Manny Pacquiao delivered a swift response, akin to his blistering fashion within the ring, when requested to check the illustrious careers of Floyd Mayweather and Roy Jones Jr.
The Filipino southpaw locked horns with Mayweather again in 2015, a few years faraway from what most would have thought of their respective primes.
For Pacquiao, particularly, the blockbuster occasion arrived far too late, with this model of the eight-division world champion not being the identical drive that he as soon as was.
Mayweather, too, was hardly on the peak of his powers, however his masterful defensive manoeuvres have been nonetheless sufficient to convincingly outpoint his long-term rival.
As a substitute, Mayweather’s prime is extensively thought of to be across the time that he secured a punishing Tenth-round stoppage victory over Diego Corrales in 2001.
Again then, ‘Fairly Boy’ was not solely campaigning down at super-featherweight – a number of divisions beneath 147lbs – however had simply initiated his dominant surge within the decrease weight courses.
Mayweather did, in fact, later amass his extra high-profile victories in opposition to the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Shane Mosely, however this was throughout a time when many felt that he was combating above his pure weight.
Jones Jr, in the meantime, is one other pound-for-pound legend who flew by way of the divisions, although many consider that his finest years got here at center and super-middleweight.
Notable victories over Bernard Hopkins and James Toney, as an example, have been sufficient to cement Jones’ greatness in these explicit weight courses.
And so, when contemplating that, in addition to Pacquiao’s bitter feud with Mayweather, it’s maybe unsurprising that the 46-year-old opined in an interview with FightHype that, prime for prime, Jones was the higher fighter.
Jones and Mayweather had really been linked to a shock struggle with each other earlier this 12 months after the pair grew to become embroiled in a forwards and backwards on social media.
Whereas these talks have now gone quiet, it remarkably seems {that a} rematch between Pacquiao and Mayweather may very well be on the playing cards for 2026.
