Ask most boxing experts for their prediction for Saturday’s Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight, and the thinking ahead of the mega-bout is awfully clear. Big-time boxers say, for the most part, that Mayweather will win. Most boxing writers think the same way. And for what it’s worth, I think Mayweather will prevail on points.
But if you ask Mike Tyson, the most-feared heavyweight champion of the past 30 years, you’ll get a different answer. Just ask him (if you dare) about what he thinks about Mayweather’s claim that he’s greater than Muhammad Ali.
Said Mayweather recently in a critique of Ali’s career: “He only ever fought in one weight class. Leon Spinks beat him when he had seven fights. They’d never put a fighter in there with Floyd Mayweather with seven fights.” Mayweather also criticized Ali’s successful Rope-A-Dope method against George Foreman that gave Ali one of his biggest wins (and one of the most well-known boxing victories in history).
Altogether, it was a disrespectful moment for Mayweather talking about one of the boxing greats.
Mike Tyson, your response?
Mayweather also drew a response from Ali and his daughter, Laila—who called Mayweather a “broken person” and a “little boy.”
Meanwhile, Ali (or someone in his camp) took to Twitter.
"Don't you forget, I am the greatest!" #MuhammadAli pic.twitter.com/HXaTz39RPM
— Muhammad Ali (@MuhammadAli) April 27, 2015
Pacquiao also might have something to say on Saturday about Mayweather’s claim, and for now, Pacquiao is the only one with the ability to shut up Mayweather for good.
Photo via Eduardo Merrille/Flickr (CC BY SA 2.0)