Floyd Mayweather Jr retired with an iconic record of 50-0, but esteemed boxing analyst, trainer and commentator, Teddy Atlas, believes that there is one boxing legend who could have really tested the defensive skills of ‘TBE’.
Mayweather’s record is his brand, his legacy, and his claim to being one of the greatest fighters to have graced the sport. Although, it has not come without it’s controversies, with a couple of previous opponents believing that they did enough to end the American’s unbeaten streak.
His first true close shave came back in 2002, when tasked with Jose Luis Castillo in a challenge for the WBC lightweight world title upon his debut at the weight. Mayweather was the beneficiary of a much-debated unanimous-decision, with many fight fans believing that, whilst Mayweather won the first four rounds, the majority of the contest was controlled by Castillo.
To his credit, Mayweather rematched Castillo months later and scored a less disputable unanimous-decision victory, but five years on, he could well have finally suffered a defeat.
In one of his most legendary wins, against pound-for-pound superstar Oscar De La Hoya – boxing’s first six division champion – Mayweather claimed a split-decision win that ‘Golden Boy’ still feels as though could have gone the other way.
Speaking on his podcast, ‘The Fight’, Atlas detailed why he would have wanted to see Mayweather take on fellow five-division world champion, Sugar Ray Leonard, in his prime.
“I would have loved to have seen Sugar Ray Leonard and Floyd Mayweather; two of the greatest talents of their time and Mayweather considered as one of the greatest defensive fighters ever, versus the fastest and most explosive fighter that he would have ever faced.
“It would have been very interesting and fun to see if Floyd would have still had an ‘0’ at the end of his record, because he does have an ‘0’ right now. That would have been very, very interesting.”
Leonard and Mayweather are two of just six fighters to have claimed world titles in five weight divisions; joined in that elite club by De La Hoya, Thomas Hearns, Manny Pacquiao and, most recently, Terence Crawford.
