We all know Floyd “Money” Mayweather is still punching in some rounds and is collecting some good paydays on the exhibition circuit, but is there a chance the 47-year-old all-time great could win an actual “real” fight? One man who has trained the best says he believes so. Robert Garcia, who has worked with many champions, spoke with ESNews, and he said he would pick Mayweather over a few current world champions – including the winner of the upcoming middleweight title fight between Erislandy Lara and Danny Garcia.
Garcia says Floyd would not be able to defeat “real fighters, like Vergil [Ortiz] or Boots Ennis,” but that he could, in his opinion, beat guys like Mario Barrios, Brian Norman Jr, and one or two other current titlists.
“Whatever you say, whatever anybody wants to think, Mayweather could, because he’s still active, he’s still in shape, he could fight a real fight,” Garcia said. “Not real fighters like Vergil or Jaron Boots Ennis, but Mayweather could still beat many champions. Maybe at welterweight, he could beat most of the champions right now. He’ll probably beat Eimantas Stanionis, Mario Barrios, and Brian Norman Jr. Mayweather can’t fight a solid guy at 154, 160. He could probably fight the winner of Danny Garcia and Erislandy Lara, he could fight them, and he could become champion, I think he could actually beat one of those.”
So, has Garcia gone nuts, or is Mayweather still so well-preserved, so sharp, and, let’s face it, so great that he could return to real boxing and pick up one more belt? Mayweather may or may not try his hand at it (almost certainly not; the exhibition bouts are enough for Mayweather these days, with virtually zero risk attached), but for sure, we’d all tune in to watch if the former champ at 130, 135, 140, 147 and 154 did box again for real. And what would winning even a slice of the middleweight pie do for Mayweather’s legacy?
Garcia knows what he’s talking about, and who knows, maybe Mayweather is listening. In the meantime, Mayweather has almost certainly got his next exhibition bout in mind or even lined up.
But will “Money” put that perfect 50-0 ledger at risk as he approaches his 48th birthday?
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