Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
    View Today
    Sun, Nov 5

    Mayweather's Top 5 boxers of all time left out some pretty big names

    Pacquiao's not on Mayweather's mythical list. Understandable. But the great Ali?
    Jul 27, 2020

    THAT Manny Pacquiao isn’t on the list was not surprising. But ‘The Greatest’ not being part of the short honor roll definitely raises a lot of eyebrows.

    Retired unbeaten champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. named his Top 5 fighters of all time and conspicuously left out three-time heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali from the list.

    ‘Money’ naturally had himself topping his own all-time list which he disclosed to rap star and influencer Fat Joe (Joseph Antonio Cartagena) on Instagram Live over the weekend.

    Pacquiao, who Mayweather beat in 2015 in boxing’s richest fight ever, wasn’t on the list, and so do other great fighters such as Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson, Marvin Hagler, Oscar De La Hoya, and Rocky Marciano, the man Floyd Jr. surpassed as the only boxer to retire with an unblemished record when he finished his career with a 50-0 mark following a TKO win against Connor McGregor in 2017.

    Mayweather’s list included Pernell Whitaker at No. 2, followed by Roberto Duran, Larry Holmes, and Aaron Pryor.

    The names were almost the same five years after he also rated his top five boxers of all time in a guest appearance at ESPN Deportes. Fresh from beating Pacquiao back then, Mayweather named himself along with Duran, Whitaker, Julio Cesar Chavez, and Ali as part of his list.

    ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓

    Chavez has since been replaced by Pryor. No problem.

    But Ali’s exclusion in favor of Holmes became a point of debate.

    “OK we’ll go Money Mayweather, we got to go to Pernell Whitaker, imma go, Roberto Duran. Man you put me in a tight predicament,” said the 43-year-old Mayweather in the interview.

    “As far as with the heavyweights, if we’re going to go heavyweights, I’m going to be honest, I’ve got to go Larry Holmes.”

    CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓
    Watch Now

    Holmes taking Ali’s spot certainly didn’t sit well with the rapper-host, who believes Ali, the former Cassius Clay, is definitely better than Holmes. Fat Joe also thinks Tyson should be ranked higher than the 70-year-old former champion known as the ‘Easton Assassin.’

    Mayweather then rattled off what Holmes did during his reign as the top heavyweight fighter of the world.

    “Larry Holmes beat everybody in his era. When Larry Holmes got beat by Mike Tyson, he got beat by a young hungry champion, and he came out of a year’s retirement and got beat by Tyson,” said Floyd Jr.

    Mayweather though didn’t mention that when Holmes beat Ali, the latter likewise came out of retirement and was beaten by a young, hungry champion, too.

    He continued, “I’ve got to say Larry Holmes, he had the basic fundamentals, he had the jab, and even right now, he’s still living a great life because he made smart investments,” said Mayweather of Holmes, a former sparring partner of Ali, who he brought along with him and fought in the undercard of the Thrilla in Manila.

    ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓

    “So he (Holmes) was good from the beginning of his career to the end of his career.”

    Of course, Holmes (69-6, 44 KOs) reigned as heavyweight champion from 1978 to 1985, a stretch that saw him defend his title 19 straight times, second most in boxing’s premier division behind the 25 of the legendary Joe Louis.

    ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓

    He almost equaled Marciano’s 49-0 record after winning his first 48 bouts. But he fell short of the feat when he was upset by Michael Spinks in their 1985 title fight behind a unanimous decision win.

    As for Pryor, Mayweather said the onl blemish in the late American Hall of Famer's career was because of drugs.

    “The only reason why Aaron Pryor lost a fight was because of drugs. He only lost one fight because of drugs,” he said of Pryor, who compiled a record of 39-1 (35 KOs), his lone setback coming at the hands of little-known Bobby Joe Young after 29 months of being out of the ring as he struggles with his drug problems.

    MORE FROM SPIN
    MORE FROM SPIN

      Spin fans unite at the Spin Viber Community! Join the growing community now and complete the experience by subscribing to the Spin Chatbot.

      Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

      Read Next
      Watch Now
      Sorry, no results found for
    • POLL

      • Quiz

        Quiz Result