By Anthony Mason: Much has been made of Floyd Mayweather’s undefeated record, and this is somehow used to arbitrarily validate his claim to being one of the greatest boxers. That is completely false. Outside of Marquez, all of Mayweather’s wins come against boxers past their prime, belt holders, paper champions, and very weak opponents. The only reason Mayweather is in so many title fights is because he competes in the era where there are four belts per class, and at least 68 total belts, not including minor belts. With it being so easy to win a belt by today’s standards, it is not a surprise for Mayweather to be fighting so many belt-holders (not champions).
Mayweather’s zero is not very impressive. Rocky Marciano went 49-0, but his only big wins come against smaller men who were well beyond their prime and nearing their 40s (Walcott, Charles, Moore). He also defeated Joe Louis who was only fighting to keep the IRS away, and Louis was completely out of shape and past it. His 49-0 clearly doesn’t make him better than Muhammad Ali or Lennox Lewis.
Brian Nielsen was 49-0 but I don’t hear anyone proclaim him as a great fighter. Calzaghe was 46-0, but he actually lost against the only elite and non-washed up opponent he fought in Hopkins. Outside of Kessler, a solid but far from great boxer, Calzaghe never beat one opponent who was elite and in his prime. Ricardo Lopez was 51-0-1, but due to the weakness in his division he is not ranked very highly. Undefeated doesn’t mean much on its own.
With Mayweather only fighting on average 2.5 fights a year, it should be expected that he would remain undefeated over 18 years when he only has 46 fights. It is hard to shower a lot of praise upon someone with such weak competition, on top of such low activity. To be honest, one can’t really blame Floyd for structuring his career so carefully. He is a businessman before a boxer, so why risk his zero when he can make millions fighting past prime opponents or weak belt-holders? Instead of being a great boxer, perhaps his dream is to own a fly casino like Bugsy Siegel and do it all legal.
To clear the smoke and mirrors around Floyd’s fraudulent record, we will examine the undefeated streaks of the truly great boxers and see how far behind Mayweather is. Being undefeated isn’t the sole standard for being a great boxer, but by using the own logic of Mayweather against him, it will be that much easier to expose the farce of his zero.
First, let us examine the best opponents in Mayweather’s undefeated record. Remember, just because someone is a champion does not make them elite. With over 68 belts available, any weak boxer can hold a meaningless title and call himself champion. Legitimacy as a champion is only worth as much as the competition you beat, and in most of the following cases, that is very little.
1) Diego Corrales – Corrales was undefeated with a high KO ratio, but he never beat ONE elite fighter in his entire career. Somehow, people think that because the pound for pound rankings listed him highly, he was a dangerous and great opponent. That is far from the truth. The rankings at the time were ridiculously inaccurate. Corrales was listed right behind Roy Jones, and ahead of Bernard Hopkins and Lennox Lewis. I’m sorry, but I don’t see how beating the likes of Robert Garcia, Juuko, and Manfredy can make you better than Bernard Hopkins and Lennox Lewis. Corrales was simply a 130 pound version of Deontay Wilder – an undefeated record with a high KO ratio in a weak division.
Instead of being blind sheep believing everything the flawed ranking system says, it is easy to see that Corrales was a hype job when putting his career in context. He NEVER beat one elite fighter. He lost to Casamayor, and only beat him with a controversial decision. He was KOd by Jose Luis Castillo in a mere 4 rounds. A journeyman in Joshua Clottey easily outboxed him. If he was as good as people falsely make him out to be, he wouldn’t fail so often against average competition.
Corrales’ status of champion at 130 only proves how weak the division was, not the strength of Corrales as a boxer. I never hear people proclaim how magnificent Clottey was for dominating Corrales, but for some reason Mayweather gets all the praise in the world for the same unimpressive achievement
2) Genaro Hernandez – NEVER beat one elite fighter in his career. He beat Azumah Nelson, but Azumah was far past his prime. His status as a champion, like Corrales, is a testament to the weakness of his division, not his strength as a boxer.
3) Jose Luis Castillo – Castillo is a solid fighter. Beating the likes of Verdell Smith and Stevie Johnston, however, does not make you a magnificent champion-caliber fighter. In spite of not previously having beaten ONE elite fighter in his career, he was able to expose Mayweather in their first match only to get robbed. I can already hear people preparing the excuse that Mayweather had a shoulder injury.
