ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith responded to the recent tirades of Floyd Mayweather Jr. against him, saying that if the reigning pound-for-pound king should give the fight fans the bout that they have been asking for.
Smith took to Twitter to respond to Mayweather, saying that he has been saying all along that the unbeaten champion is the best boxer in the world today. But if he wants to prove that he is indeed the best, then he should agree to face Manny Pacquiao in a super showdown.
"You know how great I think he is as a boxer," Smith also via Tha Boxing Voice. "I think he is the best on the planet and I stand by that. I'm going to be a man about this because somebody needs to. Here's the bottom line: Floyd Mayweather Jr. continues to tell the public that he wants to give the fans what we want to see. My response is people have been asking for Pacquiao for years."
But like any other fans and boxing analysts, he is not expecting the fight to happen anytime soon. Smith pointed out that if the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight won't be staged, then the reigning pound-for-pound king should avoid facing Amir Khan because it will be a lopsided fight.
"In my opinion, Amir Khan is not in Floyd Mayweather's class," Smith said. "He doesn't belong in the same boxing ring as Floyd Mayweather. He didn't pay the dues that Floyd Mayweather paid. He doesn't have a flawless record, displayed by Danny Garcia beating him to a pulp with a TKO victory in four rounds just a couple of years back."
Instead of thinking about facing Khan, Smith said that he'd rather push for a rematch against either Miguel Cotto or Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in his next fight.
Smith pointed out that Cotto, the reigning World Boxing Council middleweight champion, has improved a lot since hiring Freddie Roach as his trainer, while Alvarez has matured a lot since losing to 'Money' in September last year.
"Miguel Cotto is an elite fighter especially since now he is training with Freddie Roach. You go that route, nobody can knock you for that," Smith said. "Canelo Alvarez, despite the fact that you're Floyd and you schooled him and picked him apart, this dude is a young lion. He's big time. Some would think he is worthy of a rematch because he may have learned from that experience."
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