Mayweather retires?

[hamed]

Originally Posted by mh2365

Once again ... warrior's heart in boxing only means you get punched in the face a lot. The idea is to punch and not get punched back ... Mayweather excels at that. Still he has 25 ko's in 39 wins. Mayweather wins 10 rounds to 2 over SRL really it wouldn't be close.

Every fighter they ever claimed to be a warrior or had heart was because they took a beating in the ring ... still won usually but took a beating. Why do that when you don't have to?

True, Floyd has 25 KO's but weren't most of those @ 130 & 135? Floyd might be faster than Ray but only by a little, had they fought Ray would not have been detered by Floyd's punch & eventually forced Floyd to trade - especially had they fought 15 rounds. Floyd's a great defensive fight but then so was Benitez & Ray was able to tag him.

[mh2365]

You may have a point considering all the people Meade seems to think would beat him (except Duran) were true MW's where PBF really wasn't ... I still think PBF handles SRL pretty easily though.

[hamed]

Don't get me wrong, I think Floyd's great, his record is perfect, you just can't top that. It would just be too bad for him if he really does retire for good because history would always have questions if he never faced your boy Cotto. Arum once said unbeaten fighters late in their career fear losing their unbeaten tag most of all.

I know your thoughts on Ray but his win over Hearns still impresses me to this day. Tommy, a bigger, stronger fighter in his prime & Ray still found a way to rally & win. Throw in wins over Duran & Hagler (even though questionable) & Floyd's body of work, while still impressive, doesn't have any wins over Hall of Fame fighters to match those 3 except for his win over Oscar.

[a87star]

Mayweather will not be appreciated until he has truly left the sport. Risk adverse is not always a bad thing. You have to think about your health more so than taking a beating and being a so-called "warrior". What if you have a family? Wouldn't you want to at least spend time with them with your faculties intact?

Meade says the same thing about Klitchsko. It's pointless to debate him unless you are talking about his "favorites".

[hamed]

True, if he leaves now though, how many great, dangerous fighters (in their prime where Floyd had a real shot to lose) did he really beat?

[mh2365]

The thing is all those fighters from the 80's that some are in love with would be no different now. I seriously doubt you would see too many SRL's vs. Hearns these days. They had to fight to get the $$$ back then ... now SRL could fight Bruce Finch on Showtime for 4 mil .....

They would be exactly the same as PBF, getting to this status and then picking and choosing. Plus people act like ODLH and Hatton are chopped liver. Of course those same people were predicting PBF to lose both of those fights.

The haters always say he never fought the top fighters at JWW .... well he just did and destroyed him ... but then they claim he was picking on a smaller fighter. Those who hate will never see him as an all-time great ... which he most certainly is.

The only type of fighter who has ever given him problems is a swarmer ... Duran would have beaten him ... SRL would have been tailor made for PBF.

[mh2365]

The best thing MMA could do for boxing is drive down the prize fight money, so in order to make 2-4 mil it has to be of the Margarito-Cotto type of fight.

[hamed]

Originally Posted by mh2365

The thing is all those fighters from the 80's that some are in love with would be no different now. I seriously doubt you would see too many SRL's vs. Hearns these days. They had to fight to get the $$$ back then ... now SRL could fight Bruce Finch on Showtime for 4 mil .....

They would be exactly the same as PBF, getting to this status and then picking and choosing. Plus people act like ODLH and Hatton are chopped liver. Of course those same people were predicting PBF to lose both of those fights.

The haters always say he never fought the top fighters at JWW .... well he just did and destroyed him ... but then they claim he was picking on a smaller fighter. Those who hate will never see him as an all-time great ... which he most certainly is.

The only type of fighter who has ever given him problems is a swarmer ... Duran would have beaten him ... SRL would have been tailor made for PBF.

