Floyd Mayweather Jr. exchange punches with Manny Pacquiao during their welterweight unification championship bout, May 2, 2015 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayweather defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision. AFP PHOTO / JOHN GURZINKSI (Photo by JOHN GURZINSKI / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. will always be intertwined with one another as rivals and as two of the best fighters of their generation.
Their celebrated careers are often compared to despite their contrasting styles.
Mayweather has the advantage when it comes to record after he retired with an unblemished 50-0 mark, which includes a unanimous decision win over Pacquiao five years ago in their only meeting.
But even so, that didn’t stop former two-time welterweight champion Shawn Porter from choosing Pacquiao over Mayweather in response to a fan’s question during the third episode of Impact Network’s “Stars and Champions” show hosted by Dan Rafael.
“I’m actually gonna go with Manny,” Porter told Rafael when asked whose career between the two greats he would rather have. “I think that even though Manny has taken a lot of punishment – he’s been in a lot of wars, he’s been in a lot of exciting fights.”
“You know me, I like the war. I like the battle and I like the excitement. So, for those reasons, I would pick Manny. And then on top of that, if you look around the world more people appreciate Manny. More people respect and adore Manny than dislike him.”
The 32-year-old Porter, who relates more to Pacquiao’s “exciting” style rather than Mayweather’s methodical approach, also lauded the Filipino legend’s persona outside the ring.
“Even me as the boxer, because just like when I get in the ring and I get people up on their feet, that’s what Manny Pacquiao did,” Porter said.
“They’re two different fighters. But again, at the end of the day, when Manny Pacquiao goes out and he walks up and down the street, more people are willing to shake his hand and say hi to him than make a mean mug or wanna confront him or anything like that,” he added.
Porter (30-3-1, 17 KOs) has expressed his interest in fighting Pacquiao, who holds the WBA (Super) welterweight title.
Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) scored an impressive win over Keith Thurman in his last fight in July while Porter yielded the WBC belt to Errol Spence Jr. in a unification bout via split decision eight months ago.