Would Mayweather Jr. Fight in a Welterweight Tournament?
October 12th, 2009
By Chris Williams: I wonder if Floyd Mayweather Jr. would stay in boxing for long if he had to fight the best welterweights in a tournament similar to Showtime’s Super Six tourney instead of being able to pick and choose fighters from the lower weight classes to cherry pick from. How would Mayweather hold up if he were to fight in a welterweight tournament and had to face the following fighters in order: Paul Williams, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, Andre Berto, Antonio Margarito and Kermit Cintron.
Can you imagine how Mayweather would be looked at if he was able to fight and beat fighters from his own weight class instead of lightweights and light welterweights opponents? It would be huge for Mayweather. Just think, he’d be facing the best fighters, opponents that for some reason he’s never got around to facing during his career. It would be tough, no doubt about it.
Mayweather might end up slurring his words a little by the time the tournament if over, but at least it would prove to people that Mayweather wasn’t afraid to face the best fighters from his division. That’s a perception that more than a few boxing fans have about Mayweather. The reason is hard not to understand because Floyd has faced Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Juan Manuel Marquez in the past two years.
De La Hoya previously was a welterweight at one time, but by the time he fought Mayweather, De La Hoya was 35 and clearly not the top welterweight or light middleweight in either division. So by beating De La Hoya, Mayweather proved that he can beat a fighter that’s no longer the top dog. Mayweather then beat Ricky Hatton, a light welterweight.
At the time Mayweather fought Hatton, Ricky was considered to be the best light welterweight in the division by many boxing fans. We don’t that Hatton was the best because he had somehow failed to fight other top welterweights Timothy Bradley, Kendall Holt and Ricardo Torres.
We can assume that Hatton was the best, but since he was fighting arguably lesser fighters than Torres, Holt and Bradley, it makes it hard to consider Hatton as the best fighter in the light welterweight division at the time that Mayweather fought him. What we can say is that Hatton was the most popular light welterweight in the division. And that still remains so even with Hatton’s 2nd round knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao on May 2nd.
Never the less, Hatton wasn’t a welterweight and had tried to fight at that weight class but found that he had to struggle in some cases. Mayweather should have been fighting welterweights, not someone like Hatton. The same goes for Mayweather’s recent opponent Juan Manuel Marquez. He’s a lightweight for Christ sakes. What was that? Marquez only recently moved up to the lightweight division. In truth, he’s really a super featherweight.
So would Mayweather ever take part in a welterweight tournament if it meant that he had to face welterweights and not smaller fighters than him from the lower weight classes? The answer is painfully obvious. Of course Mayweather wouldn’t fight in a welterweight tourney. It would be a grueling event, especially if fighters like Cotto, Williams, Mosley, Berto and Cintron took part in it.
Even with Mayweather’s great defense, he would take some solid shots from those guys and be forced to fight for his life against those guys. Cintron would be trying to take his head off with every punch and Paul Williams would probably snow Mayweather under with punches. People say it wouldn’t be fair to match Williams against Mayweather because Williams currently fights as a light middleweight.
He’s just doing what Mayweather is doing, although in the reverse. Williams is moving up in weight to fight guys rather than having smaller guys come up in weight. It would be fair, but the outcome might not seem fair for Mayweather fans if he were to get beaten. It would be as fair as Mayweather’s fight against Marquez. It’s too bad that Mayweather wouldn’t likely take part in a tournament matching the best welterweights, because it would be something that would make his legacy if he were to attend and do well.
It would help regardless if took part and lost to a couple of fighters. At least it would show that Mayweather had courage to fight the best welterweights and not look for older guys or fighters from the smaller weight class to take advantage of.
Tags: 27 Responses to “Would Mayweather Jr. Fight in a Welterweight Tournament?”
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Hatton wins a rematch with floyd in March 2010. wait and see folks, you heard it here 1st
Manuel Perez is a Manny hater,and this Chris Williams is a PBF hater.
Geoff – Sure…all those guys lost to so and so and beat so and so and lost to so and so, but the fact of the matter is…Floyd would never have gotten in the ring with any of them. He could damn well give all those guys a boxing lesson…but he doesn’t have the balls to face ANY of them…He said he’s not fighting Mosley and he’s not waiting for the Pac/Cotto winner…so who is he going to fight next?
Tommy – I’m waiting for you to say…Cotto in 10!
Boxing is a sport and a business just like football, baseball, and MMA. In all sports you have the best teams or athletes fasing one another not hand picking what teams they will play or who they want to face. Floy is the only punk in any sport that does this.
why would he have to fight in a tournament, maybe every one else can have a tournament with the winner fighting floyd, you ask any fighter from the divisions around mayweather who would you like to fight. number 1 would be mayweather number 2 would be pacquaio.
bulls—t those terms “I don’t need them, they need me” its a scapegoat to avoid them. Those boxers who says these words is “COWARD”.
