Opinion: Floyd Mayweather Jr. Not Totally Off-Base with ‘Better Than Ali’ Comments

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“No one can ever brainwash me to make me believe that ‘Sugar’ Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali was better than me. No one could ever brainwash me and tell me that.” -- Floyd Mayweather Jr.

No, Mayweather was not trolling when he said he was better than Ali and Robinson while speaking with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. He meant every word of it. He was not waxing poetic in an effort to sell his mega-fight with Manny Pacquiao this Saturday in Las Vegas. That job is already done, and nothing else “Money” can say or do will bring more eyeballs to the richest fight in boxing history.

Is he right?

Before we dive into Mayweather’s claims, there is one problem with what he said: Nobody wants him to be right. You see, there is this little thing called “respect for your elders,” which Mayweather lacks. Even if he believes he is the greatest boxer in the history of the sport, to say it as openly as he did before his career is over can be perceived as downright blasphemous. No matter what Kobe Bryant and LeBron James accomplish, for either one to suggest he is better than Michael Jordan in the midst of his respective career would be absurd. Let everyone else rank you because you simply do not rank yourself.

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Because Mayweather is already viewed as a villain in boxing, statements such as this -- where he ranks himself ahead of arguably the most beloved athlete in sports history -- certainly will not endear him to an audience. More importantly, the athlete cannot claim a title such as “The Greatest” before he retires. Such a claim comes courtesy of his peers. However, Mayweather has never been one to play by anyone else’s rules but his own. To be clear, Ali was not necessarily humble about how great he was, either. The difference: He never claimed to be better than Joe Louis. Oh wait, yes he did.

Let us also remember that Ali was not exactly the most adored professional athlete in the world during his career. It was not until after he retired that he was recognized as “The Greatest.” Revisionist history is often at work when discussing how people accepted Ali. The truth is that he was hated just as much as he was loved. However, times were certainly different and played a major role in why he was loved by some and hated by others.

With that said, is there any merit in Mayweather stating he is better than Ali? (We will leave Robinson out of this particular discussion.) In a vacuum, the answer is yes. Without considering mitigating factors from the outside, you can look at the careers of both fighters and suggest that Mayweather could arguably lay claim to Ali’s throne.

What makes Mayweather special is not the fact that he is unbeaten at 47-0 and has become a Rubik’s cube of sorts -- a man no opponent has been able to figure out. It is more about the length of his streak and how it has carried over into his late 30s. This is something no other fighter in boxing history has accomplished.

The gold standard of undefeated fighters, Rocky Marciano, went 49-0 in an eight-year career that began in 1948 and ended in 1955 (ages 24-32). Although he retired unbeaten, Marciano did not face the level of competition his heavyweight counterparts went up against. He only defended his world title six times before retiring. There are other unbeaten streaks that are equally impressive.

Julio Cesar Chavez went undefeated in 90 professional fights from 1980-94 (ages 18-31) before losing to Frankie Randall. After losing to Jake Lamotta in his 41st professional fight, Robinson won 91 fights in a row from 1943-51 (ages 21-30). Joe Calzaghe retired undefeated in a career that spanned from 1993-2008 (ages 21-36), as he went 46-0. Ali amassed a 31-0 record that lasted from the age of 18 until he lost to Joe Frazier at age 29 in the legendary “Fight of the Century.” There are other unbeaten streaks to note, from both Jimmy Wilde to Pedro Carrasco, but Mayweather differs from all of them.

For one, none of those aforementioned fighters (with the exception of Calzaghe) were able to remain unbeaten past the age of 32. Mayweather is 38 years of age and his record remains unblemished. Even more significant is the fact that Mayweather’s 47-0 record began at the age of 19 in 1996 and continues into 2015 at the age of 38. That is nearly two decades of dominance. Regardless of how you slice it, that is quite the impressive feat. While most fighters show a noticeable decline once they move past their athletic prime between the ages of 27 and 30, Mayweather has arguably looked better in his 30s than he did in his 20s.

In that respect, yes, he is better than Ali. However, the common issue that has popped up when it comes to discussing Mayweather’s legacy is his resume, and for good reason. While there are some impressive heads on Mayweather’s mantle -- the list includes Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez, Juan Manuel Marquez, Arturo Gatti and Diego Corrales -- it is almost incredulous to suggest that his resume compares to that of Ali. There is no Frazier, George Foreman, Ken Norton, Floyd Patterson or Sonny Liston; and one could argue that Mayweather, for one reason or another, faced some of the more marquee names on his ledger while they were past their prime. Mosley and De La Hoya immediately come to mind. Ali faced a young monster in Foreman and a thriving savage in Frazier. Ali would take on any opponent to prove his greatness. Obviously, the sport has changed with how promoters handle fighters, but that still leaves a lingering question mark hanging above Mayweather’s legacy.

Could the question be answered if Mayweather beats Pacquiao? Perhaps, although the detractors will come out in droves and say Pacquiao was damaged goods by the time “Money” got his hands on him. Is it fair? Not really. Both fighters are past their respective prime years. However, Pacquiao has clearly been in a few more wars, and it would have certainly put the exclamation point on Mayweather’s career if he had disposed of Pacquiao when the Filipino was ravaging weight classes and looked unstoppable.

Nevertheless, here we are. Mayweather will look to improve to 48-0 and extend his winning streak against Pacquiao in the biggest fight of the century. However, until the book is closed on Mayweather’s career, it will be impossible to solidify his place amongst the greats.

Andreas Hale is a content producer for Jay Z's LifeandTimes.com and Editor-In-Chief Of PremierWuzHere.com, as well as a frequent Sherdog.com columnist. Check out his archive here.