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AP Photo/Mark Avery
According to everyone with the last name of Mayweather, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is "the best" and we are reminded of such whenever the cameras are on. The present tense certainly does not apply because Money May has not fought since December 2007. A lot has happened in boxing since Floyd, Jr. "retired" and, if he was the best in 2007, then he is no longer so at the current moment.
Who is better? The lazy way to write this article is to write "Manny Pacquiao" ten times and be done with it. The tougher approach is to avoid the number 1 pound-for-pound fighter altogether because it is a given that he is "the best" right now. Harder still would be to avoid any fighter on the current pound-for-pound list.
Now that the rules are set, here are 10 fighters who are better than Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (listed by record):
Number 10. Yuriorkis Gamboa (15-0, 13 KOs). A little risky to put a fighter with such a scant record on the list; however, an exception can be made with regard to Gamboa. He won Olympic gold in 2004 and is as explosive as any man fighting today. Gamboa may fight Juan Manuel Lopez in 2010, which means bet the ranch that the fight doesn't go over 9 1/2 rounds.
Number 9. Nonito Donaire (22-1, 14 KOs). Donaire lost his second professional fight, which can be forgiven in light of the fact that The Filipino Flash has destroyed the flyweight division since then and was the first man to defeat Vic Darchinyan--by brutal knockout.
Number 8. Timothy Bradley (24-0, 11 KOs). Bradley isn't flashy, he isn't heavy handed, but he is technically superb and a legitimate "good guy" within the sport. His dismantling of Nate Campbell last month (before the lobbied stoppage) proved that Desert Storm isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Number 7. Edwin Valero (25-0, 25 KOs). How does an awkward fighter who is not technically sound make this list? He is an absolute killer in the ring and appears to know just one way to win a fight--by knockout. Valero will likely never get a shot at Pacquiao, but he runs in Juan Manuel Marquez's territory and that makes for a very intriguing match-up regardless as to what happens on September 19th.
Number 6. Andre Berto (25-0, 19 KOs). Berto is on this list for one simple reason--he fights legitimate welterweights and so far has taken them all down. Andre was on the short list to fight Shane Mosley--an opponent that Mayweather has elected to avoid.
Number 5. Juan Manuel Lopez (26-0, 24 KOs). Not only is JuanMa a destroyer, but no fighter has ever lasted 12 rounds with him. He beats his opponents physically and mentally. Miguel Cotto may well be more popular; however, Lopez is the most exciting fighter from Puerto Rico.
Number 4. Jorge Linares (27-0, 18 KOs). Linares is a fantastic boxer out of Tokyo by way Barinas, Venezuela. He is mostly unknown outside of the Pacific Rim, but his one trip to America showcased that he was able to do what Manny Pacquiao could not--knockout Oscar Larios.
Number 3. Chad Dawson (28-0, 17 KOs). The problem with Dawson is that he is in a weak division; however, he is the only man to have defeated Tomasz Adamek and has wins over Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver (twice). Dawson will throw down with Johnson again on November 7th and may face Bernard Hopkins in 2010.
Number 2. Arthur Abraham (30-0, 24 KOs). King Arthur defended his middleweight title 10 times before electing to move up in weight to 168lbs in order to participate in the Showtime tournament. His next opponent, Jermian Taylor, will no doubt cause speculation as to how Abraham would have fared against Kelly Pavlik in a middleweight unification bout--a fight Abraham begged to be made.
Number 1. Chris John (42-0-2, 22 KOs). John's record alone justifies his participation on this list. More importantly, The Dragon defeated Juan Manuel Marquez, which is still something that remains on Floyd, Jr.'s "to do" list.
Realistically, "the best" can mean different things. To Floyd Mayweather, Jr., however, the phrase is all inclusive. The 10 men above do not draw like Mayweather can and, except for John, are relatively far away from his record of 39-0 (25 KOs). Rather, the fighters above are listed because they are all willing to fight the best to be the best. In 2007, Mayweather was not willing to do the same. In that regard, all 10 are better than Floyd, Jr.
Maybe Act II of his career will be different; however, that will require defeating Juan Manuel Marquez and the winner of Cotto-Pacquiao. Accomplish those tasks and we will revisit the subject.
Comments
Yo bro u really gotta be f'n kiddin me with this list...... I hate Floyd Mayweather but I won't say that Andre Berto is better than him. Who the f has Berto ever fought???
