By Steve Lewis: By now, most boxing fans have heard of Floyd Mayweather’s proclamation that he is the best of all-time, surpassing the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Ray Leonard, among others. For those of us who take such self-congratulatory remarks with a grain of salt, we are not so quick to agree. With a potential Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao showdown in the works, talks of legacy and individual achievement are inevitable. While Pacquiao won’t comment on where he stands among the sport’s best, let us look at the merits of Mayweather’s proclamation.
It has been pointed out many times before by critics of Floyd Mayweather that he has essentially avoided the best of the welterweight division, resting his laurels instead on victories over the likes of Zab Judah, Carlos Baldomir, and Sharmba Mitchell, along with his high-paying showdowns with Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. Some of Floyd’s supporters will even make a case that Phillip N’Dou and Victoriano Sosa were worthy notches on the Mayweather résumé.
And since no one has defeated Floyd, he asserts that he should still be the reigning pound-for-pound king, and should remain so until someone defeats him.
Putting aside the fact that ever since leaving the jr. lightweight division, Floyd has not faced anyone that posed a legitimate threat, merely being undefeated should not be the be-all-end-all determining factor as to who should be #1 pound-for-pound. Can we say “Sven Ottke?” If we were to compare Floyd of the 2000’s to college football, he would be like the Kansas State Wildcats of the 1990s (i.e., building up their reputation and claim for national championship contention by beating up on cupcakes and having a joke non-conference schedule). This is what’s referred to as “strength of schedule” or RPI index. In college football parlance, Floyd, as of late, has had a sucky schedule, a weak RPI. Even in fights that he should be blowing out, he squeaks by with ugly split decisions or stinks out an overly conservative approach to a decision. In college football, how you win can factor in.
And in college football, the #1 team can go on undefeated and still be leapfrogged by another team for the top spot. It depends on who’s been more impressive. If no.#2 has been facing tougher challenges and has been looking better than no. #1, pollsters can easily switch their respective positions. So, too, for the pound-for-pound rankings. Just because Floyd has not been defeated yet, does not mean he cannot be leapfrogged by someone more impressive. And let’s face it, Manny Pacquiao has been more impressive as of late than Floyd Mayweather.
With both Floyd and Manny being basketball fans, let’s put this in NBA parlance: if boxing were a game of one-on-one hoops, the all-time greats have battled the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Wilt Chamberlain. But looking at Floyd’s résumé, all he has done so far in his career is beat the Brad Daughertys, the Derrick Colemans, the Adrian Dantleys, and the Mark Prices of the world. Respectable talent. Former all-stars. But obviously not in the same level as the aforementioned group. That’s what Floyd lacks – the elite opponent, not the mere “name” opponent. Arturo Gatti, Jose Luis Castillo, and yes, even Diego Corrales (RIP), as good as they were, are not in the same breath as Hearns, Hagler, Leonard, Ali, etc. Arguably, only De La Hoya fits into that elite status, but even then, Floyd fought a part-timer and only managed to stink out a split decision win. He should be much more convincing than that to proclaim himself best of all-time.
When the best you could do is name Diego Corrales as your signature win, you’ve still got a long ways to go towards that claim of all-time greatness. It’s not to say that Floyd can’t do it, but rather that he should go out there and prove it, rather than merely asking us to take his word for it.
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