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Floyd Mayweather Breaks Silence On Controversial ESPN 'Best Boxer' Ranking

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Grant Young | Last updated Sep 5, 2025 7:35 AM ET

Regardless of how you feel about him as a person or what he does outside of the ring, nobody can deny that Floyd "Money" Mayweather is one of the greatest boxers in the sport's history.

This is proven as fact when looking at Mayweather's undefeated 50-0 record (with 27 KOs), which includes 15 major world championships across five weight classes, a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics, and victories over other icons of the sport such as Canelo Alvarez, Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, and even UFC legend Conor McGregor.

Mayweather is often considered the best defensive boxer of all time, as there was seldom ever a time in his boxing career when he looked wobbled, hurt, or at any risk at all by his opponents.

And while it doesn't have any direct impact on his excellence inside the ring, one would be remiss not to mention that "Money" was a fitting name for Mayweather, given that he made an estimated $1.2 billion during his professional boxing career — and has surely added on to that with the exhibition fights he has taken since retiring in 2017.

Floyd Mayweather Sends Message on Being ESPN's Top Boxer of the Century

On September 3, ESPN released an article that ranked the top 25 boxers of this century. And it was ultimately Mayweather who earned the top spot on the ranking, beating out other icons of the sport like Pacquiao, Bernard Hopkins, Canelo, and Terence Crawford.

And Mayweather seemed to appreciate ESPN giving this ranking, as he made an Instagram post on the morning of September 4 that showed a screenshot of him being ranked at No. 1.

The post's caption read, "I want to thank @espnringside for recognizing my hard work and dedication. It’s an honor to be ranked on this list alongside 24 truly talented champions. I’m forever grateful to my father for teaching me everything, to my mother for always believing in me and last but not least my uncle Roger. May he rest in peace."

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A post shared by Floyd Mayweather (@floydmayweather)

While most believe that Mayweather deserved to top this list, it did stir up some controversy because of where it ranked other boxers. Some thought that Claressa Shields should have been higher than No. 23 because she's a two-time Olympic gold medalist and has held 18 major world championships across five weight classes while also being undefeated.

Others think Crawford (No. 7) should have been higher than Canelo (No. 5), although that can get settled in the ring on September 13.

But the bottom line is that Mayweather was more than deserving of this honor from ESPN.

This article first appeared on KO on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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