They came in all shapes and sizes with varying skill sets. Yet, they all had the same goal in mind, take down Floyd Mayweather.
Zab Judah had always been known as a master boxer. In 2006, for at least the first two rounds, Mayweather was thrown off by his speed and combination punching. According to two of the three judges sitting ringside, Judah was the better man through two rounds. That all changed, of course, once Mayweather got it going. For the duration of their showdown, he out-quicked the trash-talking New Yorker and cruised to a unanimous decision victory.
Marcos Maidana learned from the failures of those who came before. In two matchups against Mayweather, he showed no interest in getting into a boxing match. Instead, he dug his head into his chest, threw weird and at times, not the prettiest shots, and roughed Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) up for 24 rounds. Though effective, it was another case of a fighter not having enough in their toolbox to get the job done.
Miguel Cotto had a little bit of everything. He boxed, he moved, he fought on the inside, fought on the outside, and was as tough as they come. Still, even his Hall of Fame credentials weren’t enough to eke out the win.
Although the former five-division champ never found his equal, according to Tim Bradley, he retired just in time to preserve his record.
JUST IN:Floyd Mayweather drove away after breaking Big Show’s nose before incredible backstage exchange
“Terence Crawford would beat a prime Mayweather,” Bradley told FightHype.com. “I said this five years ago. I’m telling you, he would beat him.”
As Bradley alluded to, he’s been singing the praises of Crawford for quite some time. Officially, just a few short days ago, his constant need to prop Crawford up and place him on a pedestal was validated.
Last weekend, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) turned a 50/50 showdown against Errol Spence Jr. into a lopsided beating, resulting in a ninth-round stoppage win and all four major world titles at 147 pounds being in his possession.
The Omaha, Nebraska, native was essentially flawless, leading many to believe that he’s the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. Once upon a time, Mayweather held that distinction. But while he was at the top of his game, his world never collided with Crawford. With Mayweather happily retired, the what-if game is being played by Bradley. Although we’ll never quite know how things would’ve played out, Bradley continued to pontificate that in their hypothetical matchup, Crawford would undoubtedly be the winner.
“It’s nothing against Floyd,” continued Bradley. “Floyd is one of my favorite fighters of all time. He’s a fantastic fighter. He would be Crawford’s toughest opponent but I just think he would have enough to beat Floyd. Crawford would win a close decision.”