Ray was tailor made for Floyd, how so? Wouldn't it be more of a case where neither guy had fought anyone like that before? Who did Floyd beat who was anywhere close to Ray @ his prime? I think Floyd is better but when Ray beat Benetiz to win the WBC WW crown, Wilfred's maybe a poor man's version of Floyd. Coming into that fight, Wilfred was 38-0-1. Ray also provided a 32-0 Hearns with his 1st loss & Ayub Kalule was 36-0 before Ray went up to 154 to get his WBA belt before fighting Tommy.

You were right about Oscar but was that a prime Oscar? Also, has Hatton ever looked good @ 147? Some think he lost to Collazo. Do you mean Hatton as the top JWW he beat?

Floyd's best & most impressive win to me was destroying the 33-0 Diego but that was @ 130. Maybe Floyd is a better P4P fighter but if they fought @ Ray's best weight (147), I just think Ray would have been too strong for Floyd but we'll never know & debates like this are fun!

[meade95]

Originally Posted by mh2365

Mayweather wins 10 rounds to 2 over SRL really it wouldn't be close.

Damn, Mike. You throw out some wild ass thoughts sometimes - No one SRL faced (and he faced a handful of true ATGs.....every beat him like that......No F'ing way would little PBF).

SRL handspeed and willingness to exchange (he could cut off the ring better than most choose to remember or realize) would cause PBF all sorts of problems. A limted brawler (not even in the same league as SRL & smaller to boot Hatton cut off the ring on PBF for the first 5 rounds).

SRL would do so with ease if Hatton manged to over 5 rounds.... and SRL had the stamina to go 15 rounds.....

A prime SRL would school PBF, make him stop running...and have to fight and then likely stop him late......or PBF would except losing a UD and run the entire fight...

[hamed]

Originally Posted by meade95

Damn, Mike. You throw out some wild ass thoughts sometimes - No one SRL faced (and he faced a handful of true ATGs.....every beat him like that......No F'ing way would little PBF).

SRL handspeed and willingness to exchange (he could cut off the ring better than most choose to remember or realize) would cause PBF all sorts of problems. A limted brawler (not even in the same league as SRL & smaller to boot Hatton cut off the ring on PBF for the first 5 rounds).

SRL would do so with ease if Hatton manged to over 5 rounds.... and SRL had the stamina to go 15 rounds.....

A prime SRL would school PBF, make him stop running...and have to fight and then likely stop him late......or PBF would except losing a UD and run the entire fight...

Great post meade, if we had the ability to nominate a post of the day, my vote would go for yours here.

[meade95]

Originally Posted by mh2365

They would be exactly the same as PBF, getting to this status and then picking and choosing. Plus people act like ODLH and Hatton are chopped liver. Of course those same people were predicting PBF to lose both of those fights.

Come on - PBF was a big time favorite to win over both these guys. You know it. I know it. History can prove it.

Reality is PBF fought an older, slower, beaten, ODLH and a Hatton who was above his best weight class. That is reality. Along with the other real premise that PBF was the favorite to win both of these fights.......by the vast majority of those in the boxing game...

At the end of the day though.....Don't get me wrong. As I've said many times (and for years, go back several years ago on here......I've been saying what a hell of a boxer PBF is).

[mh2365]

Originally Posted by meade95

Damn, Mike. You throw out some wild ass thoughts sometimes - No one SRL faced (and he faced a handful of true ATGs.....every beat him like that......No F'ing way would little PBF).

SRL handspeed and willingness to exchange (he could cut off the ring better than most choose to remember or realize) would cause PBF all sorts of problems. A limted brawler (not even in the same league as SRL & smaller to boot Hatton cut off the ring on PBF for the first 5 rounds).

SRL would do so with ease if Hatton manged to over 5 rounds.... and SRL had the stamina to go 15 rounds.....

A prime SRL would school PBF, make him stop running...and have to fight and then likely stop him late......or PBF would except losing a UD and run the entire fight...

Just as crazy of a thought as thinking that SRL would school PBF.

[mh2365]

Originally Posted by meade95

Come on - PBF was a big time favorite to win over both these guys. You know it. I know it. History can prove it.

