It was a statement almost custom designed to get one’s boxers in a bunch.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith — who we only can assume thinks himself better than Edward R. Murrow — was talking to Floyd Mayweather — who actually does think he’s better than Muhammad Ali.
Said Mayweather, by way of inflating his Saturday night fight with Manny Pacquiao: “No one can ever brainwash me to make me believe that Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali (were) better than me.”
So filled is Mayweather with a fighter’s necessary arrogance that he owns an extensive collection of caps embroidered with the initials TBE. The Best Ever.
This is maddening. This is blasphemy. This is almost the kind of outlandish claim that will make some people talk about boxing again.
In other words, exactly the kind of reaction Mayweather was courting, hoping to goad you into spending nearly $100 for the pay-per-view in hopes of seeing Pacquiao land one square on that furtive chin.
It’s also a well-worn ploy. “I seem to remember Ali saying that kind of thing, too. Back when he was Cassius Clay,” said Don Cogswell, president of a committed group of boxing savants, the International Boxing Research Organization.
But seriously?
Anyone born sometime before the coming of the microwave oven knows Muhammad Ali. And you, sir, are no Muhammad Ali.
Maybe we could put our heads together and come up with a very long list of fighters who could be considered ahead of Mayweather. It’s great fun to try, going part on gut and part on comparative record, always a good argument to stage when you’re just worn out debating politics.
And it’s good at times like these to remember that boxing was here long before ESPN. It does not begin and end with Mayweather-Pacquiao.
Go ahead and say it, Joe Louis was better than Mayweather.
Willie Pep was better than Mayweather.
You can say almost whatever you want in this exercise. Your opinion may not exactly carry the weight of that of an IBRO boxing scholar, but some things you just know.
Like: Ali was better. Granted, it is not easy to compare fighters across eras and weight divisions. “It’s very difficult to put current fighters in perspective. It’s like going to a party and seeing a knockout looking woman — you’re probably going to over-evaluate her a little,” said Cogswell, a boxing author based in South Florida.
Nevertheless, there is little way Mayweather could match Ali in terms of charisma, societal impact and global acclaim. He was the loudest voice of a restless era, a symbol of resistance in the time of struggles on two fronts — civil rights and Vietnam. Mayweather has an unsettling record in domestic relations and a lot of expensive cars in his garage.
As for the ring presence of The Greatest: “Ali fought in the best era of heavyweight boxing,” said Monte Cox, an IBRO member who’s an IT tech in Illinois when he’s not researching boxing. “He fought the best competition. Joe Frazier. Sonny Liston. George Foreman was 40-0 with 37 KOs when Ali beat him. Even guys like Ron Lyle and Earnie Shavers. (Ali) has a really good resume.”
Marvin Hagler was better than Mayweather.
Carlos Monzon was better than Mayweather.
Pernell Whitaker was better than Mayweather.
Spend any time talking to the historians, and there begins to form the crystalline impression that pretty much anyone nicknamed Sugar Ray was better than Mayweather (not including Braves pitcher Sugar Ray Marimon).
“People have no trouble picking Sugar Ray Robinson as probably the greatest fighter of all time — that’s the case here in IBRO, that’s the case with a lot of other boxing historians and long-time sports writers,” Cogswell said.
Where each fighter has a signature strength — be it punching power, hand speed, great chin, whatever — “I just think Sugar Ray Robinson (117-19-6) had everything,” Cogswell said. “It’s hard to profile him any one way. He could punch with either hand. He could box. He could adjust to his opponent in the middle of the fight. He could move well. All of it was there.”
Then there is Sugar Ray Leonard. “As far as ability, everything Mayweather can do, Sugar Ray Leonard could do better,” Cox asserted. No matter that Mayweather is a spotless 47-0, Cox said. Leonard beat a much better class of competition at its peak (a 72-1 Roberto Duran, a 32-0 Thomas Hearns, a 62-2-2 Marvin Hagler, a 38-0-1 Wilfred Benitez, a 36-0 Ayub Kalule).
“(Mayweather) wouldn’t make my top 10 all-time fighers,” Cox said. “I’m not sure he’d make my top 10 all-time welterweights.”
Roberto Duran was better than Mayweather.
Julio Cesar Chavez was better than Mayweather.
Alexis Arguello was better than Mayweather.
Rocky Marciano was better than Mayweather.
Archie Moore was better than Mayweather.
Add to list as you see fit.
“Every great fighter has a signature win. Where’s Mayweather’s signature win? What are his legacy fights? What is the fight that makes him a legend?” Cox wonders. The two biggest pelts on his wall — Oscar de la Hoya and Shane Mosley — were well shot by the time Mayweather fought them. Their combined record after fighting Mayweather was 2-4-1.
Even now, the 36-year-old Pacquiao is but 3-2 in his past five fights entering Saturday. Will even winning this mega fight significantly alter how history ranks him?
Granted, Mayweather wades in a shallower pool of talent than many of his predecessors, those who fought when boxing mattered far more. Besides that, he seems to have a buzzard’s sense of timing as to when to pick his fights.
At least he knows how to stoke a good debate, which makes him great for this time, when boxing barely can stir a decent whisper.
About the Author
