of the media coverage odd. While ESPN's reports that Floyd was, as you note, at the top of his game, the fellows on Yahoo are taking a different point of view. Kevin I wrote that Floyd isn't an all-time great because he doesn't have tough enough competition. I'm curious, for example, if he could name a single opponent the great Sugar Ray Robinson fought as a welterweight, who Floyd would not have easily defeated? In fact, just as easily as he defeated Guerrero?
I note that Ray was at his peak as welterweight champion. He did win the middleweight title more times, but that was because he lost it more times, too. And those who beat Ray at middleweight generally did so because Ray was old. Both Ray and Floyd would have taken any of them when at their respective peaks.
There was the "golden age" of Leonard, Hearns, Duran, and Haglar -- each of whom ranks with the all-time greats. (I'd add Wilfred Benitez at slightly below these four, although he easily beat Duran, and lost close fights to both Leonard and Hearns.) No one of the four would dominate the others -- Leonard arguably came the closest, yet Duran beat him; Ray admits Tommy won their second fight; and he waited to fight Haglar until Marvin was old and ready to retire. Hard to say Floyd could not have competed well with anyone else these four fought, or the three who competed at welterweight.
Another Yahoo fellow wrote that Floyd has to "change his style" to be recognized as great. That ranks as an all-time great example of ignorance. Most experts rank Willie Pep among the sport's top ten (usually at 4 or 5) great champions. Pep was not a "slugger," and won relatively few fights by knockout. But the guy was great -- he used to say that opponents couldn't hit him with a handful of pebbles. He was content to simply outbox the opposition, rarely getting hit or losing a round. (In his later years, after the air plane accident, he would not be at the same level that he reached to become such a great champion.) But that writer probably has never heard of Pep.
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