Floyd Mayweather proclaimed that he is the best boxer of all time after leaving the legendary Muhammad Ali out of his top five rankings.
The 44-year-old American superstar, who holds an undefeated record of 50-0, retired from boxing in 2017 after his super-fight with UFC star Conor McGregor.
Mayweather previously criticised Ali during an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter and challenged how the Greatest could rank ahead of him as the best boxer.
Advert
Money also snubbed the former two-time WBC heavyweight champ from his top five rankings on ESPN, with Mayweather criticising Ali’s performances against Ken Norton.
Speaking to Fat Joe on Instagram Live, Mayweather said his new top three would include himself, Pernell Whitaker was second and Roberto Duran ranked third.
Read More:
The former five-weight world champ’s choices included only one place for a heavyweight boxer, with boxing legend Larry Holmes getting the nod.
Advert
Mayweather told the American rapper: “We’re going to have to go, OK, we’ll go ‘Money’ Mayweather, we got to go Pernell Whitaker, imma go Roberto Duran -- man, you put me in a tight predicament.
“As far as with the heavyweights, if we're going to go heavyweights, I’m going to be honest, I've got to go Larry Holmes.”
Fat Joe challenged Mayweather on his choice of Holmes and claimed the Easton Assassin was not better than the likes of Ali or Mike Tyson.
However, Mayweather stood firm on his choice and provided an in-depth breakdown on why he selected Holmes for the No 4 spot.
“Larry Holmes beat everybody in his era, when Larry Holmes got beat by Mike Tyson, he got beat by a young, hungry champion and he came out of a year’s retirement and got beat by Tyson,” he explained.
Advert
“I've got to say Larry Holmes, he had the basic fundamentals, he had the jab and even right now he's still living a great life because he made smart investments.
Read More:
“So, he was good from the beginning of his career to the end of his career.”
Mayweather rounded off his top five rankings with former two-time light welterweight champ Aaron Pryor.
Advert
The Hall of Famer explained: “Aaron Pryor, the only reason why Aaron Pryor lost a fight was because of drugs, he lost only one fight because of drugs.”
Mayweather blasted Ali’s famed rope-a-dope technique during an extraordinary rant, as well as calling out the boxing resume of legendary former boxer Rocky Marciano.
Tyson has pulled no punches towards Mayweather over his claim that he is better than Ali, with Iron Mike calling his fellow boxing legend “very delusional.”
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/PA/ESPNTopics: Floyd Mayweather, Muhammad Ali, Boxing