Calling himself ?The Best Ever? has been a brilliant marketing idea for Floyd Mayweather. It not only offers his fans a totally purchasable war cry?suitable for wear on hats, t-shirts, and hoodies?but it also gives the critics all the more reason to tune in and watch as opponents try to humble him.
Mayweather actually believing himself to be ?The Best Ever,? is laughable. Even in the fog of arrogance-fueled affirmations, Mayweather has to know that such a claim is preposterous. Career to career, Mayweather does not come close to surpassing the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson or Muhammad Ali. And it?ll take a solid victory over Manny Pacquiao on May 2 to even be considered the best of this era.
However, a win over Pacquiao will allow the marketing campaign to continue and maybe bring some casual, uninformed fans to acknowledge ?TBE? status for Mayweather.
But the case can be made that with a solid win on May 2, Manny Pacquiao has every right to make a claim on that label as well. As a matter of fact, Pacquiao?s argument as ?The Best Ever? may be even stronger than Mayweather?s.
While Mayweather?s resume is filled with impressive victories against future Hall of Famers and legitimate world class foes, many of those have come against challengers well beyond their best years.
Actually, Mayweather holds zero victories over prime Hall of Fame-level opposition. Yes, his resume is solid and full of quality wins, a couple against future Hall of Famers, but none against the most elite of the elite in their primes.
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Manny Pacquiao also has his share of wins over past-their-primes Hall of Fame talent like De la Hoya and Mosley, but he also holds two victories apiece over Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, and Juan Manuel Marquez?all future Hall of Famers taken on in their primes.
A win over Mayweather on May 2 would make it four future Hall of Fame victims beaten at, or very near, their primes. This is a feat that Mayweather isn?t even close to duplicating.
So, if Pacquiao emerges victorious from the mega-fight with Mayweather, it may be time for Team Pacquiao to consider marketing its own TBE line of merchandise.
