Do people seriously believe Floyd Mayweather Jr could beat Gennady Golovkin at 160?

[TonyGe]

I think Sanchez's ability to call for adjustments is being greatly overstated, but that's just me.

Its not that Sanchez is calling for an adjustment. Sanchez has said in the past his fighter's make the other guy adjust to them they don't adjust to the other fighter.

[Mr Objecitivity]

Skills matter and styles matter. Golovkin doesn't really throw to the body, Golovkin doesn't fight on the inside, Golovkin doesn't fight in between punches, and Golovkin doesn't fight all that well of the counter either.

Score the man for what he's shown and not what you'd imagine him to do.

Billy Joe Saunders would be a nightmare matchup for Floyd, simply because he's still big, is busy in the ring with his hands and feet, and can box brilliantly off of the backfoot.

Skills and styles matter. However, they matter the most when two boxers are same size / weight. They matter less when there is a significant different in size / weight between the two boxers. A lighter boxer can be more skilled than the heavier boxer but still not be able to beat the heavier boxer due to not being able to overcome the weight disadvantage. When fighting a low level opponent that is heavier, the lighter boxer might be able to overcome the weight disadvantage due to having a significant skill advantage over the heavier boxer. However, that isn't the case when the heavier boxer is also an elite like Gennady Golovkin. So Floyd Mayweather Jr, merely being more skilled or having a stylistic match up advantage isn't going to matter here because not only does he have to be more skilled, but significantly more skilled than Golovkin to stand a chance at beating him and even he isn't that good to be able to make up for the weight disadvantage.

All those other things you've mentioned, are either irrelevant or have very little relevance. Wladimir Klitschko also doesn't fight on the inside. He throws fewer body punches than Golovkin. He counters even less and worse than Golovkin. Guess what? None of that mattered when he fought lighter + skilled opposition like David Haye and Eddie Chambers. Ergo, Golovkin doesn't need to do all of those things the way you're suggesting he has to.

Golovkin's record at 160 pounds > Billy Joe Saunder's record at 160 pounds. Ergo, Mayweather has a better chance at beating the inferior boxer in Billy Joe Saunders than Gennady Golovkin.

In the end, style and skills aren't as relevant as actual records in boxing. You can claim that Golovkin lacks in this or that department. However, if he still manages to develop a record better than anybody else where those other 'anybody else' can supposedly do more stuff but still have inferior records, then they really aren't better than Golovkin. Nor are they more difficult opponents than Golovkin.

If Golovkin doesn't counter or throw body shots but still has a better knockout record, win record and if he wins all of his bouts more dominantly (losing fewest rounds), than he is still better than other boxers who do counter or throw body shots but still have an inferior record in knockout percentage and dominance in victories.

[Mr Objecitivity]

Yea and that's what I was talkin about!!!And I quoted one guy who said Floyd fighin ggg would be like ggg fighin at lightheavy.And how the hell can you talk about them two fightin without bringing up weight diff????????? You must not have read post and now just don't wanna admit you were wrong!

You were talking about cruiserweight and other weight divisions when this bout is merely taking place at 160 pounds. Therefore, those other weight divisions are totally irrelevant in regards to the topic of this thread.

Furthermore, if the bout is taking place at 160 pounds, then both would weigh 160 pounds for the weigh in. There won't be any weight difference during that period. Only in fight night would there be a weight difference but that's a different issue altogether.

Unless you're implying that because of the weight difference, that Mayweather won't be able to make 160 pounds. In which case, this fight is impossible since not only does Mayweather stand no chance at beating Golovkin, he won't even be allowed to step into the ring for not being able to make the weight.

[TonyGe]

I think Sanchez's ability to call for adjustments is being greatly overstated, but that's just me.

Its not that Sanchez is calling for an adjustment. Sanchez has said in the past his fighter's make the other guy adjust to them they don't adjust to the other fighter.

[GodLike]

40 year old who hasn't had a competitive fight for over 2 years, i am not so sure, The floyd who fought canleo at 36 schools GGG at 160. GGG couldn't land on canelo, he has no chance landing on floyd. And don't come with the but GGG would no respect for floyds power, you mean like canleo didn't respect it and how floyd was backing up canleo up at times? Respecting power is one thing, respecting getting constantly punched in the face and being punished for ever mistake is another, i don't care how big you are or how good your chin is, let a little 12 year old boy put on a pair of 10z gloves and punch you in the face as hard as he can and see how many you are willing to take.

