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Like Max Kellerman said, Pacquiao will go down HIGHER in the history books compared to Floyd because a) won first world title at FLYWEIGHT (Mayweather: Super Featherweight (18lbs difference)) b) 8 DIVISION champion including 5 LINEAL titles (Mayweather: 5 DIVISION champion including 4 LINEAL titles) c) 4 DECADE champion (Mayweather: 3 DECADE champion) d) dropped & defeated an unbeaten, avoided KO artist in his PRIME (Thurman) despite being 40yo (Mayweather: dominated a green 23yo Canelo at a catchweight).
Don't get me wrong, Mayweather is a phenomenal fighter who's perfected the art of hitting without being hit and is probably the best technical boxer that's ever lived. However, if he wasn't the Vegas cash cow and Haymon's no.1 fighter, he'd also have a few LOSSES on his record too e.g. Castillo 1, DLH (his own daddy scored the fight for Oscar) and arguably Maidana 1 & the Pacquiao fight. Don't believe me? Just look at the new Vegas cash cow Canelo who somehow managed to secure a draw on one of the scorecards against Mayweather and a draw and victory over Golovkin in their first 2 fights which the vast majority of fans and media observers scored for Gennady. Also, despite winning almost every round, Bivol secured victory by the narrowest of margins with 115-113 on all 3 scorecards in their recent fight. Therefore, Mayweather's undefeated record is absolutely MEANINGLESS given the context.
Another reason why I rate Pacquiao higher is because there's definitely been MORE 'cherry-picking' during Floyd's career (although Pacquiao definitely has some too). Mayweather has a stellar resume but he waited until Pacquiao was past his best and had already been knocked out instead of facing him at his peak in the late 2000s. Ditto for lightning fast Mosley who was 38yo when he almost stopped Mayweather so imagine how much more dangerous he would've been a decade earlier. He also defeated Hatton at 147lbs instead of 140lbs where he was an undefeated champion and schooled a weight-drained 23yo green Canelo at a 152lb catchweight in addition to insisting on another catchweight (144lbs but coming in heavier) to face JMM who had NEVER won a world title above 140lbs. DLH was also 34yo when he beat him via SD too.
Don't get me wrong, Mayweather is a phenomenal fighter who's perfected the art of hitting without being hit and is probably the best technical boxer that's ever lived. However, if he wasn't the Vegas cash cow and Haymon's no.1 fighter, he'd also have a few LOSSES on his record too e.g. Castillo 1, DLH (his own daddy scored the fight for Oscar) and arguably Maidana 1 & the Pacquiao fight. Don't believe me? Just look at the new Vegas cash cow Canelo who somehow managed to secure a draw on one of the scorecards against Mayweather and a draw and victory over Golovkin in their first 2 fights which the vast majority of fans and media observers scored for Gennady. Also, despite winning almost every round, Bivol secured victory by the narrowest of margins with 115-113 on all 3 scorecards in their recent fight. Therefore, Mayweather's undefeated record is absolutely MEANINGLESS given the context.
Another reason why I rate Pacquiao higher is because there's definitely been MORE 'cherry-picking' during Floyd's career (although Pacquiao definitely has some too). Mayweather has a stellar resume but he waited until Pacquiao was past his best and had already been knocked out instead of facing him at his peak in the late 2000s. Ditto for lightning fast Mosley who was 38yo when he almost stopped Mayweather so imagine how much more dangerous he would've been a decade earlier. He also defeated Hatton at 147lbs instead of 140lbs where he was an undefeated champion and schooled a weight-drained 23yo green Canelo at a 152lb catchweight in addition to insisting on another catchweight (144lbs but coming in heavier) to face JMM who had NEVER won a world title above 140lbs. DLH was also 34yo when he beat him via SD too.
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