Floyd Mayweather suggests Manny Pacquiao will replace him as the best fighter in the world

Not everyone believes that Floyd Mayweather’s fight this Saturday against Andre Berto really will be the final one of his career. But the undefeated welterweight remains insistent that it will, in fact, be his swan song.

On Tuesday, Mayweather was asked a question that assumes he is about to exit the stage. Who does he think will replace him as “the best fighter in the world”?

Mayweather paused to consider his answer, then said, “We don’t know, really.” But when pressed to offer a name, the 48-0 boxer had this to say:

“I really cannot say, I mean, we’ll just have to see.

“Probably Manny Pacquiao. We can’t just take it away from him because he lost to me.

“Probably, I would say Manny Pacquiao.”

Interesting words, considering how poor Pacquiao looked in their May mega-fight won by Mayweather in a unanimous decision. After that desultory contest, the Filipino fighter said that he had badly injured his shoulder while training, a claim that Mayweather mocked in a July Instagram post.

More recently, Mayweather’s father said that Pacquiao was “a liar with no skills.” Currently, Ring magazine rates Pacquiao No. 6 in its pound-for-pound rankings (Mayweather tops the list).

It’s possible that Mayweather is just trying to put a more positive spin on his fight with Pacquiao; if he can convince people that his opponent that night is the heir to his crown as the sport’s best, then his own victory will look that much better. However, Mayweather still has some convincing to do on the issue of Berto’s worthiness, at least to judge from reports that hundreds, if not thousands, of tickets are still available for that contest.