[RL_GMA]

Had the eye not gone, Kell Brook was boxing Golovkin on more than even terms.

Let that sink in.

Floyd is obviously older and the physicals are going, but the man's boxing brain and reflexes seem to still be razor sharp.

With Golovkin basically being about the size Alvarez was when Floyd fought him (unless all of that talk about being a small middleweight was bull****), Floyd's skills are likely still sharper than Golovkin's skills.

Broken orbital bone or not, I don't think Brook would've gone into the 7th-8th round on his feet. He landed on Golovkin but he took the brunt of the punishment. Would he be able to hang at that pace another 6-7 rounds? I don't think so.

As it concerns Floyd, again, we gotta remember this guy came up from 130lbs to 154 where even at 154 he was out of his element. At a full 160 Floyd's at a big disadvantage let alone the pace I see that fight being fought at, not one I think a 40-41 year old Floyd wants to deal with. Again, no knock to Floyd at all but I personally wouldn't like his chances against GGG at a full 160.

[Mr Objecitivity]

40 year old who hasn't had a competitive fight for over 2 years, i am not so sure, The floyd who fought canleo at 36 schools GGG at 160. GGG couldn't land on canelo, he has no chance landing on floyd. And don't come with the but GGG would no respect for floyds power, you mean like canleo didn't respect it and how floyd was backing up canleo up at times? Respecting power is one thing, respecting getting constantly punched in the face and being punished for ever mistake is another, i don't care how big you are or how good your chin is, let a little 12 year old boy put on a pair of 10z gloves and punch you in the face as hard as he can and see how many you are willing to take.

How can you so confidently claim that Mayweather would beat Golovkin at 160 pounds when Mawyeather has 0 feats and accomplishments at 160 pounds?

How do you know that Mayweather would carry his abilities such as his speed, stamina, reflexes and so forth so on to 160 pounds from the lower weight divisions?

How can you so confidently claim that Mayweather would beat Golovkin at 160 pounds when Mayweather refused to fight Canelo Alvarez without a catch weight and an imposed rehydration weight limit?

How can you use Canelo Alvarez's performance at 160 pounds against Golovkin to deduce that Mayweather would be able to beat Golovkin at 160 pounds? Canelo Alvarez is a much bigger guy in size and weighs much more on fight night than Floyd Mayweather Jr. Therefore, he had attributes (size) which allowed him to do what he did against Golovkin that Mayweather would lack.

Samuel Peters at heavyweight couldn't land many punches on Eddie Chambers. Yet, do you think Floyd Mayweather Jr would survive against Samuel Peter in a boxing bout? Do you realize the flaw in your reasoning? Just because someone fails to convincingly beat a defensively sound boxer their own size (Golovkin against Canelo Alvarez). Doesn't mean they would also fail like that against a smaller sized boxer. There is a reason why weight divisions exist in boxing!

[Scipio2009]

Its not that Sanchez is calling for an adjustment. Sanchez has said in the past his fighter's make the other guy adjust to them they don't adjust to the other fighter.

Canelo Alvarez didn't change his style, Daniel Jacobs didn't change his style once he got over his fear, and Kell Brook only changed his style when his eye went.

Sanchez's style isn't some indomitable marvel; it's a rather basic style that most fighters of note regularly see attempted by less talent fighters as they develop.

If Sanchez truly does hang his hat on the opponent seemingly being overwhelmed by a style that folks see on the way up anyway, it's no wonder why they've been so careful in picking the guys that Golovkin actually is willing to fight.

[Scipio2009]

Skills and styles matter. However, they matter the most when two boxers are same size / weight. They matter less when there is a significant different in size / weight between the two boxers. A lighter boxer can be more skilled than the heavier boxer but still not be able to beat the heavier boxer due to not being able to overcome the weight disadvantage. When fighting a low level opponent that is heavier, the lighter boxer might be able to overcome the weight disadvantage due to having a significant skill advantage over the heavier boxer. However, that isn't the case when the heavier boxer is also an elite like Gennady Golovkin. So Floyd Mayweather Jr, merely being more skilled or having a stylistic match up advantage isn't going to matter here because not only does he have to be more skilled, but significantly more skilled than Golovkin to stand a chance at beating him and even he isn't that good to be able to make up for the weight disadvantage.

