By Chris Williams: Former Mike Tyson lashed out at Floyd Mayweather Jr. today in response to Mayweather saying that he feels he’s better than boxing great Muhammad Ali. It’s hard to understand why Tyson would sound off on Mayweather for him simply giving his opinion about a former boxer, because that kind of thing is normal for any fighter to do.
When you see an old guy from the past like Jack Dempsey or Rocky Marciano in one of their old fights on TV, the kneejerk reaction is likely for a pro fighter to assume that he could have beaten those guys if you could transport them to 2015. Mayweather was just being honest by him saying he’s better than Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Leonard.
“I try to stay as far away from dirt as possible,” Tyson said via USAtoday.com. “
What I want to know is why is Tyson sounding off on an old friend like Mayweather? I don’t think Mayweather would go ballistic if Tyson said he believes he was better than Ali, a prime George Foreman or Larry Holmes. I don’t think it would matter to Mayweather, and he wouldn’t come out swinging in nailing Tyson with comments.
When commenting to UCN Live about Mayweather feeling he’s better than Ali, Tyson said “He’s very delusional. If he was anywhere near that realm [of being as great as] Ali, he’d be able to take his kids to school by himself. Greatness is not guarding yourself from the people, greatness is being accepted by the people. He can’t take his kids to school by himself. He’s a little, scared man. He’s a very small, scared man.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbhePenym7k
You really can make an argument that Mayweather is a better fighter than Ali was. If you look at the two of them in the ring, it’s pretty clear that Mayweather is better than Ali was in my view. Ali was beaten in his prime by guys that weren’t great fighters. Mayweather hasn’t been beaten at all, and he’s defeated a lot of high caliber fighters. If he can get past Manny Pacquiao this Saturday night in their fight at the MGM Grand, then I think it’ll be academic at that point that Mayweather is better than Ali, Robinson and Leonard. Certainly none of those fighters were doing what Mayweather is doing at the same age as him. Ali was shot at 38, as was Leonard and Robinson.
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