Five division world champion Floyd Mayweather has tabbed WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
Mayweather was regarded as the pound-for-pound king, until he retired from the sport back in September of 2015, following a win over Andre Berto. He came back for a single cross-sport bout in August 2017, and stopped UFC superstar Conor McGregor. Mayweather would once again retire afterwards.
Crawford captured his first world title at lightweight, unified the entire junior welterweight division, and then captured the WBO welterweight title.
Crawford was at one point the clear pick for the top pound-for-pound spot.
But then his position was challenged by another three division champion, Vasiliy Lomachenko.
And since the fall of last year, there are many who view Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez as the top pound-for-pound fighter in boxing, after he moved up by two weight classes to score a brutal knockout over Sergey Kovalev to capture the WBO light heavyweight title.
While he named Crawford as the pound-for-pound best, Mayweather stamped Gervonta Davis as the most exciting boxer in the sport. Davis is promoted by Mayweather.
"Right now, if I had to say a guy who’s number one pound-for-pound, and I’m not just saying this because… it’s two guys. The most exciting fighter in boxing right now is Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis. He’s the most exciting. At the end of the day, I think he’s [23]-0 with [22] knockouts. Hands down Gervonta Davis is the most exciting fighter in the sport of boxing right now. Pound for pound, I would have to say Terence Crawford," Mayweather stated during a question & answer session with fans in Rotherham.
