It's an interesting comparison and the real answer might well be neither. More about that later.
Few would doubt that both Mayweather and Ali were/are brash, to say the least. Ali long called himself the "greatest" (so did Jackie Gleason, another heavyweight in a different game), but his record suggests otherwise. Over his storied career, he was 56-5, with 37 KOs. It's those five losses that detract from his claim. They didn't all happen ala Joe Louis when an aging fighter hangs around too long only to get pummeled by younger boxers. Rather, Ali's defeats were spread over his career. Consider them.....
1971. In his prime he was beaten by Joe Frazier. Yes, Ali would win the subsequent two rematches, but a loss is a loss.
1973. In a non-title bout (and how can a champion fight without his title on the line?), he was soundly whupped by Ken Norton, including getting his jaw broken. He would win that rematch as well -- barely.
1978. Ali was beaten fair and square by Leon Spinks. LEON SPINKS! Hardly a show of greatness against a fighter that only had seven previous pro bouts under his belt. The apologists chalked it up to Ali getting old. Well OK. Then why did he keep coming back for more?
1980. Ali is destroyed by Larry Holmes. No rematch necessary. It would have been more of the same.
1981. In a pitiful swan song, he's beaten by Trevor Berbick.
Let's not forget 1975. The year of the rumble in the jungle and rope-a-dope, where Ali outsmarted George Foreman. It is notable that Ali never offered Foreman a rematch.
So a case could be made that Ali wasn't even the best heavyweight, let alone the greatest of all time. For that matter, in 1970, a computer simulation predicted that Ali would have been KOed by Rocky Marciano in his prime in the 8th round had they fought. There was outrage from the usual suspects, of course, and we'll never know. But Marciano remains the only undefeated heavyweight champion of all time with a record of 49-0 including a whopping 43 KOs. Too bad he died in a plane crash the year before the simulation aired. He likely would have smiled.
Mayweather doesn't call himself the "greatest", but rather the "best ever". He may have a point -- to a point. At 47-0, approaching Rocky's mark, his record is hard to dispute. He's been in against some mighty fine fighters over the years and managed to win every time. Should it matter that Mayweather is smaller in stature than the heavyweights that used to get all the attention? Probably not. Sometimes greatness comes in small packages.
His upcoming fight with Manny Pacquiao is a good thing and a bad thing. Good, because people have wanted to see them square off for years. But bad, because it took so long to finally happen. Both are "aging" fighters, and this is something that would have been infinitely more interesting had it came together years ago when both were in their primes.
Nevertheless, it will be record-setting in it's own right. Depending on pay-per-view sales, it is estimated Mayweather could make as much as $180 million for this one fight. Pacquiao's potential take is unknown, but it's likely a safe bet to say the Filipino congressman won't be hurting for money any time soon.
Most boxing analysts predict Mayweather will win to go 48-0. If so, and after such a mega-payday having finally dispatched such a world-class worthy challenger, would Mayweather hang up the gloves and call it quits? Stick around for one more to tie Rocky's record? Go for 50? Nobody knows.
Then again, what happens if Pacquiao wins the bout? It's certainly not beyond the realm of possibility. He's got some serious game too. Would there be a rematch for another couple hundred million so Floyd can add to his fleet of luxury cars he doesn't drive or Manny can build up his re-election campaign warchest? Would the viewing public be dumb enough to buy into it again at ridiculous pay-per-view prices? Hard to say. If Manny wins, we'll find out. If Floyd wins, there will be no rematch.
The whole "greatest" thing seems to have a way of changing over the years. For decades, Babe Ruth was considered the greatest baseball slugger. Most of his records have been eclipsed. Gordie Howe was the "greatest" hockey player ever, until Wayne Gretzky (the "great one") came along and shattered his marks.
Once upon a time in boxing it was Joe Louis. Then Rocky. Then Ali. Now Mayweather. It could be argued that Julio Caesar Chavez was the greatest of all time. At one point he had an astounding professional record of 89-0-1. A six time world champion is three different weight classes. He still hold records of the most successful defenses of titles (27), most title fights (31), and is second to only the above-mentioned Joe Louis (23) with title defenses resulting in knockouts (21).
Alas, like the Brown Bomber, JCC hung around too long and wound up sullying his record. But at one time, both were considered the "greatest".
Personally, I think the greatest has nothing to do with boxing. Fittingly enough, Jackie Gleason himself rightfully dubbed that honor on another. As Ralph Kramden in the Honeymooners, who can forget that "Alice, you're the greatest".
It was either that or one of these days, pow, zoom, right to the moon. But perhaps we should leave that sort of thing to the pugilists. Pays more these days too.......
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