Floyd Mayweather will go down in history as being one of the greatest fighters to have laced up the gloves.
The former pound-for-pound superstar enjoyed considerable success throughout the course of his professional career, which spanned for over two decades between 1996 and 2017.
He won various world titles across five weight classes during his tenure, boasting victories over a number of generational greats including Canelo Alvarez, Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto and Oscar De La Hoya.
Despite his exceptional success, boxing fans and analysts have debated for many years whether ‘Money’ Mayweather could have been as dominant during the 1980s against the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran, who were more commonly known as the ‘Four Kings.’
In an interview with Club Shay Shay, legendary fighter-turned-promoter De La Hoya shared his thoughts on whether he believes his former rival could have competed with the ‘Four Kings’.
“You asked me the question about the 80s and the ‘four kings’ right, Leonard, Duran and Hearns and Hagler. It would have been quite interesting, I would have probably called it the ‘five kings’, you know he’s [Mayweather] that worthy of fighting those guys and making great fights.”
Leonard, Hagler, Duran and Hearns all had outstanding professional careers of their own, with the bulk of their success coming during the 80s where they faced each other on at least one occasion each.
The iconic second encounter between Leonard and Duran, which took place in November 1980, is often regarded as being one of the sport’s most memorable occasions. ‘Sugar Ray’ forced Duran to quit during the eighth round of their rematch, which is known more commonly to fans around the world as the ‘No Mas’ fight.