Welcome back to the Club.
On Episode 2 of Club Shay Shay, Shannon Sharpe welcomes in Floyd Mayweather Jr.
And of course, 'Money' Mayweather didn’t pull any punches in speaking about Conor McGregor, Jordan vs LeBron, and why he believes he is undeniably the greatest boxer of all-time.
“Every time boxing comes on, you don’t bring up Muhammed Ali’s name, you don’t bring up Mike Tyson’s name – you always bring up Floyd Mayweather’s name because I’m still the face of boxing. I’ve accomplished more than every fighter in the history of boxing.”
Mayweather, who retired in 2017 with a 50-0 record (27 KOs), took some heat when he listed his Top 5 boxers back in July, a list that did not include Ali or Sugar Ray Robinson.
"At the end of the day, Floyd Mayweather is not a follower,” Mayweather said when Sharpe asked if he wanted to defend his Top 5 boxers of all-time. “I will always love Sugar Ray Robinson because he paved the way for Muhammed Ali. I will always love Muhammed Ali because he paved the way for Sugar Ray Leonard. Sugar Ray Leonard paved the way for a guy like Mike Tyson and so forth and so on.”
Boxers like Ali and Leonard might have paved the way for Mayweather, but he said that he was destined to be a fighter thanks to influences closer to home.
Growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., and his two uncles, Roger and Jeff Mayweather, were all boxers.
Mayweather Sr. made sure his son was in the gym every day, but the younger Mayweather said he never felt forced to follow in the family footsteps, even though his father was hard on him.
“I’m glad my dad pushed me and wanted me to be the best. It was never good enough, and that’s what I like about my dad. I wouldn’t have accomplished the things that I’ve accomplished and I wouldn’t be known as ‘TBE’ if it wasn’t for my father.”
Mayweather also addressed the social justice issues that have affected America deeply in the past several months, revolving around the death of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and others.
Mayweather was an Olympian over two decades ago, controversially winning a bronze medal in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Sharpe and Mayweather also touched on topics outside of boxing, and it wouldn’t be a true Club Shay Shay conversation without the LeBron James-Michael Jordan debate making an appearance.
Mayweather seems to fall in the Jordan camp.
“I love LeBron, but one thing about Michael Jordan: he’s going to come out there every night to try and kill you. Every night. LeBron seems like he’s playing like he’s nonchalant sometimes, which I don’t like.”
While James will be taking the fight to the Miami Heat over the next few weeks, Sharpe pressed Mayweather on if he'll be taking the fight to anyone in the coming months, specifically Conor McGregor, the UFC superstar whom Mayweather defeated via 10th round TKO in August 2017.
And in Mayweather's mind, if the money makes sense, he'll never rule out a comeback.
“If I could make an easy $300 million, absolutely. Conor McGregor can’t punch.”
Check out the entire second episode of Club Shay Shay with Floyd Mayweather Jr. below:
