Moments after skating to victory, Floyd ?Money? Mayweather donned a baseball cap that had the initials ?T.B.E.?
When asked what the initials meant he replied, ?The Best Ever.?
It?s a bold statement and it does stir debate among many critics, analysts and the millions of boxing fans worldwide. Is Mayweather the best ever?
After handily defeating Mexico?s Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez Saturday in Las Vegas, there are not many boxers remaining that could pose a danger to Mayweather. One who might is middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.
The Mayweather debate is a curious one. Can he be considered the best of all-time?
?I?m not too much into the historical aspect. I didn?t see a lot of the guys before the 1960s. But obviously the best guy I?ve seen is Floyd Mayweather. And I?ve seen him eight or nine times in person. He could have fought in any era and done well,? said Henry Ramirez, trainer of Chris Arreola.
?Floyd was actually there in front of him, but he would beat him to the punch. Who can Floyd Mayweather fight next? Maybe Danny Garcia. No more Mexican stars,? Ramirez said.
More than a few journalists were awed by Mayweather?s performance.
?He definitely is an all-time great. He belongs in that same company with Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, Joe Louis and a few others. He?s an amazing athlete,? said Bill O?Neill, a retired journalist from Riverside who followed boxing since the late 1940s. ?Floyd Mayweather belongs among the top five or six ever in my book.?
Furthermore, O?Neill says that Mayweather?s defense separates him from all other prizefighters today and only two fighters in Mayweather?s resume gave him any difficulty.
?I thought Oscar De La Hoya was an extremely talented prizefighter. And he gave Mayweather a very close fight,? said O?Neill, adding that De La Hoya was not in his prime when he fought Mayweather in 2007. ?Then there was Jose Luis Castillo, who gave Mayweather a close fight too.?
One former boxer and trainer considers Mayweather among the top, but felt he did not fight the best in his own era.
?Floyd hurts his cause because he sometimes ducked whatever fighter was deemed the biggest threat. That said, he would have been favored over each and every one of them. Imagine what that resume would have looked like? He would have been able to say, ?I fought everybody in their prime and remain undefeated. I can do no more than that,?? Dino da Vinci said.
He also says Armstrong deserves recognition for greater accomplishments.
?Greatest all-around fighter? My personal preference is Henry Armstrong, who held three titles simultaneously, back when each division only had one champion and only eight or nine weight divisions, depending on who is doing the referencing,? da Vinci said. ?Others argue Ray Robinson, while many boxing historians argue on behalf of Harry Greb. It wouldn?t take too long to name the best of the best.?
Fellow boxer James ?Lights Out? Toney called Mayweather?s performance ?masterful? and said that many of today?s fighters have impeccable records because of careful matching by promoters.
?(Promoters) build fighters up and they?re fighting nobodies. When they fight the big time they get smashed,? said Toney, who is a former middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight world champion. ?Floyd, he?s an old-school fighter. He trains as hard as hell and he?s serious about the game. He did what he had to do.?
Toney said that Mayweather?s talent level has created a vast gulf between him and the competition.
?It?s like seeing a grown man fighting an infant,? Toney said.
Could Mayweather have defeated the likes of Armstrong, Robinson or Willie Pep?
?He could have given them a run for their money,? O?Neill said.
Fights on television
Saturday
7 p.m., Pay-Per-View, Jon Jones (18-1) vs. Alexander Gustafsson (15-1); Renan Barao (30-1) vs. Eddie Wineland (20-8-1); and Brendan Schaub (9-3) vs. Matt Mitrione (6-2)
