Floyd Mayweather: ‘No one is better than me’

By: Francis T.J. Ochoa - 10 years ago

Floyd Mayweather Jr. AP

HOLLYWOOD—The real Floyd Mayweather Jr. has stood up and spoken.

Stripping away the normal trash talk since the announcement of his May 2 (May 3 in Manila) bout with Manny Pacquiao, the undefeated American reverted to his brash self in an interview with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith that was aired here on Sunday.

Mayweather said he was coming after Pacquiao in highlight fashion after admitting that he was sometimes “not impressed” with some of his own victories in his 47-0 record.

“I don’t wanna just win,” Mayweather said in the SportsCenter special. “I wanna do it in such beautiful fashion. I want to do it with such class, such grace.”

‘5 ways to beat him’

When told that he sounded like he was talking of a knockout, Mayweather chuckled and gave a cryptic, indirect reply.

“One thing about (Pacquiao), he ain’t going to go on survival mode like other guys do when they face Floyd Mayweather,” he said.

“There are five ways to beat him. There’s no way to beat me,” added Mayweather. “Choose the weight class, put him in front of me, I’ll beat him.

“Same mentality on May 2nd. Put him in front of me, I’ll beat him.”

Sugar Ray, Ali

Mayweather, also known as “Money,” among other flattering, self-appointed monikers, continued to sell himself as the best ever in his sport.

“No one ever brainwashed me to make me believe Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali were better than me,” he said. “No one can ever brainwash me and tell me that.

Remember Marquez?

“I’m gonna respect those guys because these are the guys that paved the way (for me) to be where I’m at. But for me, to give a sport my whole life … to say there’s someone better than me, absolutely not.”

Mayweather relished Pacquiao’s earlier statement that the Filipino ring icon was more worried before facing Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito than he was going into next month’s superfight at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“I’m glad,” Mayweather said. “I want him to approach (the fight) just like that. Because the same motherf– that kicked his ass (Juan Manuel) Marquez? You seen what I did to him.

“I want him to approach it like he’s not nervous.”

Pacquiao flaw: Carelessness

Marquez dropped Pacquiao when the eight-division champion recklessly walked into a right hand toward the end of the sixth round in 2012. Mayweather, on the other hand, fashioned out a 12-round rout of the Mexican legend.

Mayweather has said Pacquiao tends to be careless sometimes, a flaw he plans to exploit in boxing’s richest fight ever.

“I’m going to win on May 2,” he said. “I’m going to win.”

Originally posted: 2:37 PM | Monday, April 20th, 2015

For more updates on Pacquiao-Mayweather “Fight of the Century,” visit The Pacquiao Files.