Many months ago, Leonard Ellerbe narrated a story. Many years ago, he approached a saddened and dejected Canelo Alvarez. The Mexican had suffered his first career defeat to Floyd Mayweather. So, patting the future superstar, Ellerbe said, “You lost to the best ever, and I say this right here, you will learn from it.” The rest, as they say, is history. In boxing, there has never been a better example where a loss became the impetus for a young gun to establish an enduring legacy that continues to this day.

Now, as much as the story is about Canelo finding his way to superstardom, one cannot fail to notice the place where Floyd Mayweather stood. It’s been nearly twelve years since the Mayweather-Canelo classic unfolded at the MGM Grand Arena. But the aftershocks of the fight continue to ripple. As he discussed the virtues of hard work and the daily grind to achieve success, Joe Rogan couldn’t resist citing the Mayweather-Canelo example to bowhunter and ultrarunner Cameron Hanes. The noise hasn’t died down yet.

Floyd Mayweather: Simply the best!

While explaining how, despite putting in all the effort, one could reach a certain level, Rogan drilled down on the sheer virtuosity of Floyd Mayweather. He said, “But you’re not going to get Floyd Mayweather good. I don’t think I’ve never seen it.” To draw an analogy, he mentioned yesteryear’s heavyweight champion, Rocky Marciano. Marciano was an all-time boxing great and one of the few champions with a perfect record. But even he faded in comparison to Mayweather. “Marciano even wasn’t Floyd Mayweather level; he was just a mauler. He would never stop; his endurance was insane, the volume was insane. You know he would just make guys rethink their whole lives…he just never stopped, but he wasn’t like Floyd,” Joe Rogan stressed.

Why? Because the fact remains: Floyd Mayweather was master of the craft. In his prime, it was impossible for anyone to hit Mayweather, even if they stood right in front. To quote an example, he picked the 2013 Canelo fight. “He stood right in front of Canelo Alvarez, and Canelo couldn’t do sh*t with him, and Canelo Alvarez, a world champion, one of the best ever, he couldn’t do sh*t with Floyd.”

What’s striking is that Mayweather had brittle hands. But he persisted, relying on brain rather than brawn to outbox his opponents.

Few would argue against…

It was during the light middleweight title unification that Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez faced off. The battle ended in a majority decision in favor of Mayweather. But it was the way the Grand Rapids-born Olympian fought that caught everyone’s attention. On that night, he delivered a boxing clinic that often left a young Canelo looking hapless.

Notwithstanding Joe Rogan’s mention, one cannot deny the place Floyd Mayweather occupies as one of the greatest all-time boxers. Speaking with Shannon Sharpe, Terence Crawford, who incidentally is now poised to face Canelo in September, said, “Floyd, man, that boy, man, that’s the GOAT, man. That boy bad. He, man, that boy bad.”

When Sharpe asked, “What makes Floyd so unique, something that we have not seen before?” Crawford replied, “His defense and his instincts. I think Floyd had the best defense in boxing history.”

Do you also agree with Joe Rogan and Terence Crawford that Floyd Mayweather is the greatest boxer of all time?