admin
LOS ANGELES. — Floyd Mayweather believes he is a better boxer than Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson. The 38-year-old welterweight, who is undefeated in 47 professional fights, plans to cement his legacy by beating Manny Pacquiao when the two meet at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 2 in the most anticipated match of the modern era.
The contest is set to be the richest fight in boxing history with an anticipated generated income in excess of $300m.
Pacquiao has been beaten five times in his career but has won world titles at six different weights, while Mayweather’s flawless record means he is rarely modest about his abilities.
Mayweather says he has already eclipsed the careers of Robinson and Ali, the man widely regarded as the greatest boxer in the history of the sport.
Robinson is regularly cited as the greatest “pound-for-pound” fighter and is the commonly-accepted gold standard for non-heavyweights with 173 wins in 200 professional bouts.
“No one can ever brainwash me to make me believe that Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali were better than me,” Mayweather told ESPN.
“But one thing I will do, I’m going to take my hat off to them and respect those guys that paved the way for me to be where I’m at today.”
Mayweather specifically referenced Ali’s 1978 defeat to Leon Spinks as an indicator of his own superiority, and was also critical of the latter’s famous “rope a dope” tactics in his 1974 world heavyweight title win over George Foreman.
“Leon Spinks only had seven fights,” he said. “Never put a fighter in there with Floyd Mayweather with seven fights.
“Take punishment and let a man tire yourself out from beating you? You hit him with a few punches and go down and quit and you want to be glorified for that?”
Meanwhile, Kenny Bayless has been selected to referee Mayweather v Pacquiao by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
The veteran referee will be the third man in the ring for the richest fight in boxing history on May 2 in Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.
Nevada-based Bayless will be joined by three American judges at ringside — Dave Moretti and Burt Clements, also of Nevada, and Glenn Feldman of Connecticut.
Bayless will be paid $25 000 for the job, while the three judges will receive $20 000 each.
It will be the sixth Mayweather bout that Bayless, who turns 65-years-old two days after the bout, has refereed. He oversaw Mayweather’s most recent match against Marcos Maidana.
He has also shared the ring with Pacquiao seven times.
“I think that this fight is so big — all we want is a fair fight.
“I think we can get that,” said Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach.
Nevada State Athletic director Robert Bennett made the recommendations to the
“Kenny knows the pressure and stress and responsibility,” said Bennett.
“He’s efficient and effective and has proven to be successful over a number of years working in Las Vegas and other parts of the world. He’s one of the best referees in the world.”
Robert Byrd and Tony Weeks were also considered as referees but Bayless got the nod.
Veteran scorekeepers Jerry Roth, Adalaide Byrd, plus Guido Cavalleri of Italy and Stanley Christodoulou of South Africa were considered as judges. — Sky Sports.
Online Reporter