Floyd Mayweather compared his career to that of boxing legend Muhammad Ali ahead of his exhibition against John Gotti later this month.
The five-weight world champion faces Gotti in a rematch on August 24 in Mexico and recently participated in a press conference to discuss the event. Asked by a member of the media about Ali’s legacy compared to his,
Mayweather took that opportunity to point out that ‘The Greatest’ wasn’t the most-liked boxer in the world before being struck down by Parkinson’s disease after initially praising the three-time heavyweight champion.
“I take my hat off to guys like Muhammad Ali because they paved the way for me to be where I’m at today, so I have to take my hat off to a legend like that,” said Mayweather.
“My career was a little bit different, you know, whereas when you look at Muhammad Ali’s career when he was 36 [years old], he lost to Leon Spinks. When I was 36, I fought a young lion like Canelo. Leon Spinks, at that particular time, I think had six wins and one draw when he fought Muhammad Ali. When I fought Canelo, he was 23 years old, and we had the same amount of fights. He had 43 or 44 fights when we faced each other.
“So, Ali at 36 and Floyd Mayweather at 36, I think we were two different fighters because the first thing that I learned from my father was the less you get hit, the longer you’re able to last in the sport of boxing.
Floyd Mayweather on Muhammad Ali
“Now when you guys look at Muhammad Ali’s career, when he was able to voice his opinion and stand up for the people, they hated him. Once he wasn’t able to speak anymore, he wasn’t able to walk or talk, then the world loved him.”
That’s not quite how things went down for Ali, as he was championed as the underdog against George Foreman in 1974. Winning the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ after a dip in his career raised Ali’s legend to another level. Years after that, Ali began to deteriorate and could no longer communicate.
Mayweather’s comments about Ali align with how the ‘Money’ man places himself in the sport. For years, the 47-year-old has believed he stands alone as the best fighter ever, above Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, Ali, and anyone else.
However, his continued need to compete in exhibitions, which are usually seen as scarce events, could harm Floyd Mayweather’s own legacy more than he thinks.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay. Learn more, read all articles from the experienced boxing writer, and follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
