Floyd Mayweather would have knocked Manny Pacquiao out if the two legends had traded blows in their prime and not five years too late.
That’s the view of Malik Scott, a former heavyweight and current trainer of ex-WBC top division ruler Deontay Wilder.
According to Scott, Mayweather was too good for Pacquiao when they were both at the height of their powers, ranging between 2007 and 2010.
Mayweather beat Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Shane Mosley at the time.
For his part, Pacquiao was on a tremendous run. He reeled off a Hall of Famer awarding series of victories against, like Mayweather, all world champion opponents.
The Filipino master defeated Marco Antonio Barrera, Marquez, David Diaz, De La Hoya, Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, and Antonio Margarito.
Pacquiao’s sensational streak began at 130 pounds and ended at 154 in an unprecedented feat.
Floyd Mayweather knockout
However, Scott is sure Pacquiao was on course to get halted by Mayweather if he’d agreed to the Pay Per View blockbuster before 2015.
“It would have been worse for Manny Pacquiao if he fought Floyd Mayweather in his prime,” Scott told Casinos En Ligne.
“He would have got stopped. “Pretty Boy” Floyd would have had a much easier time with Pacquiao than “Money” Mayweather.”
Reeling off dates well before Mayweather’s prime, Scott’s reasoning didn’t seem to be thought all the way through.
“Manny would have been knocked out if it were the same Floyd who beat the Diego Corrales and Angel Manfredy,” he added.
“The Floyd that fought Arturo Gatti would stop a prime Pacquaio.”
The flaw in Scott’s prediction is that ‘The Floyd’ who beat Manfredy was 21 and nowhere near his prime. Against Corrales, he was 24, and Gatti, Floyd was 25.
Mayweather’s prime would have hit when he was at his unbeatable best against a much bigger De La Hoya in 2007. For the next five years and beyond, nobody got near him.
Therefore, Scott’s statement wasn’t as well thought out as it could have been. The coach does, though, see Mayweather as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters ever.
“Pretty Boy Floyd is one of the best to put the gloves on ever. In addition, he’s in my top five [ranked fighters] Pound for Pound of all time,” concluded “The Odd Guy.”
Mayweather vs Pacquiao
Mayweather and Pacquiao met at the MGM Grand in 2015. Their clash broke records for the most PPV sales at 4.7m. Over 5 million worldwide in a smash hit.
The contest itself was nothing to write home about as Pacquiao nursed an injured shoulder.
Pacquiao didn’t want to pull out as he thought they would be fighting more than once. Furthermore, an expected rematch never came.
