Everyone knows that Floyd Mayweather is super confident and downright cocky about his abilities. Part of the boxing business is promoting how great you are so it basically comes with the territory but he might’ve gone a little too far in his latest assessment.
Via SportsGrid:
In a series of interviews with Stephen A. Smith, Mayweather concludes that he was better than Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali — the best heavyweight boxer during the sport’s golden era — because of Leon Spinks’ professional experience and Ali’s rope-a-dope tactic against George Foreman in 1974.
FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.: NO ONE CAN EVER BRAINWASH ME TO MAKE ME BELIEVE THAT SUGAR RAY ROBINSON AND MUHAMMAD ALI WAS BETTER THAN ME. NO ONE COULD EVER BRAINWASH ME AND TELL ME THAT. BUT ONE THING I WILL DO, I’M GOING TO TAKE MY HAT OFF TO THEM AND RESPECT THOSE GUYS BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE GUYS THAT PAVED THE WAY FOR ME TO BE WHERE I’M AT TODAY.
STEPHEN A. SMITH: YOU DON’T BELIEVE THAT MUHAMMAD ALI WAS BETTER THAN YOU?
FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.: LEON SPINKS ONLY HAD SEVEN FIGHTS. NEVER PUT A FIGHTER IN THERE WITH FLOYD MAYWEATHER WITH SEVEN FIGHTS. TAKE PUNISHMENT AND LET A MAN TIRE YOURSELF OUT FROM BEATING YOU? YOU HIT HIM WITH A FEW PUNCHES AND GO DOWN AND QUIT AND YOU WANT TO BE GLORIFIED FOR THAT?
Muhammad Ali was 6’3″ and 239 pounds and Floyd Mayweather Jr. is 5’8″ 151 pounds. Ali was a heavyweight champion and Floyd has fought in the 140 and 147 weight classes. Obviously it’ll be nearly impossible to compare them due to their differences in size and the times they fought but part of being a boxer is believing you’re the greatest.