They should remember that a torn rotator cuff didn’t stop Evander Holyfield from taking Michael Moorer, a much tougher opponent than Castillo, to decision that could have gone either way. Castillo beat Mayweather so decisively that the decision could not have gone in Mayweather’s favor, but the judges decided to not pay attention that night. Mayweather did beat Castillo in the rematch, but Castillo never beat an elite opponent (we established beyond doubt that Corrales is not elite) in his life outside of Mayweather. For Mayweather to be the only elite fighter Castillo fought and beat is a very dubious distinction that he has to hold on to for the rest of his days. This win, especially factoring in the initial fight, does not validate any of Mayweather’s claims to being an all-time great.
4) Arturo Gatti – Floyd Mayweather has stated in his own words that Gatti was a C-class fighter. And he is correct. Gatti gave the sport some of its most memorable moments, but he did not beat an elite fighter in his career. Floyd Mayweather himself dismisses Gatti as a low level fighter, proving that his title at the time was a paper one. This is also the case with Castillo, Hernandez, and Corrales.
5) Zab Judah – Judah is infamous for always losing his big fights. By defeating Zab, Mayweather did not do anything that hasn’t already been done. Cory Spinks, Kosta Tzyu, Baldomir, and Clottey all defeated Zab, so there is no way this win can elevate Floyd to great status when every decent boxer has already beaten an incredibly weak opponent like Judah. If Floyd is somehow considered a boxing legend based off of this win, then Clottey and Baldomir aren’t far behind.
6) Carlos Baldomir – Baldomir’s only notable accomplishment is beating big name/low quality fighters like Gatti and Judah. There are several boxers that have defeated Baldomir, and none of them are considered to be great based only off of beating Baldomir. Floyd is no exception.
7) Oscar De La Hoya – Oscar heading into the fight with Floyd was 2-2 in his last four. On top of that, he was gifted a win versus Sturm, making him 1-3 in reality. His lone win? The incredibly inconsistent Ricardo Mayorga. It is unquestionable that Oscar was completely past his prime. Some are going to try to give Mayweather extra credit for this win based on the fact that Oscar decided the gloves and ring. That is ridiculous. Oscar had no unfair advantage in doing so, so it does not make Floyd’s win any more impressive. Floyd and Oscar used the same ring and same gloves, so there is no obstacle to overcome.
Mayweather did the same thing against Maidana with the glove situation, even after the commission approved a pair of Maidana’s gloves, and very few people discredit Mayweather’s win on that basis. It is hypocritical to turn around and give Mayweather extra credit for beating Oscar under similar circumstances.
Above all else, Oscar is a big name and a good boxer, but far from the great boxer everyone makes him out to be. In the vast majority of his big fights, here is what happened; he was gifted an undeserved win over a past prime Whitaker, he needed a highly debated decision to beat Ike Quartey, he lost to Shane Mosley, in a fight he should have won against Trinidad, he literally ran away for three rounds, and he was stopped by both Hopkins and Pacquiao.
Again, by defeating Oscar, he didn’t do anything that hadn’t already been done. On top of that, the truly great fighters like Pernell and Bernard defeated Oscar before he was washed up like when he fought Mayweather, making Mayweather’s win even less impressive compared to better boxers like Whitaker and Hopkins.
8) Ricky Hatton – Here are Hatton’s best wins; C-class Malignaggi, shot Castillo, and Kosta Tzyu. Kosta Tzyu, like Corrales, was ridiculously overrated on the pound for pound rankings at the time. Can anyone name me one impressive win on Tzyu’s resume? Tzyu beat a beyond shot Chavez, and then he beat Zab Judah, who always lost in all of his big fights. He was ranked ahead of Winky, Barrera, Morales and Pacquiao.
Somehow beating Zab Judah is enough to put you above elite competition like the aforementioned fighters. Hatton is not a great fighter based off of his win over Tzyu, and the horrible rankings do not hide this. If beating Zab Judah made you the third best boxer in the world, like Tzyu at the time, then there is a multitude of boxers that should be up there. Hatton only fought two elite fighters in his career, and was obliterated both times. A win over Hatton is far from impressive looking at his unbelievably weak undefeated record.
