MANILA, Philippines—The debate as to who is the greatest of all time is always a hot topic in sports.
Boxing is no exception and Floyd Mayweather Jr. made his case and stirred up the hornet’s nest at the same time when he posted a list on boxrec.com that has him on top of the pedestal as the sport’s “GOAT.”
“Numbers don’t lie and boxrec told the truth,” Mayweather, the former pound-for-pound king, wrote on Twitter and Instagram Tuesday.
The post, which drew mixed reactions from boxing fans, also appear to serve as another jab at his longtime rival Manny Pacquiao, who’s behind him in the rankings at number two.
Rumors about a potential rematch between Mayweather and Pacquiao recently resurfaced anew after the two legends went back-and-forth on social media.
Mayweather, who is retired with a 50-0 record which included a unanimous decision victory over Pacquiao in 2015, also teased about a possible ring return when he shared a video on his Instagram account of himself sweating it out in training and hitting the double end bag.
Coincidentally, the post came just shortly after Sean Gibbons, Pacquiao’s right-hand man and US matchmaker, told Filipino scribes that the Filipino welterweight champion’s record of 62 wins and seven losses is more superior than Mayweather’s unbeaten feat.
“There’s only one Manny Pacquaio and there’s only one Manny Pacquiao that’s accomplished what he’s done in the history of boxing and that’s [being] an eight-time world champion,” Gibbons, who puts Pacquiao along with the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson as “two of the greatest fighters ever,” said during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum Tuesday.
“I look at his bodywork and what he’s done. Floyd Mayweather can walk around with his 50-0 all day. Cherrypicked a few of those and I think he got beat early in his career by Jose Luis Castillo,” added Gibbons. “The senator has never turned a fight down. He may lost a few along the way but his 62-7 is greater than your 50-0.”