By Jake Donovan
Floyd Mayweather knew the moment he put himself ahead of Muhammad Ali in a recent interview with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, that the backlash would immediately follow. The reigning pound-for-pound and box office king has never been shy about proclaiming his greatness - even adopting the acronym “TBE” (“The Best Ever”) as an alternative to his “Money” nickname.
A few days after he’s had a chance to think about the comments and the criticism that followed, the current welterweight and junior middleweight champion of the world remains unapologetic. He has that right to feel that way, especially since the comments weren’t meant to carry malicious intent.
“I take my hat off to acknowledge Ali’s success. He was a legend. I respect Ali like I respect any other champion. It’s no disrespect to him,” notes Mayweather (47-0, 26KOs) during a recent media conference call to promote his epic May 2 showdown with Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. “I just feel like, he dominated one weight class and he stood for a great cause, he stood for an honorable cause. I take my hat off to him.
“Me, myself I’m still sharp at age 38. I’m still going strong at age 38. It’s no disrespect to Ali. Like I said before, I just feel like I’m the best at what I do. Just like he called himself “The Greatest”, I call myself “TBE.” I was pretty sure I would get criticize for telling what I said. But I couldn’t care less about the backlash.”
Mayweather has been regarded as the best fighter in the world dating back to his emergence in the welterweight division. His fame rose from top fighter to the sport’s biggest box office attraction following his May ’07 win over Oscar de la Hoya. The bout shattered revenue records, and also gave Mayweather a title at junior middleweight, the fifth weight class in which he’s won at least one belt.
He remains undefeated through 18 years as a pro, and from the de la Hoya fight has become the richest fighter in the history of the sport. Just nine wins in as many fights have followed since that night, but each serving as a major, must-see event every time he stepped into the ring.
With the combination of money, fame and decades-long success, Mayweather believes he’s earned the right to place himself alongside and above such exclusive company. The way he sees things, it’s no different from his predecessors.
“I believe what I believe, just like I’m sure Ali got criticized at one particular time when he said that he thought he was better than Sugar Ray Robinson,” Mayweather astutely points out about Ali, hardly known for his humility or for biting his tongue at any point in his incredible career. “The list goes on and on. There’s gonna be another fighter one day who comes along and says he’s better than Floyd Mayweather, and he’s gonna get criticized.”
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
