ESPN Ranks Floyd Mayweather As The Best Fighter Of The Last 25 Years

[ShoulderRoll]

Roy's speed and reflexes were superior, but in terms of fundamentals and technique Floyd was superior. In my opinion.

[therealpugilist]

agreed. roy in his prime ... i remember it like yesterday when i was a kid racing up to my buddies house to watch him fight james toney, roy was scary in his prime.

only thing that was a knock on him during his prime years was that haircut .. what was that line on the back of his head he used to keep?

Roy with the line on the back of his head was Sugar Ray Robinson 2.0

he was as far among his peers as far as natural gifts as Robinson was in his era...they were truly once in a lifetime talents

[DreamerUSA]

There honestly is no way for Roy to rank ahead of Mayweather

On a ATG list, you are correct imo. P4P is about fantasy matchups and while I got no problems with Floyd being number one. In a head to head match up, prime vs prime, I'll take Roy all day everyday. Hell on a All time p4p list I would have Roy, top 5, easy. Much less the last 25 years.

[Larry the boss]

Hopkins above Roy? Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllll no.

Hopkins clearly has the better resume and accomplished more

[therealpugilist]

I'd go Roy Jones, myself, then Mayweather. Apparently so would a lot of you.

I would...when you are talking about ATG and legends like these two, its deeper than resume

Both have extensive resumes thats why they were p4p the best of their respective era.
you cant pick who is in your era...Roy made it look so easy but he will end his career with wins over at least half a dozen hall of famers and 19-20 titlists

Look at it from a head to head, or talent prospective......How well does Floyd do with the best of all time from 130-140? How does Roy fare against the best ever from 160-168?

Roy was far more dominant in his prime than Mayweather who use to remind me of Hopkins and Jones in a lightweight body

Roy was gifted on from a physical standpoint that we wont see for maybe 50 years just like it took 50 for us to get Jones after Robinson

the guy had reaction time, reflexes, power, and speed that you just cant teach and add that with his know how and IQ....IMO he may not be the greatest but Roy is the best fighter I have ever seen. Youtube has most of the greats for us to watch and no one could do the things in the ring Roy could do

[Sledgeweather17]

Dan wanted it to be Roy, but the panel consensus was Floyd.

I can't argue with that. While Roy was the more gifted fighter in his prime, he still has many losses and Floyd has fought better competition in volume.

I don't think Roy was more talented, he was just more exciting, and the only reason for that is because he didn't have hand issues like Floyd.

Floyd wanted to be that kind of fighter too but people round here don't seem to remember that. He even got rid of his dad and chose his uncle to train him instead so that they can focus more on offense than defense.

However, after getting into trouble in numerous fights that he was easily dominating because he broke/fractured his hand on the opponent's face, he had to change his style and become more conservative.

Otherwise Floyd and Roy are exactly the same level of talent, the other just didn't have hand issues and also, surprisingly enough, because of that advantage in his prime, he didn't work on or develop his standing defense (his defense was only through movement and agility and he suffered when his speed and reflexes slowed) and ended paying for it later in his career. (By standing defense I mean slipping punches while standing right in front of the opponent in the pocket and blocking punches, Roy Jones seemed to have no idea how to block punches, which of course he never needed in his prime but payed for it later on, guy fought mostly with his hands down from start to finish, whereas Floyd only starts doing that when he has his timing down or later in the fight when the opponent tires.)

Anyway, like I said, it terms of raw talent (speed, footwork, reflexes, timing, agility, instinct, reaction time, etc ect), yeah they are cut from the same cloth.

Ps. Watch these videos on youtube, one is called Roy Jones can't be touched, and the other is called Mayweather Defensive Genius. You'll see what I mean.

[Larry the boss]

depends on what you are looking for...I definitely wouldnt have rated Hopkins or Pacquiao over Jones....Jones was very dominant in his prime and these guys took loses prime and after....all roys losses are after his 35th birthday...do people penalize Ezzard Charles or Robinson for this fact?

No way you can put Roy over Manny, no way..Manny accomplished much much more and had a wayyy better resume......People get to hyped over Roys flash and ignore the fact he was doing it against nobodies....Toney was a damn good win but after that who was he fighting?

[baya]

Roy with the line on the back of his head was Sugar Ray Robinson 2.0

he was as far among his peers as far as natural gifts as Robinson was in his era...they were truly once in a lifetime talents

i gotta go with rjjr at 160 against sugar in their primes.

[DJ Enerate]

I have Floyd to. I'm not sure if Roy is greater H2H tbh . Historically there is a greater chance of Floyd losing compared to Jones because he's fantasy matched with a lot more great/better boxers.

[therealpugilist]

i gotta go with rjjr at 160 against sugar in their primes.

thats my point....Roy was so talented unless its at 175 and up, no one is favored over him and at 175 its only the huge guys like Spinks or Foster. Charles and moore started below the weight like Roy so size isnt a factor