Floyd v Manny. Those two again.

First topic message reminder :

Alreet chaps.

I have noticed over the last few weeks that a few comments have cropped up regarding Floyd, Manny and the fight that never was. I have to say that the comments surprised me somewhat in that the consensus appears to be that people are not at all bothered about the prospect of the best two fighters of this generation meeting. There seems to be sense of ‘who cares’ now and I find that disappointing and odd in equal measures. Does the old dictum of ‘better late than never’ not hold any sway in this instance? Particularly in the context of boxing’s long and great history.

There are a multitude of great fights that have never happened, from Dempsey v Wills to Lewis v Bowe and everything in between. I would hate to put Mayweather v Pacquiao in the same bracket as these ‘what could have been’ fights. That would be a crying shame, and to my mind worse than them not facing off at all. Yes, it would be a few years too late but would it not still be a highly competitive fight and one in which the sport could draw a line in the sand and “yes, we can put the big fights on”?

I get the argument that Manny has shown some signs of decline, but at least he has been active enough for us to see these signs, and let’s face it, he was terribly unlucky not to get the verdict against Bradley last time out. He is far from a shot fighter. Marquez gives him fits, let’s not hide that fact, but perhaps he just has Manny’s number, just like Norton gave Ali problems. No-one else has given Pacquiao that much trouble since 2005. Mayweather has hardly been active, and who knows when that inactivity could catch up with him?

I also get the argument that most people favour Mayweather heavily if they had squared off in 2009 or now. Most people seem to think ‘Money’ would win at any point in their respective careers. Indeed, so do I, but I would still like to see it and would never rule Manny out. He has two arms and two legs, just like Floyd and can punch hard. Mosley showed us that Floyd can be hurt if you can catch him, and although I appreciate the style differences between Manny and Shane, it doesn’t mean Manny couldn’t put some heat on the ‘Pretty Boy’. Who would have thought Duran could roll back the years and beat Davey Moore in the style he did. Again, I appreciate that Davey Moore is no Floyd Mayweather, but the point remains. Sugar Ray Robinson was outhustled by Gene Fullmer in their first fight but rolled back the years 4 months later to produce that left hook and seal the deal on his legend. Even The Greatest was expected to lose by everyone other than Colin Hart to the formidable figure of George Foreman in Kinshasa, 1974. Great fighters, and make no mistake, Manny is a great fighter, can go to the well and produce big performances. If I researched it deeply enough, I could produce a long list of occasions when great fighters who were perceived to be past their best came back and produced a stunning victory but this thread isn’t really about different examples from different era’s, it is more about the possibility that this could happen. Let’s face it, there is enough evidence out there to support the theory. Why would we ignore the evidence in front of our eyes and write the fight off as a foregone conclusion.

It is a damning indictment on the sport that the fight didn’t happen in ’09 or ’10, but wouldn’t it be even worse if it didn’t ever materialise? If they got it together in the next 12 months then wouldn’t that be the lesser of two evils? We could put an end the tedious ‘who’s fault was it’ argument once and for all if nothing else. I firmly believe that even though it is a couple of years late, the interest would be huge and would generate better publicity for a sport that could do with some positivity right now. Look at the interest Holyfield v Tyson generated. I know the heavyweights, and Tyson especially, get the casuals involved more, but the point is still valid. Holyfield was considered past his best and unless you are Ron Borges of the Boston Globe, everybody expected Tyson to crush Evander. Look what happened there. At the time, that fight was considered to be a few years too late, but turned out to be the zenith of Evander’s career.

This isn’t really a who beats who thread and I am not doing my best impression of Azania and attempting to be a full-time contrarian, I am genuinely interested in what the board think about this fight and whether peoples apparent disinterest is genuine or just a reaction to the situation as it stands at the moment.

Over to you.

Mayweather is pretty much like Leonard( not style wise)but they're both versatile in that they seem to be able to win by adapting whatever style is needed to beat the fighter in front of them.

I see Mayweather dictating the fight and winning the fight comfortably,just a bit too clever for Manny,and I also think Mayweather hits a lot harder than a lot of people think,not a one punch KO merchant but hard and often.

i agree with the general consensus that mayweather would always outbox and win a decision over 12 rounds, but i think manny (pre 2011) would be able to get closer to floyd than anybody else, he was able to close the gap between out of distance and in distance better than anyone else and fire off 4-5 shots, sure floyd would counter and block a lot of these, then get away from any follow up but he would have to take a lot of shots as well, and at that time his output and stamina (not to mention chin to absorb floyds shot) would have meant 12 rounds of hard rounds for mayweather. where i think manny takes the fight is at some point both fighters would be really hurt (and manny at that time really hurt opponents), manny has been through wars, he's been hurt and hes pulled through, floyd however has more or less had his way because he's so good. i think manny would have the power to knock him out and the oppertunity to do this just because of his attitude in those days where he would just out will the opponent and keep coming.

whether he is past it or not isn't relevant (although i feel he has significantly faded) as he has fallen out of love with the sport, doesn't have the same motivation for training or for proving himself. he allowed (i know people strongly disagee but i don't) bradley to win a messy fight by been lazy, years ago he would have tried to take bradleys head of for every second of every round, has he done that he would have won by a country mile.

as for whether it should happen? obviously i'd watch but i'd be preaching to whoever was watching it with me how this fight is a farce that makes lewis vs tyson look legitimate. i dont think a fight of this scale will naturally arrive for a least another 10 years prime p4p fighters who both have made history in the same weight divisions not coming together, the shame is there was a 3-4 year window where this fight meant everything, now it would be a script perfect pantomime.

floyd vs alveraz or martinez are the 2 most significant fights for floyd and manny vs bradley and marquez are the most significant fights for him.

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:

coxy0001 wrote:

Rotherham Joe Gans wrote:Sell out

Being kind there.

Perhaps you could offer some 'erudite analysis' (© captain carrantuohil 2012) yourself Coxy rather than taking cheap shots at me? I know I intimidate you and make you feel insecure but please feel free to contribute in the polite and detailed manner of everyone else.

Actually, scrub that, why would you change the habit of your 606v2 lifetime.

Pot kettle.

And the Hatton version of FMJ vs the Cotto version of Pac is just as quick, a better technical fighter than the latter and is just the all round better fighter. Takes a comfortable UD. Pac wouldn't be willing to swarm in and leave himself open to counters by a guy who made a career on hitting then slipping out of harms way.

And that's probably the 100th time I've written that and beyond the point caring.

Sell out for regurgitating the same old same old though sunshine!