With 50-0 superstar Floyd Mayweather back in the news following his rather strange exhibition fight against John Gotti III last weekend, let’s take a look back at one of Money’s most divisive boxing opinions.
Specifically, Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather was once asked to rank the best five boxers in the history of the sport, and it came as a shock when ‘Money’ didn’t include either of the two heavyweight legends.
Photo by Medios y Media/Getty ImagesFloyd Mayweather’s Top 5 boxing GOATS didn’t feature Ali or Tyson
Back in 2020, Floyd Mayweather sat down for a fascinating interview on Instagram Live with popular American rapper ‘Fat Joe’, with the pair talking about everything from their 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood upbringings to the music scene and of course, the world of professional boxing.
Towards the end of the conversation, Fat Joe would ask Mayweather to name his five greatest boxers of all time, and unsurprisingly, the 50-0 superstar put himself in the #1 spot – but it was his 2-5 rankings that garnered the headlines.
“We’ve got to go Money Mayweather #1 – then we got to go Pernell Whitaker,” – ‘Sweet Pea’ competed between 1984 and 2001, becoming a four-weight world champion from lightweight all the way through to light middleweight.
Next up, Mayweather stated “Imma go Roberto Duran”, which isn’t a particular surprise given how the Panamanian remains one of the most iconic boxers of all time, and also a four-weight world champion.
Yet this is where Mayweather’s list takes a decidedly controversial turn as he explained: “Imma go – man you’ve put me in a tough predicament – as far as the heavyweights, ah man; if we’re going to go heavyweights, I’m being honest – I got to go Larry Holmes.
“You want me to give you the breakdown? Larry Holmes beat everyone in his era and when Larry Holmes got beat by Mike Tyson, he got beat by a young, hungry champion and he came out of a year’s retirement to get beat by Tyson.”
As Fat Joe and ‘Money’ Mayweather argued over the inclusion of Holmes over the likes of Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali, the former professional boxer would share how this particular pick comes down to looking at the bigger picture.
