Floyd "Money" Mayweather, to me, is the most gifted fighter of this era. Defensively  he is an absolute genius. With his cat-like reflexes, Vegas would probably have him even money if he were to step in the ring with a cheetah. Mayweather certainly posseses all the skills to be considered top 10 all time one day. The only problem, is Mayweather is his own worst enemy. Having cherry picked his opponents, and avoided many fighters he should have fought, (Antonio Margarito, Paul Williams, Shane Mosely in his prime, Manny Pacquiao, etc.) Mayweather is not only looked down upon for his actions, but many also doubt his all-time status in the sport. I still feel he will end up in the top 25 of all time once its all said and done.

By hand picking his opponents, Mayweather has also avoided one thing, a trilogy!  There will never be a demand for 3 fights against an opponent Mayweather can easily dominate. The fights simply would not sell and it would never happen. Mayweather could have easily set a rematch with Oscar De La Hoya, and made 20 plus million dollars. Instead, he decided to announce his retirement after dismanteling Ricky Hatton in 10 rounds in December of 2007. Oscar De La Hoya's best years were well passed him at the time of the Mayweather fight, and a trilogy wouldn't seem too likely given the odds Mayweather would dominate in a rematch. Mayweather, in fact, has only fought one rematch in his career (against Jose Luis Castillo in 2002). Even though he had highly competitive fights against Oscar De La Hoya, Zab Judah, and Emanuel Augustus, he chose to move on to the next fighter that would keep his "0" in place.

One common similarity between many all time great pound for pound fighters, are the rivalries they share. Ray Robinson had his against Jake Lamotta. Willie Pep had Sandy Saddler, Muhammad Ali had Joe Frazier and Ken Norton, Ray Leonard had Roberto Duran, not to mention Bowe-Holyfield, Ross-McLarnin, Jones-Tarver, and some modern warriors in Gatti-Ward, Barrera-Morales, Pacquiao-Morales, and the new Pacquiao-Marquez trilogy. Fighting an opponent that gives you the most trouble is what the sport is all about. As the saying goes, "styles make fights". There is nothing "safe" about a fight, so why pick your opponents so "safely" that it tarnishes your legacy? At the end of the day, Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be remembered as an all time great fighter. How great? We will have to wait and see. But one things for certain, try imagining where the previous fighters I mentioned would be regarded today, if they had never fought their respective trilogies.