Floyd Mayweather is undoubtedly one of the greatest boxers of all time. However, before his passing, Roger Mayweather revealed that there was one man he ranked higher than his nephew.
Floyd retired with an unbeaten record of 50-0 in 2017, but has recently been linked to a professional return and a potential rematch with pound-for-pound rival Manny Pacquiao.
While a second victory over “Pac Man” wouldn’t do much for his legacy, the return of “TBE” could eventually see Mayweather break Bernard Hopkins’ record as the oldest world champion ever, if he can defeat his Filipino foe and get his hands on a belt.
Even if Mayweather adds this historic record to his vast collection of achievements in the sport, it’s hard to imagine that it would have been enough to change the opinion of his late uncle and former trainer.
Speaking to Boxing Scene in 2012, Roger Mayweather admitted that Floyd was second in his all-time rankings, believing that Sugar Ray Robinson was almost unshakeable from the top spot.
“[Floyd] is ranked just behind Sugar Ray Robinson. He won seven world titles, right? He beat everyone 130 to 154. Where would you put him? Ray Robinson is the greatest period of all time. No matter the circumstances, Ray Robinson is the greatest fighter in boxing history.
“Do you know what his record was? 127-1. Do you know of another fighter with a record of 127-1? And the fighter who beat him, [Robinson] I beat him six times, Jake LaMotta.
“The only reason he beat Robinson was because he outweighed him by about 50 pounds. Ray Robinson wasn’t even really a middleweight fighter, but slowly he started getting to that weight and then he smoked. [LaMotta] every time.
“There is no fighter in the history of boxing to do what Ray Robinson did. But fighters don’t fight as often anymore, [every] two weeks, three weeks, four weeks. Now they have all this medical crap. Fighters can’t fight as often as they used to.”
Robinson is widely considered the greatest of all time, winning world titles in the welterweight and middleweight divisions and amassing an incredible record of 174 wins, 19 losses and 6 draws during his legendary career.
As for Mayweather, he could look to extend his own record to 51 fights. Currently, it is believed that Pacquiao will fight in January, with possible fights against Amir Khan and WBA welterweight champion Rolando Romero still incomparable to the interest that a second mega-fight with his old rival would generate.
