Did Floyd beat anyone at their best in the last ten years?

[GhostofDempsey]

How did Floyd duck Bradley? Bradley decided to sign with top rank instead of taking a chance against Floyd who was the top ww.

I know you hate Floyd but geez.

Floyd could have fought him if he wanted to, he was the shot-caller and had his choice of any opponent. No one, and I mean no one, has ever ducked Floyd Mayweather. They all wanted a fight with him because it was low-risk and high reward.

I think Maidana was probably at his best, coming off the Broner win

Pacquiao is still arguably the no.1 WW now, so whilst he wasn’t at his best, that version is still better than 99% fighters best

Unlike some others here, I don’t rate the Canelo fight at the top. It’s a good win and the manner of victory was superb. But Canelo’s youth and the catchweight dampens it somewhat. I don’t think Canelo beats Floyd at any weight or age, but I can only measure reality

Fair post. I looked at Floyd's win over Canelo as a good win, not a great win. He caught him at just the right time where Canelo's popularity was rising and he was getting him at a catchweight while still shy of his prime.

Canelo had been in 6 world championship fights when he fought Floyd, even though he was very young. As a comparison, Trinidad gets full credit for beating Vargas, who was also 23 and had been in 6 world championship fights. He had half as many pro fights as Canelo had.

I just think its is interesting how the perception of a "young fighter" is impacted by who he loses to. Canelo is judged as "green" while Vargas is judged as "prime".

I don't think anyone really considers Vargas a top level fighter. Maybe at the time there was some hype around him, but that soon fizzled after he got schooled by both Tito and Oscar. The difference is, Canelo improved as a fighter post-Mayweather, Vargas did not improve post Tito or Oscar. He also took an ass-whooping from both of them, whereas Canelo just got out-boxed and embarrassed.

[GhostofDempsey]

So to answer the question direct, we are looking at a murderers row of

Guerrero
Maidana
Ortiz
McGregor

I guess you can say they were hyped up to be elite level threats to Floyd's supremacy by Mayweather promotions. For as long as the fight lasts of course.

That's pretty much where I'm at here. If fans want to say Mayweather is FOTD, then I have to ask--which elite level fighters did he beat at their best? That question has yet to be answered. Not to mention, he only fought for half the decade. Then we have the IV controversy that cannot be ignored. That opens up further speculation.

[The Big Dunn]

Floyd could have fought him if he wanted to, he was the shot-caller and had his choice of any opponent. No one, and I mean no one, has ever ducked Floyd Mayweather. They all wanted a fight with him because it was low-risk and high reward.



Fair post. I looked at Floyd's win over Canelo as a good win, not a great win. He caught him at just the right time where Canelo's popularity was rising and he was getting him at a catchweight while still shy of his prime.



I don't think anyone really considers Vargas a top level fighter. Maybe at the time there was some hype around him, but that soon fizzled after he got schooled by both Tito and Oscar. The difference is, Canelo improved as a fighter post-Mayweather, Vargas did not improve post Tito or Oscar. He also took an ass-whooping from both of them, whereas Canelo just got out-boxed and embarrassed.

Come on ghostof that simply isn't true. You can't blame Floyd for Bradley avoiding him. Bradley signed with TR because he knew he had a better chance to beat Manny then he did Floyd. Bob also gave him a nice deal (and as it turned out had a plan all along). It is not right to blame boxer's actions on Floyd.

Of course people see Vargas as a top level fighter. That is often cited as one of Tito's best wins given most thought he lost to ODH. You are actually making my point for me.

Tito gets full credit for a win over a 23 yr old, with 6 championship fights, that never reached that level again. Meanwhile, you and others are not giving Floyd full credit for a win over a 23 yr old with 6 championship fights that has gotten infinitely better because no one he will fight after Floyd is as good as Floyd.

It seems people judge "prime" based on how they feel about Floyd, which is incredibly biased. I get the CW catchweight, but even then no one uses that against Manny.

[soul_survivor]

If by last decade you mean the 2010s, excluding the Connor fight, then he fought 5 years and had 8 bouts. I think it is a well documented he did not fight a single top level opponent in their prime but I'd add Maidana, Ortiz and Guerrero as prime opponents. Think of that list as you will.

[The Big Dunn]

That's pretty much where I'm at here. If fans want to say Mayweather is FOTD, then I have to ask--which elite level fighters did he beat at their best? That question has yet to be answered. Not to mention, he only fought for half the decade. Then we have the IV controversy that cannot be ignored. That opens up further speculation.

Here's the thing-the 2 leading candidates you have for FOTD are Manny and Canelo. They both lost handily to Floyd.

