As Floyd "Money" Mayweather begins his training for the battle against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Sept. 14, the undefeated champion has received immense praise from one of the greatest boxers of all time, Mike Tyson.
Before Mayweather (44-0, 26 KOs) squares off against Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KOs), Tyson praised Money on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights, per Dan Rafael of ESPN.com, and picked him to win the bout:
It's gonna be tough, it's gonna be tough. I gotta go towards Floyd a little bit. It's gonna be tough, because we don't know because Floyd is older. This guy is gonna hit him, but it's just difficult to bet against Floyd if you're really honest with yourself. It's really difficult to bet against him because he's been so superior over all of the fighters during the duration of his career.
Tyson knows the game of boxing and knows what kind of power that Alvarez possesses. Mayweather is still one of the best defensive fighters in the world, but at 36 years old, there is little doubt that he isn’t as fast as he once was.
With Alvarez bringing his heavy hands right at Mayweather, the American will be dealing with adversity that he hasn’t faced in years. Canelo is too young to realize the magnitude of his opportunity and will rely solely on his power to lead him to victory.
Money won’t be able to dodge every shot from his opponent, and how he handles getting hit with big shots will be the difference between adding another win to his already impressive mark or watching his perfection be destroyed.
Tyson thinks that Alvarez will bring the fight inside to Mayweather in the early rounds, but the undefeated star will withstand the storm and then take control in the latter rounds using his elite movement and experience like he has in the past.
While Tyson was quick to praise Mayweather in the ring, he also talked about the legacy that he has crafted over his illustrious career and where he stands amongst the best of his generation, per Rafael:
First off, you have to admit that he's the best of his time. The best of his generation. He beat everybody in three, seven divisions, regardless. I'm not familiar with how many, but he's conquered a mountain of divisions. You have to rank him the best fighter of the generation, at least.
The nod of approval from Tyson was already a great gesture, but to call Mayweather the best of his generation has to be something that even Money would have to acknowledge is special.
As controversial as Tyson has been over his life, he knows boxing.
There should be no question now that Manny Pacquiao lost his last two bouts that Mayweather is the best of the last decade, but the endorsement from a bona fide legend like Tyson should quiet even the biggest critics.
Add in another possible victory over Canelo like Tyson is predicting, and the statement about Mayweather being the best of a generation would be proven even further.
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