Floyd Mayweather is a polarizing guy. Some see him as the progenitor of many of the problems with modern boxing, including boxers ducking tough matchups and money becoming the most important factor in the sport. On the other hand, even his worst critics will agree that his defense was probably the greatest in boxing history.
A few would even argue he is the greatest boxer of all time because of his defensive wizardry and perfect, undefeated record. However, that distinction is already taken. Muhammad Ali, nicknamed simply ‘The Greatest’ is, as his moniker suggests, widely considered the greatest boxer of all time. And while Ali was not undefeated like Mayweather, no one can accuse him of ever ducking a fight, not to mention the historically great opponents he faced in his career. However, now that Mayweather is retired and has embarked on an exhibition career, that is at least one aspect where even Mayweather himself will not claim he is near the former heavyweight champ.
Mayweather’s age will cause him to never approach Muhammad Ali’s exhibition record
Floyd Mayweather is gearing up to face John Gotti III in an exhibition this Saturday after their first exhibition ended in disaster. Since retiring in 2017 with a 50-0 record, ‘Money Mayweather’ has fought in seven exhibition matches and it seems he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
However, one thing is clear- while he may have a better professional record than Ali, and may even be in the GOAT conversation, the numbers are not even close when it comes to exhibitions. Ali, after all, was one of the most prolific exhibition boxers of all time, having fought in over 100 exhibitions throughout his life. Needless to say, there is virtually no chance that the Mayweather, who is already 47 will ever come close to fighting in as many exhibitions as ‘The Greatest’.
Not to mention that Ali fought in a few exhibitionists against wrestlers under modified or mixed rules, which some see as the ancestral antecedents of the sport of mixed martial arts. The results of the exhibitions are mostly irrelevant since most of them are non-scored bouts.
But for what it is worth, Mayweather has a slightly better record than Ali in the exhibitions that were scored. ‘Money Mayweather’s current exhibition record stands at 3-0, Ali’s is 1-3. However as far as significance and the sheer number of exhibitions fought is concerned, Mayweather can never hope to come close to Muhammad Ali. However, in their pro career, ‘Money Mayweather’ thinks he has indeed proven himself better than ‘The Greatest’.
Floyd Mayweather believes ‘Canelo’ win makes him the GOAT
Humility is not Floyd Mayweather’s strongest suit. As fans well know, the Olympic silver medalist has called himself the greatest ever many times, even saying he was better than Ali. But Mayweather, firmly convinced of his greatness, believes he is better than Ali. In a recent interview, the former multiple-division champ, in quite mild terms, explained why he felt he had left Ali behind.
“I take my hat off to guys like Muhammad Ali… My career was a little bit different. Whereas when you look at Muhammad Ali’s career when he was 36 [years old], he lost to Leon Spinks. When I was 36, I fought a young lion like Canelo [Alvarez],” Mayweather said.
Needless to say, not many fight fans are convinced. After all, Ali fought the toughest challengers, some of whom, like Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and Larry Holmes are among the greatest to ever grace the sport. There is a reason that the era Ali fought in, is called the golden era of boxing.