All those other things you've mentioned, are either irrelevant or have very little relevance. Wladimir Klitschko also doesn't fight on the inside. He throws fewer body punches than Golovkin. He counters even less and worse than Golovkin. Guess what? None of that mattered when he fought lighter + skilled opposition like David Haye and Eddie Chambers. Ergo, Golovkin doesn't need to do all of those things the way you're suggesting he has to.

Golovkin's record at 160 pounds > Billy Joe Saunder's record at 160 pounds. Ergo, Mayweather has a better chance at beating the inferior boxer in Billy Joe Saunders than Gennady Golovkin.

In the end, style and skills aren't as relevant as actual records in boxing. You can claim that Golovkin lacks in this or that department. However, if he still manages to develop a record better than anybody else where those other 'anybody else' can supposedly do more stuff but still have inferior records, then they really aren't better than Golovkin. Nor are they more difficult opponents than Golovkin.

If Golovkin doesn't counter or throw body shots but still has a better knockout record, win record and if he wins all of his bouts more dominantly (losing fewest rounds), than he is still better than other boxers who do counter or throw body shots but still have an inferior record in knockout percentage and dominance in victories.

Klitschko/Emmanuel Steward were able to craft a style that maximized Klitschko's advantages and minimized the disadvantages; Klitschko didn't fight on the inside, so Steward helped develop a style adjustment where no one fought on the inside (ugly as it was, holding instantly on the inside settled that).

Golovkin hasn't shown any such adjustment beyond letting punches bounce off of his face and hoping that his punch resistance holds up.

Floyd Mayweather Jr, on skills alone, is one of the best fighters to ever put on a pair of gloves (how high he Rank's comes down to personal bias, but that's another conversation).

Golovkin, on skills alone, may just edge into being among the top 50 middleweight fighters (can comfortably say that he's shown enough to make the top 100 middleweights).

The actual skills conversation is nowhere near as comparable as you want to think it is.

[Mr Objecitivity]

Klitschko/Emmanuel Steward were able to craft a style that maximized Klitschko's advantages and minimized the disadvantages; Klitschko didn't fight on the inside, so Steward helped develop a style adjustment where no one fought on the inside (ugly as it was, holding instantly on the inside settled that).

Golovkin hasn't shown any such adjustment beyond letting punches bounce off of his face and hoping that his punch resistance holds up.

Floyd Mayweather Jr, on skills alone, is one of the best fighters to ever put on a pair of gloves (how high he Rank's comes down to personal bias, but that's another conversation).

Golovkin, on skills alone, may just edge into being among the top 50 middleweight fighters (can comfortably say that he's shown enough to make the top 100 middleweights).

The actual skills conversation is nowhere near as comparable as you want to think it is.

Skills are subjective. Records are objective. According to Golovkin's record, he has indisputably been the best middleweight of the past decade. On the other hand, Floyd Mayweather Jr, according to his record has 0 feats / accomplishments at middleweight with 0 wins, losses or draws. Therefore, Floyd Mayweather Jr is unproven at middleweight / 160 pounds. Therefore, he doesn't have any qualifications to suggest he can defeat the best 160 pounder middleweight boxer of his era in Gennady Golovkin. Floyd Mayweather Jr's record outside of 160 pounds is irrelevant for this bout.

I just used Klitschko as one of many example of how size negates skill advantages. Michael Spinks getting destroyed in 1 round against Mike Tyson is another example. Roman Gonzalez's recent losses are another example. Yuriorkis Gamboa's loss to Terence Crawford is another example. Kell Brook's loss to Golovkin is another example and so forth so on. A great small man, most of the time, if not all the time loses to a great big man in terms of size. There are rare exceptions of course. However, the history according to the norms suggests that the boxer who is big in size + skilled > boxer who is small in size + skilled.

It's really no rocket science! Weight divisions exist and not skill divisions for a simple reason: because weight is a more significant factor in deciding outcomes of boxing bouts than skills.

Floyd Mayweather Jr may be more skilled than many other boxers that are heavier than himself, not just GGG. Does that mean he could beat them all because he is more skilled? Absolutely not! Otherwise, Mayweather should have no problems beating some of the modern heavyweights like Dillian Whyte for example.