EXActly,FLOYD IS AFRAID TO FIGHT THE BEST OF THE BEST..running away from COTTO and MOSLEY..Run floyd Run...
fLOYD SAYS HE THE BEST ONLY BY RUNNING, his mouth and from worthy oppnents.
News flash!!!!!
Floyd's calling out usain bolt!! Poor usain bolt thinks he's afaster runner than floyd! Show em ur skills money may!! Lmao
indeed they are far away better than Floyd.....
" TO BE THE BEST YOU HAVE TO FIGHT AND BEAT THE BEST "
GOT IT FLOYD!
NICE POINT OF VIEW....
if floyd badweather can knock down markis in this fight he had a good chance to beat pacquiao, remember pacquiao knock down markiss 3x in their first encounter this is the time that badweather will show his genuine ability in boxing, not fake ability, by avoiding fight big names in boxing..
Your list is a joke. You obviously don't know boxing. Mr. Mayweather is one of the best boxers who ever put the gloves on. He was a great amateur fighter and is one of the greatest professional boxers ever. You need to check his record of all the champions he has defeated i.e. Corrales, Gatti, Chavez, Castillo, Judah, Hernandez, Hatton, Corley, Mitchell, Baldomir, and De La Hoya to name just a few. Until any of the fighters on your list come close to fighting a list of fighters of this caliber and remain undefeated then and then only will they be in the league of Mr. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Sincerly a boxing expert,
The Icemaker
Send all responses to nlts777@yahoo.com
Floyd said he is the best. Many dumb people believed him. That's how good Floyd is. He knows a lot about sales and marketing.
Mayweather is the most overrated fighter of all time... The best fighter he ever fought was Delahoya which Mosely won two times and Pacquiao destroyed.... and yes Delahoya and Castilo won that fight.
Floyd is only best at talking smack!
Look at the quality of his victims: Hatton, De Lahoya, Judah, Gatti, Corales, Castillo (who many believe beat Floyd in their first fight.
Now compare that to Pacman's opponents: Barrera, Morales, Marques, De Lahoya, Hatton. These guys are all Hall Of Famers. And the 2 opponents they Pac and Floyd shares, Pac demolished in devastating fashin. Hatton by brutal KO in 2 rounds and Hoya quit in 8 rhounds. Floyd wasn't able to to do what Pac did.
Of course Floyd jr. is the best of lifting himself saying that he is the best for not officially recognized. He is the best of avoiding his real match at welterweight division. He is the best cherrypicker, finally he is the best runner inside the ring. That are some to which Floyd jr. is really best for.
Floyd Jr. is the best of making marketing strategy to be notice just to get a big fight. Using his reverse psychology by criticizing big names in the sports just to bite his lure to fight him. But actually he is the not a big draw, just making his name big by himself.
i am the best in: promoting my fight.
with talking, its bussiness man.
running during fight.
over rated figther at all time.
avoiding best boxer in my wt. division.
winning all my fight cos they are all
small guy, he he he he
Like father like son, Floyd Sr. said i'm not the best trainer but the greatest trainer of all, Floyd Jr. said i'm best best fighter in the sports. Two clowns in the sport of boxing.
Icemaker floyd is not the best the people you name. Most wont even make the Hall of Fame. Dela Hoya & Judah might because they won in more then 2 different weight divisions. But the rest look at there history buddy. Most of them are single division champions. Baldomire hahaha that guy has more then 10 losses. And you call yourself an expert.
yall dumb as floyd dat whole bull how do he run cuz he dnt get hit he tha best speed power defense neva been hurt or knock down he gone punish jmm nd then if pac-man wanna fight he gone get tha same thing
if floys mayweather is the best for the boxing world, then goodbye boxing, hello UFC
ice man heres the facts of PBF VS PAC last 10 opponents: PBF fought 3 Fighters with no titles:Sosa, N'dou, Bruseles. 3 single weight Champs:Corley, Mitchell, Baldomir. 3 dual weight Champs:Gatti,Judah,Hatton.1 3 or more weight champion:Dela Hoya. Now lets look at PAC. He fought 2 with no titles(Didnt count their Asian or Mexican title belts)Solis,3KBattery. 2 single weight champs:Valesquez,Diaz. 3 dual weight champs:Morales,Larios,Hatton. 3 with 3 or more weight champions:Berrera,Marquez,Dela Hoya. Pac has far superior opponents and thats a FACT. ICEMAN KNOW YOUR STUFF AND DONT TAKE GARBAGE!!!
best in what,floyd?we cant rate him after his fight againts jmm.becuase he was not excited to watch in the ring BORINGGG...BUT AS OF NOW HE BELONG TO THE BOTTOM HE DOESNT HAVE A SPOT.CORRECT..