You asked "which elite level fighters did he beat at their best?" Wouldn't the answer be Canelo and Manny since after Floyd beat them they both then went on to accomplish the things you feel makes them the 2 leading candidates for FOTD?

[GhostofDempsey]

Come on ghostof that simply isn't true. You can't blame Floyd for Bradley avoiding him. Bradley signed with TR because he knew he had a better chance to beat Manny then he did Floyd. Bob also gave him a nice deal (and as it turned out had a plan all along). It is not right to blame boxer's actions on Floyd.

Of course people see Vargas as a top level fighter. That is often cited as one of Tito's best wins given most thought he lost to ODH. You are actually making my point for me.

Tito gets full credit for a win over a 23 yr old, with 6 championship fights, that never reached that level again. Meanwhile, you and others are not giving Floyd full credit for a win over a 23 yr old with 6 championship fights that has gotten infinitely better because no one he will fight after Floyd is as good as Floyd.

It seems people judge "prime" based on how they feel about Floyd, which is incredibly biased. I get the CW catchweight, but even then no one uses that against Manny.

I'm not among those who thought Vargas was an elite level fighter. I always saw him for what he was, a gritty B-level fighter who was limited. Exciting and fun to watch, but not on the level of a Tito or Oscar. As we know, titles do not dictate the quality of a fighter, as there are way too many belts to go around.

Bradley signing with TR was a business move and a smart one at that. It still would not have prevented him from fighting Floyd if he was willing to take that fight. Floyd was the shot-caller at 147, he could have removed all the hurdles to making that fight regardless of who signed with who.

Here's the thing-the 2 leading candidates you have for FOTD are Manny and Canelo. They both lost handily to Floyd.

You asked "which elite level fighters did he beat at their best?" Wouldn't the answer be Canelo and Manny since after Floyd beat them they both then went on to accomplish the things you feel makes them the 2 leading candidates for FOTD?

No, because Manny and Canelo were not at their best. I can't see how anyone can make an argument to the contrary. Canelo was at a CW, and had never been in a fight of that magnitude before. What were his best wins coming into that fight? Cintron? Lopez? Trout--who many believed that fight could have gone either way? Mosley was coming off a loss to Manny and was not in his prime.

Manny had a bum shoulder. I know a lot of Floyd fans want to dismiss that fact, but that was a fight that should have taken place 4 or 5 years earlier. It was past it's expiration date. Floyd marinated that one too long.

[Richard]

No, he did not.

Canelo came way too early.
PAC way too late.
Floyd knew he would’ve lost fighting each in their prime.

Not for me.I think Floyd is a quality fighter and would have beaten most if not all in their prime.

[KTFOKING]

I love this talk of "at their best" and then the opponent's "best weight class." So let me ask you, was beating Bradley "at his best" a better win for Pacquiao than Floyd beating Pacquiao? After all, Pacquiao pretty much dominated Bradley before and after the Floyd fights.

Pacquiao was close to his best when they faced off and four years later is still beating top WWs. He was P4P #2 when Floyd beat him. Canelo was in top the 10 P4P, Mosley was #3 P4P coming off the Margarito destruction.

Floyd clearly beat two other top candidates for FOTD and that gives him the edge. He is going to rightfully win the award on most publications and sites.

[Willy Wanker]

Robert Guerrero was at his best when Floyd beat him.

That's probably it though.

[Richard]

Looking over his resume of the last decade, is there one elite level fighter, champion or former champion, who was at their very best when they fought him?

Ricky Hatton for one springs to mind.

It isn't Floyd's duty to assure his opponents are at 100% on fight night.

It's every fighter's own responsibility to be there at 100%. If you're not, it's your problem

Well said

How do we determine if a guy is at his best? Is it only age? Or is it a combination of age and experience?

In 2010 floyd beat Shane Mosley who at the time was one of the top p4p fighters in the world. In 2015 Floyd beat Manny Pacquio who was a top 2 p4p fighter in the world and 3 years younger than Floyd. In 2013 Floyd beat Canelo. A young champion who had already defeated some top tier opposition.

The only people that seem to denigrate these wins are people that never liked Floyd.

.

I think its jealousy coupled with the fact that Floyd outside the ring was convicted for beating up his wife.For me I take the line that he is a outstanding boxer and have utmost admiration for his talent which is why he is my favourite boxer as he's the one Ive grown up watching.

I hope he has learnt from his past misdemeanours but given his background eg deprived and drug ridden was more likely to go astray than say the normal person.

I always believe though most can change if they have enough love and disciple showered on them.