Manny Pacquiao has been placed fourteen positions higher than Floyd Mayweather in a new list to find the Greatest Sportsmen of the 21st Century.
Respected Spanish media outlet ‘Marca’ rated their Top 100 Sportsmen of the last twenty years, with Manny Pacquiao coming well ahead of his arch-rival.
Pacquiao won the Fighter of the Decade for 2000 to 2010 after achieving eight-weight world titles. Mayweather, for his part, took the honor for 2010 to 2020.
Amassing earnings of almost one billion dollars, Mayweather swept the board over the past decade and retired with an astonishing record of 50-0.
It seems that Pacquiao’s benchmark acquired the previous decade was enough to see Marca rank him at 16 to Mayweather’s 30th place.
Swimmer Michael Phelps took the top spot, with Usain Bolt in second. Tennis stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were third and fourth respectively.
Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Lionel Messi, and Lewis Hamilton occupied the next four spots. Motorcycle champion Valentino Rossi and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo made up the Top Ten.
Read the full list below.
MARCA TOP 100 SPORTSMEN of the 21st CENTURY
1 – 10
1 – Michael PHELPS (Swimming)
2 – Usain BOLT (Athletics)
3 – Roger FEDERER (Tennis)
4 – Rafael NADAL (Tennis)
5 – Kobe BRYANT (Basketball)
6 – Tiger WOODS (Golf)
7 – Lionel MESSI (Soccer)
8 – Lewis HAMILTON (Formula 1)
9 – Valentino ROSSI (Motorcycling)
10 – Cristiano RONALDO (Soccer)
11 – 30
11 – Novak DJOKOVIC
12 – Marc MÁRQUEZ
13 – Michael SCHUMACHER
14 – Eliud KIPCHOGE
15 – Lebron JAMES
16 – Manny PACQUIAO
17 – Chris FROOME
18 – Tom BRADY
19 – RONALDO (Brasil)
20 – Kilian JORNET
21 – Marcel HIRSCHER
22 – RONALDINHO
23 – Kohei UCHIMURA
24 – Nikola KARABATIC
25 – Zinedine ZIDANE
26 – Teddy RINER
27 – Kenenisa BEKELE
28 – Tim DUNCAN
29 – Alberto ACCOUNTANT
30 – Floyd MAYWEATHER
77 – Gennadiy GOLOVKIN
98 – Wladimir KLITSCHKO
MANNY PACQUIAO over FLOYD MAYWEATHER
The debate will forever rage on regarding who was the better of the two boxers. Many will point to Mayweather’s 2015 win over the ‘Pacman’.
Others would argue that Pacquiao achieved the much more impossible feat, having won world titles between 112 and 154 pounds over eight divisions.
Only two further boxers are rated by Marca in the Top 100. Gennadiy Golovkin at 77 and Wladimir Klitschko at 98.
UFC double title holder Conor McGregor, who fought one boxing match against Mayweather, is at 49.
In regards to the rest, obviously those sportsmen with ties to Spain are given a healthy boost.
The likes of Brazilian footballers Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, who both featured for soccer giants Barcelona, are high on the list.
Whilst Zinedine Zidane, another soccer player at a prominent team in Real Madrid, is also in the Top 30.
NFL hero Tom Brady, regarded by many as the most recognizable Quarterback in the game, comes in at 18 on the list.
For the full Top 100 countdown go to especiales.marca.com.