Iceman hahahaha Bill made you look stupid hahahaha a dumb boxing expert you are. Study first before you say things. Bill proved it.Pac fought Berrerra2x, Marquez2x & Dela Hoya are definitly Hall of Famers. Larios, Hatton, Morales3x might be HOF cause they are dual weight champs. Pacs record against these greats are 8-1-1 5KO's Thats 10 Elite Fight Bouts. PBF possible HOF are Gatti,Judah,Hatton & Dela Hoya Thats only 4 Elite Fights. PBF needs more Elite fights to be considered GREAT. PAC IS WAY AHEAD. AND THATS A FACT Icemaker. Maybe you should tell your idol PBF to fight better competition so you can brag a little bit better. You've been schooled BOY by us boxing experts!!!!
sorry people of that wrong stat Baldomir has 9 losses & 6 draws. But still he sucks as a champion. People if PBF fans say hes great. Just copy the stats that Sid & Bill has. It will show how PAC is way way better then PBF when it comes to legacy. Undefeated doesnt mean anything. The stats that really count is how many elite fighters have they beaten. PBF hasn't fought enough of them so you PBF fans stop bragging about he is the best!!!
One thing I'll give PBF credit is that he is an elite fighter for winning 5 Weight Divisions. But He definitly isnt the Greatest in this era. Theres 2 ahead of him in that category with 6 Weight Division Titles Dela Hoya & Pacquiao. If only PBF would try to win in the middleweight division then he can be equal to them. And then he still has to beat PAC himself. Pac may win his 7th and will stand alone as the Greatest Fighter this Decade!! Thats alot of peoples opinion too. There was a recent poll who would give Paul Williams the most challenge and 29% of the people picked PAC 2nd only to Pavlick who got 30% of the vote. Wow and Paul William is a beast that no one wants to fight!!That shows you how many people are starting to believe in what they are witnessing of pacs talent. When he beats Cotto PBF is next!!! then his most challenging fight will be against Mosley another beast in the Welterweight Division!!!Paul Williams hmmm I dont think SO!! hehehehe
No way for Moneymay,he will not be called the best because yes he has gone since 2007 and he has rejected tough opponent with in their prime mosley, cotto & williams. He's not even fit to call "money" because he has just only lodging delaHoya & Hatton in their peak existence.
Right on the butt, bro!!!
Right on, Sloan! If Mayweather ever finds the balls to fights someone who is 15 pounds bigger than he is, or someone 5 inches taller than he is, then he is better than the Pacman.
Until then, all you yellow-chicken-admiring dumb suckers Mayweather retards fans can continue to worship your Fraudship.
Floyd is just goOd using his MOUTH....'that's all that remains in him....nothing else....
I won't hate Floyd because of his mouth if he has proven himself by fighting the best in his division, the welterweights. I loved Ali and his big mouth, but he went out there and fought the best there was. But for Fraud to claim he is the best when he has avoided real competition in the welterweights, well, he is just simply conning people. And he is the product of everything wrong in boxing. by clever marketing and choosing the least risk for the biggest reward, PBF has really profited. I think now that he's fight with Marquez is not selling, Floyd is waking up to reality. You can fool some people some of the time. But you can't fool them all the time.
Hey Floyd, I'm not a retard. And I'm not buying any fight of yours until you fight a real welterweight. Try Cotto, the comebacking Margarito and Shane Mosley. Then I will buy your fight.
Floyd what? Who the hell is he?
