Floyd Mayweather thinks he's a better boxer than Muhammad Ali was. He said so during an interview with Stephen A. Smith back in April. But apparently, Mayweather also thinks Roberto Duran, Pernell Whitaker, andJulio Cesar Chavez were better boxers than Ali, too. That would make Ali the fifth best boxer of all time in Mayweather's book.
Mayweather made a "The Best Ever" list during a segment on ESPN Deportes late last week. He was asked to name his top five boxers of all time and, after listing himself at No. 1 (because DUH), he listed Duran and explained his admiration for him. But then, after thinking long and hard about who to put at No. 3, he skipped over Ali not once, but twice before putting him at No. 5.
Here are a few of his reasons for putting Ali so low on his list:
- "Muhammad Ali lost to Leon Spinks, and Leon Spinks only had seven fights when he beat him."
- "He was only at one weight class."
- "Ali really lost all three times to Ken Norton."
To his credit, Mayweather did point out the huge influence that Ali had on the world towards the end of his explanation.
"Ali was the greatest for standing up in an era where black people didn't stand up for each other," he said.
But we think we speak for everyone when we say…FIFTH?! Also, no Sugar Ray Robinson? It's almost as if—gasp—Mayweather made his list solely to troll everyone by putting himself first and Ali fifth with no real regard for the second, third, or fourth slots (but he would never do that...right?).
Watch the entire segment in the clip above. If nothing else, it's entertaining to watch Mayweather try to talk his usual trash even though he doesn't seem to speak or understand a lick of Spanish.
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.
