Tiberi and Merqui Sosa alone. Toney didn't need to fight top level guys to "get tagged" he "got tagged" by fighters who weren't even good.

Roy Jones got hit a lot by Montel Griffin.

[SplitSecond]

Then on the flipside Toney got hit way more than Floyd has ever been hit by Dave Tiberi and Merqui Sosa alone. Toney didn't need to fight top level guys to "get tagged" he "got tagged" by fighters who weren't even good.

Roy Jones got hit a lot by Montel Griffin.

Floyd also got beaten up by Augustus.

On Topic: Best defense is Roy Jones.

[RED REP]

I don't think any serious boxing fan questions his talent.

The problem with Floyd is that he probably questions his own talent more than the fans. I believe he could beat the fighters he supposedly avoided but obviously he may not have 100% believed it or put business first.

As far as ability goes, he would have been great in any era of boxing. But has he dared to be great and done all he can to make certain fights happen? Don't get me wrong, he has a lot of great names on his resume, no matter what stage of their careers, to go through those names and not slip up and have a bad night in 47 fights and approaching 40 is incredible. I just feel there's more he could have done to cement himself as one of the greatest. Ability wise, he probably is up there with the best. As far as fighting spirit and the willingness to leave no questions about your legacy, i think he could have done more.

I agree his 0 has held him back but who did he really avoid?

[sargo]

No question he is up there.

But how great really without the hugging, pushing the head/face, headlocks, running?

If so great how come do all of these things which spoil the action, getting the referee involved so many times in the match instead of just fighting?