The term G.O.A.T., or Greatest of All Time, commonly seems to be defined differently by each and every sports fan. It is an honor limited to one athlete per sport - and a title that is hard to obtain without controversy. But this past weekend, an undefeated, flamboyant, and technical Floyd Mayweather extended his win streak to 44-0, keeping an unblemished record...unblemished.
In every sport, there is an argument for who is the best to ever do it. In golf, its Jack vs Tiger; in soccer, people are starting to make an argument for Lionel Messi; and for the first time ever, basketball die-hards are starting to pin Lebron James against Michael Jordan - especially after this 4th MVP award in five years. People are interpreting the "G.O.A.T." differently, and for that, we get no real answer as to who is the best to ever play their respective game.
While this argument remains unresolved in many of the mainstream sports, the argument in boxing is a little different. One fighter, and only one, is undefeated in 44 fights. One fighter, and only one, has been undefeated professionally for 17 years. Boxing viewers have NEVER seen someone take such little punishment, and we have NEVER seen someone land significant strikes so accurately. Floyd has a long list of great and high-level fighters he has taken out on the way to his 44 and 0 record. Though some were closer than others (de la Hoya, Castillo), Floyd has continued to outbox his competition over twelve rounds. If they make it that far.
My first Floyd fight was Corrales vs Mayweather and I have been a diehard Mayweather fan. Since beating Oscar de la Hoya, I have considered him the best in the world. But now it is time to take that to the next level - simple and plain - Floyd Mayweather is the greatest boxer OF ALL TIME. Saturday night, Robert Guerrero failed to land even 20% of his punches, while Floyd landed at will... with ease. Leading up to the fight, many thought this powerful and nearly undefeated challenger could pose an actual threat to a Mayweather who spend a quarter of the last year in prison and hadn't fought in twelve months. Wrong.
Floyd responded to this off-year as the best-ever should. He picked Guerrero apart. He showed age (36) would have no influence on his performance. He displayed an offense that landed whenever and wherever he desired, arguably unlike anything we have ever seen in boxing. He even worked with his father to improve his defense - a defense that has already been considered the best defense in all of boxing. Not only did he evade 82% of Guerrero's punches, Guerrero didn't land a single hard shot to Mayweather in 36 minutes. On the contrary, 'Pretty Boy' landed powerful right straights whenever he felt like it and did so with a damaged right hand.
Robert Guerrero was a legitimate threat, someone who people thought could end his streak going into fight week, but now someone people will say he "had no chance" in there with Floyd. It seems boxing fans will do anything to write off Money Mayweather's opponents or accomplishments, yet they were the same people the week before saying Guerrero was 'the guy' to end the perfect record.
In combat sports, when recognizing someone as the best ever, there is trouble in stacking them up against the other greats due to weight classes and strength of opponent. But as a fight fan, you MUST realize these things are uncontrollable. Floyd was never going to be a heavyweight , but would defeat your beloved Muhammed Ali if he was. You all argued Manny would take out Floyd and that he ran from the fight. Where is Manny now? Weight classes and opponents are uncontrollable - statistics are not. All we can do is evaluate a fighter based on his record, skill, and performance. Let me do the math for you:
44-0 + 17 years Undefeated + Best Defensive Boxer All-Time + Prolific Offense = G.O.A.T.
This is not to bash other greats and the accolades they acquired in their day. Sports fans, more specifically boxing fans, will still disagree with Floyd being the best ever. I am unsure if this is influenced by his personality, their love for another boxer, or some other reason. Surely, if they disagree with the notion of Floyd being the greatest ever, they are not looking at statistics. If its walks like a duck and it talks like a duck... it's a duck.
@fitnessphanatic
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