Williams is overrated, how do you get so clearly out-boxed by Carlos Quintana? The scores to the fight were not even close Quintana won on two cards by four rounds and another by three rounds. For all the idiots out there that’s 116-112 (8 rounds to 4)twice and 115-113(7 rounds to 5).
but if it did it would be the biggest boxing event EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Floyd Mayweather Jr disrespects boxing. if only the sport was commisioned, where he would have to fight everyone in his division that earned a mandatory challenge first.
Is Floyd on steroids? did you see how big his head was compared to Marquez and Sugare Shane. He looked like Barry Bonds.
Run Floyd run, you big P@##&. Floyd the chicken Meyweather would never fight any of those guys much less join a tournament.
THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN IN OUR WILDEST DREAMS!!!!
are you talkin bout floyd who went to 154 and beat oscar for the belt and who was smaller than 90% of the people he beat de loya, judah, gatti, corrales, baldomir and all these people were bigger then him and they were all champions when he beat thim
that would be an awesome tournament, but mayweather would never take part because there is a chance he may lose. theres a few threats there, williams being the biggest
Oscar was a champ at 154. That was Floyd’s 5th belt.
come on first of all it would never happen mainly bc it would cost whoever put the tournament on 15- 20 million per floyd fight thats 1 reason 2 it would be an un fair adavantage bc i live in vegas i see floyd train and i see he party until 5 and 6 after fight night what fighter can do that he trains like animal he gets though all his fight barely touch oscar hit floyd hard and often still partied still look like he would go another 12 what im saying after floyds fight it’s like an intense sparring secion atleast while the other guy fights wars he”ll be winning pin point tactitical battles
that’s Floyd Mayweather for you….a Wuss!!!
If it is a tournament between 6 fighters why does mayweather have to have 5 fights. If it was a tournament he wud have 3 because he wud be fighting the winner of other fights.
if im floyd. i will not join a welterweight tournament. ill not risk my reputation to them losers. id rather fight a tournament with all unbeaten fighters from bantamweight to superfeatherweight. i want it and my fans want it. a win is a win anyway and as long as i. unbeaten i will call the shots.all who joins this tournament must be thankful coz i’m giving them a chance to have a shot at my legacy. no, they are not stupid coz by facing me they are already considered the best. i don’t like to fight bigger men like me coz i will not get the credit of hitting bigger targets unlike if i hit a smaller target like calderon. he he he
Wapakman.If it’s not one of those guys I certainly wont pay to see it.
Daud.I agree completely.Fight any two of those guys and most people would have no choice but admit that he’s the best of the generation,if not something greater.
Geoff – yh thoose fighters have ended up all beating each other in some way, but isnt it funny how floyed hasnt even faced one of them! Not Cotto, not williams not mosley Not margarito. How can he say on that interview that hes not gunna fight theese guys caus theyve all beaten eachother? Well what wuld happen if he fought them. You havnt had a fight with ANY of thoose boxers. atleast they get respect for fighting the best people in there division. You havnt fought any of the top 5 welterweights. Yets you claim to be the best p4p in the world?
Few fighters i would like Floyd to go up against.
Mosley, Pavlik or Williams, Manny or Cotto. Surely Floyd can’t squirm out of this list. Floyd is bound to fight either one of these guys or face another easy lighter fighter – JuanMa Lopez or Calderon?
I’m tired of the Floyd haters with the same comments over and over. Hypocrites plain and simple. 2007 Floyd was fighter of the year by beating De la Hoya and Hatton, but there’s all these excuses. Next year Pac does the same and he is so great with his 5 losses and draw. The only ones I feel Floyd has to fight are Cotto, Wiiliams, and Berto.
OMG!! None of these fighters could hold a candle to Floyd. Williams outboxed by Quintana. Cotto beaten by Margarito and Clotty. Margarito beaten by Mosley. Mosley outboxed by cotto. Floyd is the top dog, if they want to fight Floyd, tell their promoter to make the fight happen no matter what, if they really want to fight him. He doesn’t need to fight any of them they need him, he’s the big name, he’s the big draw. He’s at the top. As a challenger I want to go after the top dog, by all means.
No he wouldnt.but neither would you.
the whole weight issue is overated. hatton is too small, marquez was two small, williams is too big, blah, blah, blah. corrales was much bigger than mayweather and a few other fighters on his belt. the point is that, that is what fighters do, move up and down in weight. everyone cuts weight to have the size advantage in their chosen weight.if two fighters sign to fight each other then whats the problem. marquez signed the dotted line. his choice. if mayweather signed to fight chad dawson the that would be his choice and his mistake, and probably his funeral. but thats what fighters do dont penalize floyd for fighting marquez then ask him to fight pacman. nobody was downing mosley when he was calling out pacman.