Reality is PBF fought an older, slower, beaten, ODLH and a Hatton who was above his best weight class. That is reality. Along with the other real premise that PBF was the favorite to win both of these fights.......by the vast majority of those in the boxing game...

At the end of the day though.....Don't get me wrong. As I've said many times (and for years, go back several years ago on here......I've been saying what a hell of a boxer PBF is).

WW is the only division where PBF didn't fight the best in the division. Excuse him for not doing it at a weight way over where he started. SRL didn't fight the top SMW's either.

SRL would not have fought Hearns or Duran in today's boxing landscape.

Funny Hatton is above his best weight but no one mentions PBF being above his best weight also.

Edit - at the end of the day it is all opinion because there is no way to compare eras

[meade95]

Originally Posted by mh2365

Funny Hatton is above his best weight but no one mentions PBF being above his best weight also.

Ah, but it was PBF that chose to make the fight at the weight in which the two fought - He could have simply faced and fought Hatton at JWW - A weight they could both easily make - A weight in which there was no question Hatton is better at.....where he was champion at -

[mh2365]

Originally Posted by meade95

Ah, but it was PBF that chose to make the fight at the weight in which the two fought - He could have simply faced and fought Hatton at JWW - A weight they could both easily make - A weight in which there was no question Hatton is better at.....where he was champion at -

Oh I see so if they fought 7 lbs lighter Hatton would have won

[hamed]

After hinting at retirement the past two years, WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. decided Friday to hang up his boxing gloves for good. Whether or not he can remain away from the sport that has consumed his life since childhood will be a subject of discussion.
Associated PressWBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. no longer has the desire to fight.

Some will argue Mayweather isn't retiring at all; that he is simply biding time in an effort to avoid Miguel Cotto, who is scheduled to defend his WBA 147-pound title July 26 against Antonio Margarito. Others will surmise that he wants no part of Oscar De La Hoya -- the two were scheduled to meet for the second time in September.

The first argument -- avoiding Cotto -- has little bite. Mayweather has made clear his reasons for not fighting Cotto numerous times. And it has nothing to do with fear of defeat.

He repeatedly said Cotto must prove himself to be a marquee fighter. That meant facing a major draw, like De La Hoya or Ricky Hatton. Cotto has been a big drawing card in New York City, particularly at Madison Square Garden, but his numbers in Atlantic City are disappointing. Cotto has yet to show he can attract a broad audience outside New York.

---------------------------------------------

Is that ever a weak "reason" for not fighting Cotto! Floyd says he's a star & can attract huge PPV #'s. What's not to like in a WW megafight between 2 unbeaten WW champs? Throw in the fact that Cotto is Hispanic & you know that fight will draw HUGE #'s across all demographic groups.

[mh2365]

Much more money involved in fighting Cotto if he beats Margarito and then destroys ODLH at the end of the year. I think Mayweather's sole reason for retiring right now is to not get screwed in a rematch with ODLH (like GBP tried to do the first time) and to screw his dad out of a paycheck. If he sits out 2008, then he doesn't have to worry about ODLH, and either Margarito or Cotto will rule themselves out.

I agree that it would be a big PPV bout right now, but if Cotto beats Margarito and then has an easy fight against ODLH then it is a huge PPV match.

Speaking of ODLH, they are talking now about a fight with Mora ... from what I saw Saturday night Mora beats ODLH. May not get the decision but he beats him.

[hamed]

Yeah, that makes sense Mike. If Cotto does all that, Floyd would probably agree Cotto is worthy. Maybe he'll tell him he needs to knock out The Punisher too.

[mh2365]

Originally Posted by hamed

Yeah, that makes sense Mike. If Cotto does all that, Floyd would probably agree Cotto is worthy. Maybe he'll tell him he needs to knock out The Punisher too.

I know this looks bad but in a business sense retiring ends all the "avoiding" questions. Now it's can he be lured back out of retirement .....

[hamed]

Originally Posted by mh2365

I know this looks bad but in a business sense retiring ends all the "avoiding" questions. Now it's can he be lured back out of retirement .....

True, we'll see in 2009.