Floyd
vs Mosley after Mosley whopped Margarito who was considered the best WW
vs DLH from Mayorga KO from layoff, allowing DLH the advantages, 154lbs
vs Marquez who has given Manny fits, impressive vs Diaz and Casamayor
vs Hatton who was undefeated and less softened up, good recent wins
vs Castillo who was the best lightweight, big, strong and prime
vs Corrales who was big, dangerous, prime, undefeated
vs Judah who was faster, southpaw, but coming from Baldomir loss
vs Baldomir who was the legit WW champion
vs Ortiz after layoff, a legit top 3 WW, big win in previous, prime, big, fast, strong
Manny
vs Barrera who was at the time considered top 3-5 P4P
vs Morales coming off of rough loss to Barrera in 3rd war who he lost to
vs Marquez I who was coming off of a streak and Gainer win
vs Morales II and III after losing to Raheem, stopping him twice
vs Barrera II, coming off of the loss in rough fight to Marquez
vs Marquez II, coming off of a string of good wins after Chris John loss
vs David Diaz, a streaking belt holder
vs DLH after Forbes tuneup and Mayweather loss
vs Hatton after Mayweather KO, but decent Pauli win and rough Lazcano fight
vs Cotto after Margarito beating and rough Clottey fight
vs Clottey after rough Cotto and Judah fight
vs Margarito after Mosley beat down and tuneup
vs Mosley after Mayweather decision and rough Mora fight
vs Marquez III after impressive Juan Diaz and Katsidis wins
Overall the names on paper look much better for Manny and guys like Barrera, Morales, Marquez, Hatton and DLH are all HOF bound. His list looks more extensive because of multiple fights of the same three mexican HOFers (8 total fights vs 3 fighters). He also gets accolades for fighting the guys who have been at the top of the WW scene for the past few years (Cotto, Clottey and Margarito).
Mayweather on the other hand has had a selection of opponents seemingly to fight them at the right times leading to money, bigger fights and title opportunities as opposed to just staying busy. Manny has consistently fought what has seemed to be the more challenging fights, while Floyd seems to have focused more on big money and fights that lead to bigger money. He does get some accolades for fighting guys seemingly when they are at their best (Corrales, Castillo, Ortiz this year, Hatton, Baldomir, Mosley coming off of impressive Margarito thrashing). However he has not seemingly seeked out fights that seemed the most dangerous (Cotto, Margarito, Clottey) when they were the top WWs at their best. Marquez probably isn't considered the most dangerous step, but then again he has given Manny fits because he has more boxing ability than most of Manny's opponents. If Manny struggles, I think that will may be emphasized more.
So I see Manny's career in two parts built off of the Mexican HOFers era (vs Barrera x2, Morales x3 and Marquez x2) and the WW era (DLH, Cotto, Clottey, Margarito). Mayweather's also in two parts off of the time where he took dangerous fights (Hernandez, Corrales, Castillo) and where he fought more for the business (Judah, DLH, Mosley). Ortiz is a step in the right direction reminiscent of the dangerous fights Floyd once took. Especially if followed by Manny or Martinez. But that's a big if.
Manny has consistently met the better challenges (albiet many duplicates and fighting similar styles) while I believe Floyd has fought the better variety without much of any duplication except for the Castillo rematch.
This fight just needs to happen. It's like when Tyson/Holyfield didn't happen before the Douglas and Bowe losses. Or when Lopez/Gamboa didn't happen before Salido loss and title stripping. When Tito/Vargas happened, it was because they struck while the iron was hot. Floyd and Manny have been fortunate to have a pretty hot iron for a while. Marquez who has Manny's number through boxing ability he seems to avoid as well as Ortiz who is young, strong, prime, fast and powerful could derail things for Floyd.
Assuming both men escape their respective fights, this will be the prime example of what boxing needs to do to get better. Stop politicking and make the fight happen!
vs Mosley after Mosley whopped Margarito who was considered the best WW
vs DLH from Mayorga KO from layoff, allowing DLH the advantages, 154lbs
vs Marquez who has given Manny fits, impressive vs Diaz and Casamayor
vs Hatton who was undefeated and less softened up, good recent wins
vs Castillo who was the best lightweight, big, strong and prime
vs Corrales who was big, dangerous, prime, undefeated
vs Judah who was faster, southpaw, but coming from Baldomir loss
vs Baldomir who was the legit WW champion
vs Ortiz after layoff, a legit top 3 WW, big win in previous, prime, big, fast, strong
Manny
vs Barrera who was at the time considered top 3-5 P4P
vs Morales coming off of rough loss to Barrera in 3rd war who he lost to
vs Marquez I who was coming off of a streak and Gainer win
vs Morales II and III after losing to Raheem, stopping him twice
vs Barrera II, coming off of the loss in rough fight to Marquez
vs Marquez II, coming off of a string of good wins after Chris John loss
vs David Diaz, a streaking belt holder
vs DLH after Forbes tuneup and Mayweather loss
vs Hatton after Mayweather KO, but decent Pauli win and rough Lazcano fight
vs Cotto after Margarito beating and rough Clottey fight
vs Clottey after rough Cotto and Judah fight
vs Margarito after Mosley beat down and tuneup
vs Mosley after Mayweather decision and rough Mora fight
vs Marquez III after impressive Juan Diaz and Katsidis wins
Overall the names on paper look much better for Manny and guys like Barrera, Morales, Marquez, Hatton and DLH are all HOF bound. His list looks more extensive because of multiple fights of the same three mexican HOFers (8 total fights vs 3 fighters). He also gets accolades for fighting the guys who have been at the top of the WW scene for the past few years (Cotto, Clottey and Margarito).
Mayweather on the other hand has had a selection of opponents seemingly to fight them at the right times leading to money, bigger fights and title opportunities as opposed to just staying busy. Manny has consistently fought what has seemed to be the more challenging fights, while Floyd seems to have focused more on big money and fights that lead to bigger money. He does get some accolades for fighting guys seemingly when they are at their best (Corrales, Castillo, Ortiz this year, Hatton, Baldomir, Mosley coming off of impressive Margarito thrashing). However he has not seemingly seeked out fights that seemed the most dangerous (Cotto, Margarito, Clottey) when they were the top WWs at their best. Marquez probably isn't considered the most dangerous step, but then again he has given Manny fits because he has more boxing ability than most of Manny's opponents. If Manny struggles, I think that will may be emphasized more.
So I see Manny's career in two parts built off of the Mexican HOFers era (vs Barrera x2, Morales x3 and Marquez x2) and the WW era (DLH, Cotto, Clottey, Margarito). Mayweather's also in two parts off of the time where he took dangerous fights (Hernandez, Corrales, Castillo) and where he fought more for the business (Judah, DLH, Mosley). Ortiz is a step in the right direction reminiscent of the dangerous fights Floyd once took. Especially if followed by Manny or Martinez. But that's a big if.
Manny has consistently met the better challenges (albiet many duplicates and fighting similar styles) while I believe Floyd has fought the better variety without much of any duplication except for the Castillo rematch.
This fight just needs to happen. It's like when Tyson/Holyfield didn't happen before the Douglas and Bowe losses. Or when Lopez/Gamboa didn't happen before Salido loss and title stripping. When Tito/Vargas happened, it was because they struck while the iron was hot. Floyd and Manny have been fortunate to have a pretty hot iron for a while. Marquez who has Manny's number through boxing ability he seems to avoid as well as Ortiz who is young, strong, prime, fast and powerful could derail things for Floyd.
Assuming both men escape their respective fights, this will be the prime example of what boxing needs to do to get better. Stop politicking and make the fight happen!
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