9) Juan Manuel Marquez – this is the only boxer Floyd has fought that was elite and in his prime. Even this win doesn’t come without an asterisk. Marquez was undersized by two weight classes, and Mayweather had an extra advantage when he didn’t make weight. This is still a good win, but it can’t be blown out of proportion. One good win in 46 fights is far from the hallmark of a great boxer, especially with the huge weight advantage.
10) Shane Mosley – Mosley was almost 40 years old at the time. He was coming off two wins against an average opponent in Mayorga and a washed up Margarito. He had already been badly beaten four times by Winky and Vernon, on top of a loss to Cotto. This win is far from impressive, and any rankings at the time of the fight don’t hide that. Immediately after his Mayweather fight, he had a draw with Sergio Mora. That’s more than enough proof of how washed up Mosley was.
11) Victor Ortiz and Robert Guerrero – two D class fighters who have never beaten an elite fighter in their entire lives. Apparently, beating the likes of Andre Berto is enough to earn a fight against a supposedly “great” boxer like Mayweather.
12) Miguel Cotto – Cotto lost his prime after the plaster incident with Margarito and his beating at the hands of Pacquiao. His defeat of an even more hobbled Sergio Martinez, with multiple knee and shoulder surgeries, does not hide how Cotto slowed down. Martinez’s struggles against the likes of Matthew Macklin one fight earlier, combined with his age and multiple brutal fights, prove that he is no longer the fighter that dominated Chavez and knocked out Paul Williams.
Even though Cotto is still a good win, despite Cotto being past his prime, it can’t be blown out of propotion. Immediatley after Mayweather, Cotto lost to Trout. Nobody considers Trout an extremely great boxer for beating a past prime Cotto, so Mayweather doesn’t get any special treatment.
13) Canelo Alvarez – Canelo is not proven yet. He has his chance against Erislandy Lara. Until then, he has only beaten a 40-year-old Mosley, the limited Angulo (who lost against all his top opponents), and an average opponent in Austin Trout.
14) Marcos Maidana – Roger Mayweather himself stated Maidana beat not one impressive opponent. In spite of getting easily outboxed by Alexander and losing to Khan, the limited Maidana gave Mayweather massive problems. Only after Maidana faded was Mayweather able to pull out a 7-5, 8-4 type of decision. Mayweather only was able to land punches when he was in the middle of the ring, and Maidana dominated Floyd on the inside for the vast majority of the fight.
Floyd’s age is not why he looked bad. He sustained no damage in the fight against Canelo, and he did not age quickly over the course of a few months if he did not take any severe punishment. Maidana, a B-class fighter, who Roger Mayweather himself stated is unimpressive, troubled the most experienced Floyd Mayweather. Floyd has emphasized his health above all else and that boxing is to hit and not get hit, so his false claim that he wanted to entertain the fans by fighting in close range is also nonsense. The fact is Mayweather was barely able to beat a weak opponent and struggled when forced to fight someone else’s fight. He only did well when he was fighting his own type of fight; a technical performance from the outside. When forced into someone else’s game, like Maidana and Castillo, he struggles badly. That is easier said than done, but if the likes of Castillo and Maidana can do it I don’t see what makes Mayweather any more than a simply good boxer, and definitely not an all-time great considering the weak quality of his 46 fights.
So, here is what his record looks like.
Floyd Mayweather, 46-0 in 18 years (1996-present), 2.5 fights a year. Mayweather has at most three solid wins; Marquez (undersized by more than 2 weight classes), Cotto (who was still past his prime, and lost to Trout right after), and Canelo, depending on if he proves himself against Lara.
This is all the supposedly great Mayweather has to show for after 18 years? The truly great boxers make his resume look like child’s play. Now, since Mayweather often points to his undefeated streak as validation of how great he is, we will use his own logic on the boxers who actually have a legitimate claim to being great, and examine their undefeated streaks. There is far more to a boxer’s greatness than their record, but using Mayweather’s logic against him makes it that much easier to prove his record is a farce by comparison.
