Floyd Mayweather didn’t hesitate before naming best boxer he has ever faced – and it’s not Oscar De La Hoya
Floyd Mayweather barely put a foot wrong during his unblemished 50-0 professional career, so picking the best opponent he has ever faced is no easy task.
Only a handful of fighters were able to ask questions of 'The Best Ever' - or just 'TBE' - during his prime.
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There was his nip-and-tuck affair with Oscar De La Hoya in 2007 and, of course, Mayweather's inaugural encounter against Jose Luis Castillo in 2002, which many punters felt he lost.
But besides those two bouts, you won't find many people who feel a fight of his should have gone the other way.
The expectation would then be that Mayweather chose either De La Hoya or Casillo as the best opponent he has shared the ring with.
However, Mayweather reserves that distinction for Manny Pacquiao.
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“The best fighter I ever fought probably was Manny Pacquiao," he told .
"It’s because of his movement. He’s a hell of a fighter, and I can see why he won so many fights.
"And I can see why he’s going down as a Hall of Famer. It’s just certain moves he makes.”
Mayweather vs Pacquiao is still the highest-grossing boxing bout of all time.
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The fight garnered a record 4.6million pay-per-view buys and $410m in revenue.
Despite many predicting its commercial success as early as 2009, disagreements between both camps over the terms for the fight prevented it from coming to fruition until 2015.
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They were close to getting the much-anticipated clash over the line in 2010 but it collapsed over drug testing.
Mayweather wanted blood drawn the day before the fight and 'Pacman' only wanted urine testing in the lead-up due to an apparent fear of needles.
The American then accused Pacquiao of using performance-enhancing drugs, which prompted the Filipino puncher to sue him for defamation.
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Their case was settled out of court for a seven-figure sum and five years later they managed to finally get a deal over the line after Pacquiao agreed to get his blood taken by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
Both boxers passed the random drug testing and went the 12-round distance at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena in front of a full house.
Pacquiao had his moments in the fight but in the end, Mayweather was a deserved winner and was given the nod on all three judges' scorecards by margins of 118-110, 116-112, and 116-112.
By this point, Pacquiao was past his best at 38 years old, so for Mayweather to pick him as his best-ever opponent is a testament to just how good he really was.
And the Filipino was so good that even after his fight with Mayweather at that age, he still had another seven professional bouts in him.
Pacquiao would win five and lose two of his final fights, with a defeat to Yordenis Ugas in 2021 his final ever outing.
He has since been fighting in exhibitions, but in July of this year, fans called for him to stop after being 'beaten up' by his opponent.
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