MAYWEATHER IS NOT BEST BOXER ON THE PLANET. MAYBE HE IS THE WORST BOXER. THE SELFPROCLAIMED BEST BOXER, IS THE BEST P4P BOXER IN THE JUNGLE OF AFRICA... CHASING MONKEYS, AND OTHER WILD LIFE....THIS UGLY GAY FRAUD THE GAYRUNNER STINKS, BORING FIGHTER..PEOPLE HATES TRASHTALKER... MONEY MAY IS WANTED BY THE IRS FOR TAX EVASION, A CRIME PUNISHABLE BY RECLUSION PERPETUA. THE GAY THUGS IS LIKE HIS IDOL ADOLF THE HITMAN HITLER, NAGSIGIG HITHIT BAYOT DIAY... BAD GUY/GAY MAYWEATHER WILL HUG/CLINCH JMM AND WHISPER, HEY BOY I LIKE YOUR STYLE, MEET ME IN ROOM 69.... THE GAY WILL TEST DICK OF JMM IN HIS @$$...
PACQUAIO BEWARE OF THIS GAY, HIV INFECTED MAYWEATHER...
SAVE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY NOT TO BUY CRYBABY JMM-GAYRUNNER FIGHT. SAVE IT FOR PACMAN-COTTON FIGHT
floyd is d great PRETENDER. Hello cops get him and put in jail. Prisoners will break his balls inside w/out gloves. hehehe.
everyone of you are totally unbiased. there is not 1 fighter who trains and works as hard as floyd. his talking is entertainment to sell fights. he is takes care of his kids while most you'lls are with cps. until welterweight he fought the best of the best and destroyed people. then everyone wanted him to fight judah who @ the time was undisputed champ. the fight was signed before judah lost to baldomir.which hurt the promotion badly. then everyone said baldomir is the real champ and floyd shuts him out 12-0 or 120-108 on the cards. nobody argued about the fight with oscar because evryone wanted to see it @ the time. oscar made floyd fight in a bathroom size ring and made him wear pillows for gloves. he was outweighed by almost 20 pounds but the real truth came out after the fight. then everyone was so impressed with hatton's ko over a old castillio. so now we need to have the 2 unbeaten fighters fight. floyd ko's hatton. he tried to fight cotto @ 140 and mosley after vargas win.
cotto said no when both were at 140 and when floyd was still under arum. arum said cotto was not ready and give him a couple years. after baldomir he told dlh and mosley to sign and he'll tax that ass to. his words. mosley said he had a toothache and wanted no part of the 29 year old mayweather. floyd beat oscar @ 154 but actually weighed 145-146 fight night. he said they bumped it up to 150 to make the fight sound better. also, when floyd was champ @ 130 and mosley champ @ 135 mosley said no. then moves up 2 weight classes to fight dlh a year later. get the facts straight, mosley, the cheater who i still like would get outboxed by floyd. cotto ran but outboxed mosley the last 2 rounds. imagine what floyd would do. cotto is way too slow and floyd would destroy him. pacquiao is the only one who has the speed,power and trainer to maybe beat floyd. if he can't nobody will beat him and that includes paul williams who last year lost to quintana. champion 10 out of 11 yrs as a pro= no credit
i don't like disrespecting great fighters but i just want everyone to answer 1 question. IF FLOYD BEATS MARQUEZ, THEN THE PAC-COTTO WINNER(HOPE IT IS PAC), AND THEN MOSLEY IN THE NEXT 12 TO 15 MONTHS WILL EVERYONE GIVE HIM CREDIT THEN. SIMPLE YES OR NO. YOU CAN HATE HIM AS A INDIVIDUAL BUT WHO CAN'T DENY HIS WORK RATE AND PURE TALENT, AND HE SIGNED TO FIGHT 5 FIGHTS AND AFTER MARQUEZ HE WILL FIGHT THE COTTO-PAC WINNER OR MOSLEY. THEN IF THE WORLD DEMANDS AND WILLIAMS BEATS PAVLIK MAYBE FLOYD WOULD GO UP TO 160 AND TRY TO OUTBOX AND OUTFOX WILLIAMS OR PAVLIK FOR THE BELT. HE IS THE ONLY FIGHTER EVER TO BLOW DLH OFF AND A 20 MILLION GUARANTEE PLUSPPV BUY RATES 50-50 FOR THE REMATCH. HE SAID UNTIL THERES A BIG FIGHT FOR ME THEN I WILL CHILL. NOW EVERYONE IS ON TOP OF THERE GAME, FOUND THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH, AND THREATENS TO TAKE HIS FIGHTER OF THE DECADE AWARD AND NOW HE'S BACK. IF HE LOSES FINE BUT IF HE WINS GIVE HIM THE CREDIT HE DESERVES RING WISE. WHITAKER WAS CALLED BORING BUT=W'S
i've never ever buy this kind of borring fight.it's better to save my money to pacman vs cotto fight...
