SRR fought Lamotta twice in 21 days and WOW even had a tuneup fight in between!

[Forza]

Lamotta is clearly a top 10 ATG MW

Floyd would probably UD him. Nobody at 160 would ever EVER stop jake unless the ref did. It took a once in a life time fighter (SRR) to beat him.

And people think he's a brawler, it's sad. He was not a brawler....

[Kid McCoy]

If Robinson were fighting now, I suspect he too would get spoiled by the "TV money" that wasn't there at that time. Ray was aware of every dime he was paid and probably wouldn't jeopardize multi million dollar paychecks for off TV club fights.

And of course your point about so many less cards booked in the US now would be a major factor.

This. Even in his day Robinson was regarded as a pain in the arse to deal with. Imagine what he'd be like in the big money PPV era with an army of lawyers, agents and advisors around him. Guys like Robinson fought often because they couldn't afford to only fight a couple of times a year. Like every other modern fighter, he wouldn't fight as often because he wouldn't need to.

[RubenSonny]

Lamotta is clearly a top 10 ATG MW

Floyd would probably UD him. Nobody at 160 would ever EVER stop jake unless the ref did. It took a once in a life time fighter (SRR) to beat him.

And people think he's a brawler, it's sad. He was not a brawler....

More likely Floyd gets outworked.

[CubanGuyNYC]

I wouldn't put it past him fight 6 times even now, although we wouldn't be seen those 10+ fight marathons per year from him.

The difference in today's era is that while there used to be a boxing card almost every day in numerous areas, the demand for boxing is a lot less nowadays with TV, PPV and a diminishing interest towards the sport in the US. It's not that boxers don't want to fight more often, for example the Klitschko brothers do, there just aren't any possibilities to do so.

You make a couple of good points, but, ultimately, I think your rationale is refuted by the following posts:

If Robinson were fighting now, I suspect he too would get spoiled by the "TV money" that wasn't there at that time.

Even in his day Robinson was regarded as a pain in the arse to deal with. Imagine what he'd be like in the big money PPV era with an army of lawyers, agents and advisors around him. Guys like Robinson fought often because they couldn't afford to only fight a couple of times a year. Like every other modern fighter, he wouldn't fight as often because he wouldn't need to.

The game has changed. Even the GOAT would probably fall in line with the current system. Not only is there vastly more money in boxing (for the superstars, anyway), but -- consider this -- fighting too often would have a detrimental effect on Robinson's average take. It's one thing to get paid 25 million US for one fight a year (a la Floyd), it's another to expect that same compensation six times a year.

[TheGreatA]

I can't imagine Robinson fighting at the pace of Floyd Mayweather either. This was a boxer who felt he got rusty if he did not fight in two months. Not that I'd expect him to fight 6 times every year but he would probably fight 3 or 4 times atleast.

Whitaker used to fight journeymen in club fights in between his big fights so Robinson could do the same. Chavez of course used to have atleast 5 fights a year. Tyson had 13 fights in 1986.

[DarkTerror88]

I fight every couple of weeks. Im into my 14th fight as a pro. Why? Because i make enough money to sustain all my bills and then save a bit. If i made a couple million per fight i wouldnt fight often either. I would still train everyday but not big fights.

When your survival depends on fighting, it makes you fight more.

My wife and I work everyday so we can have nice things and so our children wont grow up poor like we did.

[CubanGuyNYC]

I can't imagine Robinson fighting at the pace of Floyd Mayweather either. This was a boxer who felt he got rusty if he did not fight in two months. Not that I'd expect him to fight 6 times every year but he would probably fight 3 or 4 times atleast.

Whitaker used to fight journeymen in club fights in between his big fights so Robinson could do the same. Chavez of course used to have atleast 5 fights a year. Tyson had 13 fights in 1986.

I agree, "Sugar" probably wouldn't take the Mayweather approach. As a superstar, however, I'm not sure I can picture Ray taking on journeymen between big fights, either.

Tyson became champ at the end of '86. He fought four times in '87 and never fought more than three times a year after that. Even Chavez's activity dropped quite a bit once he became big. Not surprisingly, Julio started his career very actively; but by 1995, he was down to three fights per year. Between '95 and the end of his career in '05, Chavez fought four times only once (1999). I don't see why Robinson should be any different.

[CubanGuyNYC]

I fight every couple of weeks. Im into my 14th fight as a pro. Why? Because i make enough money to sustain all my bills and then save a bit. If i made a couple million per fight i wouldnt fight often either. I would still train everyday but not big fights.

When your survival depends on fighting, it makes you fight more.

My wife and I work everyday so we can have nice things and so our children wont grow up poor like we did.

No surprise. In this era of big money fights, there's little incentive to fight more than four or five times a year for a big-name fighter. For a bona fide superstar, two or three times is plenty. It sucks for the fans, but, from a business standpoint, you have to keep people wanting. And, of course, there's the concern for the fighter's long-term health. I despise Floyd's approach, but I can't argue with the theory behind it. Why take chances when you're scoring tens of millions per fight?

(By the way, congratulations on your wedding!)