I say Mayweather. He can adjust to any style of any opponent he faces. He is very fast now and even faster in his prime. People seem to think he is slower than fighter who look fast when they throw combinations but that is not true. The thing is, Mayweather throws one or two punches because he is so defensive. One or two punches allows him to hit the target and then quickly defend himself. Mayweather is smart and does not rely on his speed like most fighters do.
Mayweather is one of the best if not the best defender in the history of the sport. Leonard's combinations don't mean anything if he can't land them. Mayweather can easily take away Leonard's speed by timing his punches.
People need to stop assuming every single legend beats Mayweather. Always with the same reason "oh this guy was strong", "oh this guy was big", "this guy had power", "This guy beat this guy"
pathetic reasoning.
With respect to what David just said, I only pick three welts that would beat Mayweather Jr, historically.
Tommy Hearns, Ray Robinson and Ray Leonard. Hearns was just too rangy and cagy an offense, and Robinson would have cleaned the bottom of his shoes with Mayweather....again, respectfully.
And not only do I agree that Floyd is one of the best defensive fighters, Ill go further to say that he IS THE BEST DEFENSIVE fighter, ever. No one did it as good as he did, ever. Not consistently, not every fight.
That said....
The first premise of what David said was wrong. Ray Leonard CONSTANTLY adjusted to what his opponent was doing. His tactics were much more subtle, not as obvious as changing where you hold your hands. His was more circling slightly outside your foot to get the angle to shoot the right.
Also, Mayweather has not fought someone as fast as he is yet, and thats just a fact. There are very few that are, and yes I am including Manny in that. Handspeed maybe, footspeed definitely not. Headmovement not.
But in all those categories Leonard was much faster than Floyd. AND as it was previously mentioned, he was a natural welt, where Floyd is not.
Even with ALL of Mayweathers skills and abilities, you cant block a punch thats too fast to react to.
The problem with today's fighters are there isn't much competition i mean look back at the classics 1900's all the way to 70's maybe 90's there were great fighters but now fighters like mayweather are being spoon fed opponents Floyd is crapping if he had to fight Pac man because he is actually a competent fighter
there is no way ray leonard loses to mayweather,this is the ray leonard who beat a prime tommy hearns and went toe to toe with a peak Roberto duran,a fighter who could change his style round by round,lightning fast,hard to hit and with a concusive right hand,the biggest problem ray faces is trying to find mayweather to sign the contract,he won`t even face a fading pacman,so what would be the chance of him fighting laeonard
Floyd is in for a beating. Floyd is not invincible, we saw this in his fights against Judah and Mosley. He can be hit. His defense is amazing but when tested against taller or opponents with longer reach, his defense is easily neutralised as De La Hoya have demonstrated. Mayweather only managed to win by split-decision against a past-prime De La Hoya. A prime De La Hoya would have been a different story, albeit slightly, but still different. And a prime De La Hoya against a prime Leonard will be fight an uphill battle.
Leonard is as smart if not smarter than Floyd Jr. i.e. his ring IQ sits higher. So if Floyd can adjust his style, Ray can so this argument can be set aside. It will all boil down to natural style, physical attributes and athletic ability. I believe that in all these aspects, Leonard as an edge.
Pacquiao is the closest boxer to Leonard in this current generation albeit, shorter in height and reach. And I genuinely think Floyd Jr. is afraid to fight Pacquiao, given the drama around blood testing which can be done right after a fight anyway!
Lets analyze both fighters;
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Height; 5'8''
Reach; 72''
Record; 44 wins 26 ko 0 losses
Record in welterweight and above; 10 wins 2 kos 0 losses
Biggest victories;
Oscar de la Hoya split UD win
Baldomire UD win
Cotto; ud win.
Style; boxer and in the lower weights boxer-puncher.
Weakness; Swarmers. Floyd had problems with swarmers like Castillo, afterward he didn't fight other great swarmers thus avoided a fight with Margarito, welterweight Paul Williams & Pacquiaio.
Sugar Ray Leonard;
Height; 5'10''
Reach; 74''
Record; 36 wins 25 kos 3 losses
Record in welterweight and above; all
Biggest victories;
Prime undefeated Hagler.
Prime undefeated Hearns.
Prime undefeated Wilfredo Benitez.
Prime Duran.
Style; boxer-puncher.
Weakness; swarmers. Sugars first loss was against swarmer Duran, and he later had problems with swarmers hagler & at old age Camacho.
Both men could adapt to most fighting styles, both men, being great boxers, had problems with great swarmers. Both fought some over-hyped opposition, like Leonards victory against Razany or Mayweathers victory against journeyman Hatton.
Leonard has more ring experience in amateurs but Mayweather has more ring experience in professional. Leonard unquestionably had tougher opposition, some of his first fights were against top contenders.
Both had speed.
Leonard had more power.
Leonard was flashier but Floyds defense was better.
Result; If the fight is below welterweight at Mayweathers prime, Floyd wins UD victory against drained Leonard.
If the fight is at welterweight or above at Leonards prime, Leonard wins via ud victory or late round ko.
Leonard was longer, taller, obviously faster [especially with the combinations], Leonard better adapted against smart boxers, etc.
Mayweather sr tried philly shell on Leonard and it didn't work.
Leonard had far more success in welterweight and middleweight than Oscar de la Hoya ever did [in his prime].
I don't see how a guy [Mayweather] who almost lost a split ud against an old Oscar de la Hoya could have beaten a prime Leonard. Philly shell shoulder rolls work against slower and shorter oponnents who can't get the overhand right above the shoulder, it doesn't work well against fast men that are tall.
No one will ever know, because it only takes one punch. But personally i think floyd is so underrated, he is master of defense i dont think even leonard would hit him, then again like someone said hes never thought someone as quick as him so its hard to say. Its a dream fight that id love to see!
sugar
SUGAR RAY WOULD KNOICK FLOYD OUT IN SIX TO SEVEN ROUNDS PEROID!! PLEASE MAYRUNNER PAPER CHAMPION!!!!
sugar.... junior is just a 12 rounder