floyd is the BEST....among the loudmouths!!!!
mayweather is still the best.i dont care he is arrogant,this what his style.still the champion.if some one can de tron him.he is the best
You got to be kidding me!!!! Stop making up stories .. Do you think we are stupid or something. Mayweather is the most overrated fighter of all time !!!! You can say all you want but until he actually fight all of them, (which we all know he wont )he should stop proclaiming that he is the best. And that goes for you too .Let me ask you this ...what if Marquez knocks Mayweather out?...Then what?? See what im saying!!!!! WHAT IF will never be good enough. Stop ducking Fraud!!!!!!!
floyd jr is still an ape! he doesnt evovle yet.
your right floyd isn't that great at all.if he fight and beat mosley and williams maybe i considered him to the list with pacman.beating pacman and marquez does not empresed me at all!
Oh yeah, floyd trains really very hard before any fights... Yes he is one of the most skilled boxer. However, he can't be considered the best because he doesn't fight his equals. He is in fact can be considered a COWARD. How then can floyd be a great warrior if he has that tag on him? Until he fights those A1 boxers, I will continue to regard him as such.
all the inate hate and the ones added by jr. himself aside, i think he was great specially back at his superfeather weight days at the late 90s but the big mouth (which annoys and entertains) and the cherry picking for that "untainted"(poor castillo, go watch his first dance with jose luis castillo and see what i'm talking about) record of his, getting over concious while going up in weight contributed to everyone questioning his legacy. everyone says he's boring but i think dominance is a beauty, that's how ali and leonard did it but what might upset everyone is that floyd is content on getting the descision not opting for the strong finish. change topic, must love the king arthur abraham! must love showtime's tourney! but i'll still have my money on mikkel kessler winning this though! boxing needs this fights! and arreola holy crap! more than a puncher's shot against the most dominant heavyweight of our time (not wladimir) vitali! this is gonna be exiting!
Floyd = the best loud mouth boxer we ever seen, but that's about 2 years ago folks.
now
it only stands LOUD MOUTH bully picking a smaller and older opponent. I pick Marquez in 3 rounds, yeah in 3 boring rounds he will injured his knee and surrender. VIVA Mexico...
i like floyds way no doubt he is a great fighter in his own way. I respect his atatus as the best before. But as pacquiao's feat to handle common opponents better than him, that statement might not be true. But still his way is the boring way, opponents might lose due to boredom if not due to frustration. But still a legitimate style. I just want to see opposing style from pacquiao or parallel style from Marquez and out of beat but powerful style of cotto will affect him if they meet in the ring. Thats boxing all about. I like Floyd beaten coz i think his no longer the best!
Mayweather should have a small dose of humility injected into his system.Those who believe that mayweather is a cash cow is a fool as he proclaimed he is.
Mayweather is making you like a fool if you believe him. He is underestimating the I.Q of boxing fans.
his mouth's the best for sure.he could give me a blowjob
i think mayweather will be knock out by some gud fighters out there......if he insist that he is the numero uno boxer.....myweather dont be stupid that yuo claim you r numero uno......
marquez will surrender at round 6 due to fat ass and not able to run,,,,,mayweather will be the pound 4 pound jogger in the planet.....he he he he joke lng,,,,common mayweather jr take some risk....fight marquez in gud condition ok?
If Floyd Mayweather wins over JM Marquez on 19. September convincingly there´s no doubt in my mind that Floyd will agree to Pacquiao/Mayweather fight with less demands, that easy because of the big money concerns ! A fight with Marquez is a tune-up for fighting Pacquiao. Floyd is testing how far he can go with him. Smart move!
I’m not worried about spending $49.95 (PPV) or $15 (Movie Theaters)…that’s chump change…So I’ve decided to fly out to vegas and watch it live…I got my ticked fr $300 (Ticket master)…I’m flying out on the 18th and returning on the 20th…All you suckers sit home and cry about floyd while I’m out in vegas having the time of my life…All of you clowns know you want to see the fight if you don’t watch floys fight who do you watch??? Since when is cotto a big draw…Pac is ok but he’s no Floys…I’ll order that on PPV or see in in the theaters…
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