For anyone who is familiar with Floyd Mayweather, it’s no secret that he refers to himself as TBE: The Best Ever. There have been many great fighters in the sport of boxing, but Floyd feels he’s the best to ever lace up a pair of gloves.
The statement has garnered him criticism in the past, but despite what other people may think, Floyd’s opinion has never wavered in that there is nobody better than him.
During a visit to Los Angeles, California to promote his upcoming fight on September 12th with Andre Berto, Mayweather paid a visit to the ESPN Deportes studios where he was asked to give his top 5 fighters of all time from a list of 10 all-time great champions on a touch screen.
Before Mayweather made his choice of who is number one, he prefaced it by saying, “We’re not going to be biased. One thing about us, we’re going to have an open mind. Now every champion up here, I respect totally. These are the guys that paved the way for me to be where I’m at.”
Mayweather picked himself as the number one fighter, which he went on to explain why referring to himself in third person.
“He’s beat more world champions than any other fighter right here. He’s done it in a shorter period of time than any other fighter up here. And he’s done it with less fights than any fighter up here. Record breaking numbers all around the board in pay-per-view and live gate, landed punches at the highest percentage, and took less punishment. And done it in 19 years and been world champion 18 years. Done it in five different weigh classes,” the undefeated Welterweight champion explained.
His second pick was fan favorite Roberto “Manos De Piedra” Duran. A fantasy fight between both is often discussed. Not only did Mayweather pick him as his 2nd best fighter, but he also gave him high praise.
“Unbelievable. He was the guy that came from lightweight and he was the first guy to beat Sugar Ray Leonard. He went from Lightweight all the way to 160 and became world champion. He’s a legend. I love that guy,” said Floyd.
With his third pick, Mayweather took a longer time to decide, but went with Sweet Pea Pernell Whitaker, who, much like himself, is regarded as one of the best defensive fighters of all time.
“He knows how to win. He didn’t lose until the end of his career. Unbelievable. He beat Chavez for real. And I’m a Julio Cesar Chavez fan. He beat my uncle Roger twice,” Mayweather recalled.
His fourth pick went to the Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., which received cheers from the studio audience on hand. Before being able to give his reasoning for Chavez, he immediately picked Muhammad Ali to wrap up his top five fighters.
When questioned why he had Chavez ahead of Ali, Mayweather explained, “Chavez was 79-0 before he lost. And he went to different weight classes. Muhammad Ali was only at one weight class. And Ali really lost all three times to Ken Norton. This is me just being honest. It’s so hard, I mean, these are my top five. What Ali did is he stood for a cause in an era where African Americans didn’t stand up for their people and he stood up for a strong cause in his era.”
The names that didn’t make the cut for Mayweather’s top five list were Sugar Ray Leonard, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, Henry Armstrong, and Rocky Marciano.
It was fun being able to see who Mayweather chose and the reason he chose each fighter. Whether you agree with his list or not, Mayweather reiterated that this was HIS list.
Mr. TBE himself will be in action for what he is saying is the last time he’ll be in the ring against Andre Berto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 12th.
Floyd’s Top 5 Fighters of All Time
1. Floyd Mayweather
2. Robert Duran
3. Pernell Whitaker
4. Julio Cesar Chavez Sr
5. Muhammad Ali
