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Terence Crawford Reveals Which Version Of Floyd Mayweather Was the Best

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Apratim Banerjee | Last updated Jun 9, 2025 10:51 PM ET

The Floyd Mayweather puzzle was never solved inside the boxing ring. He retired with a 50-0-0 record with 27 knockouts. A master at work and one of the best defensive boxers of all time, Mayweather's philly shell was almost impossible to get through at times.

Mayweather, though, went through some career transitions, like any fighter. In the earlier days of his career, he was known as 'Pretty Boy Floyd', who was a more aggressive fighter. Later in his career, he became 'Money Mayweather', a version who was more sound defensively and much more measured in his approach.

Terence Crawford is a fighter who is often compared to Floyd Mayweather for his elusiveness. 'Bud' thinks the 'Money Mayweather' version would have been a tougher opponent for him to beat.

Speaking to presenter Grant Brown, he said:

'Money' May, at any weight. I think 'Pretty Boy' gave you more opportunities. Because he was aggressive and he'd bang with you. But 'Money May', he ain't giving you nothing. Anything you get, you're gonna have to work for it. It's a different type of fighter.

Terence Crawford has always shown a tremendous amount of respect for Floyd Mayweather. Crawford recently named Mayweather and Roy Jones Jr as his favorite fighters of all time.

For now, Crawford might take a lesson or two from Mayweather as he has a fight coming up against Canelo Alvarez. Mayweather is one of the only two men to beat Canelo, winning a dominant unanimous decision in 2013. While Canelo was only 23 at that time and has evolved a lot since then, Mayweather's approach could still turn out to be effective for 'Bud' to use.

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

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