1) Harry Greb – 78-0-2 in 2.5 years (1917-1920), 32 fights a year
In the year 1919 alone, Harry Greb went 49-0, surpassing Floyd’s record that he carefully and selectively accumulated over 18 years. And Greb wasn’t fighting a Bum of the Month Club like Floyd has for most of his career. He defeated Willie Meehan, famous for defeating Jack Dempsey twice, Billy Miske, Bill Brennan, Tommy Gibbons, and Gunboat Smith. All of these men were the best of the best, and simply because they are not famous names like De La Hoya or Cotto does not mean that they lack in substance. Keep in mind that we are only examining the undefeated streak of Greb’s career, so this does not include his battles with the likes of Tiger Flowers and Gene Tunney. Even when disregarding the latter two opponents, his 3-year streak alone is of higher quality than Mayweather’s entire 18-year career.
2) Marcel Cerdan – 107-2 (both losses were DQs) in 14 years (1934-1948), almost 8 fights a year
Cerdan beat Holman Williams in this time, a man who defeated a prime Archie Moore. He defeated many other lesser-known contenders, but they carried more substance than name value, which is more than can be said about Mayweather’s opposition. In four less years than Mayweather, he had more than double the amount of fights.
3) Henry Armstrong – 56-1 (the one loss was a DQ) in 3 years (1936-1939), 19 fights a year
In this streak, Armstrong defeated Petey Sarron to win the only title available in the featherweight division, making himself the true champion. In these days, belt holders like Ortiz and Guerrero did not have the opportunity to falsely call themselves champions. There was only one belt, and if you held it, you were truly the best fighter in the division, and the only champion.
In the same time span, he defeated Ceferino Garcia for the welterweight title, and defended it several times. He defeated the likes of Lou Ambers and Barney Ross, among others, in this streak. In only three years he won titles from 126 to 147, which is 3 classes by those days’ standards, and 5 by today’s. In his entire 18-year career Mayweather has only fought in 5 divisions by today’s standards, due to the addition of super/junior weight classes. In 15 less years than Mayweather, Armstrong climbed as many weight classes and fought 11 more fights.
4) Joe Louis, 34-0 in 12 years (1936-1948), almost 3 fights a year
Out of those 34 fights, 25 of them were title fights. And by title fight, I don’t mean fighting an opponent who holds on to a meaningless belt like Canelo or Ortiz. In Louis’ day, there was only one belt in each class, and only one champion. If you held the title, you were a true champion, not a belt holder like Corrales or Hatton. Think about that for a second. In 11 years, Louis had 25 title fights, and Mayweather only has 46 total fights in 18 years. In SEVEN less years, Joe Louis had more than half as many TITLE fights as Floyd has TOTAL fights.
Before the title, Louis beat the former heavyweight champion Jack Sharkey. He then took the title from Jim Braddock. From there, he avenged his only loss at the time by knocking out Max Schmeling in one round. He also knocked out one of the greatest light heavyweights of all time in Billy Conn, and he did it twice. After a highly disputed decision against one of the greatest pound for pound boxers of all time in Jersey Joe Walcott (while Floyd needed a disputed decision against someone like Castillo), Louis ended up knocking out Walcott in the rematch. This is a perfect example of quality over quantity. Actually, Louis’ record also surpasses Mayweather in quantity, so either way Floyd’s record is destroyed by comparison.
5) Willie Pep, 73-0-1 in 5 years (1943-1948), almost 15 fights a year
In addition to this run, Willie Pep also has a 62-fight win streak. The 74 fight run is full of much more top-level opposition, however. An incredible side note is that Pep suffered injuries in a plane crash in January of 1947. He was told he might not box ever again. Six months later, he was back in the ring and did not lose until over a year later. Meanwhile, Mayweather decided to take an 18 month vacation despite having no serious injuries.
In this run, he defeated two featherweight champions, Sal Bartolo and Chalky Wright, three times apiece. As always, this is when there was only one undisputed champion in each class, magnifying the value of beating a champion. On top of that, he beat top contenders such as Jackie Wilson who have unfortunately been forgotten over the years, making people not realize how great Pep truly was. In only five years, Pep fought 28 more times than Mayweather has in 18, and that’s even with serious injuries sustained from a plane crash.
6a) Sugar Ray Robinson’s first streak, 40-0 in 2 years (1940-1942), 20 fights a year
Walker Smith Jr., Better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, started off his career 40-0. In the first two years of his career he fought almost as many times as Floyd has in 18 years. I am sure many will be quick to falsely claim that Ray Robinson was fighting bums, but that is far from the truth. In his 21st fight, Robinson defeated the lightweight champion Sammy Angott. Again, this was an era where only one belt was available per class, making Angott a legitimate champion rather than a belt holder. Angott would become the first man to defeat Willie Pep, in Willie Pep’s 63rd fight.
A few fights later, Robinson defeated Fritzie Zivic in two consecutive matches. Zivic defeated the likes of Henry Armstrong, listed by many as the second-greatest fighter of all time behind Robinson. Zivic also defeated Charley Burley and Sammy Angott. People who have done their research will understand how great this list of wins is, and the high quality of fighter that Zivic was.
Shortly after that, Robinson came in as a welterweight against one of the greatest middleweights of all time, Jake Lamotta, and defeated him. Robinson started his career at lightweight, and within two years and 40 fights he was already defeating middleweights. Floyd Mayweather also started as a lightweight, but in 18 years and 46 fights he has not fought one middleweight. In two years Robinson accomplished 100 times as much as Mayweather has in 18. That is not a bad thing; it’s just that Robinson is so far ahead of all the truly great fighters, that there is no way a simply good fighter like Mayweather can look good by comparison.
6b) Sugar Ray Robinson’s second streak, 89-0-2 (1 NC) in 8 years (1943-1951), 11.5 fights a year
In this streak, Robinson defeated the much bigger Jake Lamotta four times, a past prime but still good Henry Armstrong, Sammy Angott, George Costner (who defeated the great Ike Williams), Charley Fusari, Bobo Olson, Jose Basora, Kid Gavilan, and a whole list of extremely high quality fighters that would take several lines to list. For Robinson to not lose even once against the greatest competition in boxing history for almost 12 years and 92 fights is just mind-boggling. And we have not even examined the remainder of Robinson’s career. In 11 years, Robinson fought 131 times and only lost once, to a much bigger boxer, the all-time great middleweight Jake Lamotta. To remove any doubt as to who was the better boxer, Robinson decisively defeated Lamotta 5 times. Mayweather lost to a simply solid boxer, an opponent of his own size in Castillo, and only avenged the defeat once.
7) Muhammad Ali, 31-0 in 10 years (1960-1967, and returned in 1970 after a three year suspension), 3 fights a year
Even with a three-year suspension, Muhammad Ali was more active than Mayweathers 2.5 fights a year in 18 years. That is inexcusable. In thirty fights, Ali defeated one of the most dangerous heavyweight champions of all time in Sonny Liston (the second fight may have been suspicious, but Ali was easily winning the first) and the previous champion in Floyd Patterson. Immediately after his 3-year layoff, he took on the top contenders in Jerry Quarry, and Oscar Bonavena. Mayweather after an 18-month vacation decided to have Marquez move up two weight classes, on top of missing weight, before returning to boxing. These 30 fights alone surpass Mayweather’s low quality resume of 18 years, and we have barely entered the halfway point of Ali’s career.
8) George Foreman, 40-0 in 5 years (1969-1974), 8 fights a year
Foreman only has two impressive wins at this stage of his career, but they are far greater than any of the wins on Mayweather’s record. He became the only man to knock out a prime Joe Frazier coming off of handing Ali his first loss. He also knocked out Ken Norton, immediately after Norton had gone 1-1 against Ali, losing the second fight in an extremely razor thin decision. Neither man went past the second round. In 5 years Foreman fought two elite fighters in their prime, the caliber of which Mayweather has never come close to facing in 18 years.
9) Roberto Duran, 41-0 in 7 years (1973-1980), almost 6 fights a year
In this streak, Duran added to his lightweight run to put together arguably the greatest lightweight streak of all time. He defeated Esteban de Jesus in two knockouts after losing to him in an upset earlier. He moved up two weight classes and defeated a very underrated welterweight in Carlos Palomino. From there, he defeated one of the top 3 welterweights of all time in his prime, the undefeated Sugar Ray Leonard. Meanwhile, Floyd only moved up one weight class to fight a washed up Miguel Cotto. And unlike Cotto after the Mayweather fight, Ray Leonard didn’t lose for a long time after his fights with Duran. In 18 years, Mayweather only has 7 more fights than Duran accumulated in 7 years, and against much lower quality competition.
10) Marvin Hagler, 35-0-1 in 10 years (1976-1986), 3.6 fights a year
Marvin Hagler started his run by defeating Willie Monroe, the only man to beat him unanimously, in two stoppages. He also defeated an underrated opponent in Bennie Briscoe. Briscoe had fought Carlos Monzon to a draw, and nearly knocked out Monzon in a rematch for the middleweight title before losing the decision. Hagler also stopped Bobby Watts, who had controversially defeated Hagler to hand him his first loss.
Hagler’s draw against Antuofermo was controversial, as many felt Hagler won, but he removed all doubt when he stopped Antuofermo in the rematch. Hagler also defeated a very underrated opponent in Mustafa Hamsho. In between his two losses to Hagler, Hamsho defeated Wilfred Benitez, and is one of the reasons Benitez’s career spiraled downward shortly after.
Hagler’s biggest wins are his war against Thomas Hearns and his decision against Roberto Duran. These men were moving up in weight, but they went on to fight at even higher weights than Hagler, showing that the disparity in weight was not as great as many think. They only moved up one weight class (154 to 160), not two classes like Marquez did against Mayweather, and Hagler actually made weight for those fights.
Hagler’s streak ended with a highly disputed decision against the great Sugar Ray Leonard, in a fight that is still debated to this day. Floyd, meanwhile, was gifted a disputed decision against a much lower quality opponent in Jose Luis Castillo, in a fight that is not even debatable.
11) Pernell Whitaker – 40-2-1 (both losses and the draw were the results of terrible decisions, meaning Whitaker did not truly lose by that point) in 13 yrs (1984-1997), 3.3 fights a year
Pernell Whitaker’s first “loss” to Ramirez was a robbery decision, and he proved it in the rematch in an easy decision. Whitaker defeated Greg Haugen, Azumah Nelson, was robbed after dominating Julio Cesar Chavez, and defeated Julio Cesar Vasquez (who had just beaten Winky Wright). While a prime Mayweather was fighting a past prime Oscar De La Hoya, (1-3 in his last 4 including the Sturm robbery) a past prime Pernell Whitaker clearly defeated a prime Oscar De La Hoya only for the judges to rob him.
12) James Toney – 44-0-2 in 6 years (1988-1994), over 7 fights a year
James Toney defeated a prime Mike McCallum and stopped the undefeated and underrated Michael Nunn. Nunn was coming off of wins against Sumbu Kalambay and Iran Barkley. Toney also defeated Barkley before losing to one of the greatest modern fighters in Roy Jones, Jr. Toney’s accomplishments after his streak, such as defeating McCallum again on top of his success at heavyweight, being a former middleweight, surpass Floyd’s career easily.
13) Roy Jones, Jr. 49-1 (the one loss was a DQ) in 14 years (1989-2003), 3.6 fights a year
While Mayweather was using his shoulder as an excuse for his loss to Castillo, Roy Jones was too busy beating Bernard Hopkins with a broken right hand. Jones went on to beat the undefeated James Toney, Mike McCallum, avenge his DQ vs the underrated Montell Griffin (coming off two closely contested decisions against James Toney) by a first round KO, Virgil Hill, Eric Harding, Julio Cesar Gonzalez (who went on to defeat (Dariusz Michalczewski) moved up to heavyweight to beat John Ruiz despite starting his career at 154, and even after being washed up due to weight draining, was able to defeat Antonio Tarver in a decision.
After only comparing fighters on the basis of unbeaten streaks, ignoring that there is much more to a great boxer than having a high W-L ratio, we see that on the basis of Mayweather’s own logic there is no way he can consider himself one of the best. A man who fights very undersized, past prime, unproven boxers, paper champions, belt holders, and weak competition over the course of 18 years and only 46 fights to show for it isn’t the definition of greatness. Mayweather has some work to do if he wants to be one of the top 50 fighters in history. The name Floyd Mayweather does not fit in with the likes of Langford, Frazier, Hearns, Leonard, Walcott, Moore, Holyfield, Charles, Hopkins, Lewis, Flowers, Gans, Griffith, Napoles, Monzon, Lamotta, Tunney, Dempsey, Holmes, Fitzsimmons, Gavilan, Olson, Turpin, Angott, Wills, Ike Williams, Saddler and many many more.
Comments are closed.