Bob Arum has seen it all in the sport of boxing, including one of its biggest stars in history, Floyd Mayweather.
Though there was no love lost between the promoter and fighter when Mayweather split from Top Rank and went out on his own, Arum saw up close and personal just how skillful the 47-year-old was in his prime.
Famously, no man could beat Floyd in the ring, though some came close. He retired with a perfect 50-0 record with victories over the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley.
The latest dominant American in the sport is one Terence Crawford, the switch-hitting four-division world champion whom Arum also promoted before a split.
The 93-year-old promoter was asked about a fantasy match-up between Crawford and Mayweather by ES News and confidently backed the current champion.
“Crawford [would beat Mayweather]. Crawford fighting, a guy his size, is unique because one thing that he has that other fighters don’t have is that he’s totally ambidextrous. So when he shifts from orthodox to southpaw he’s equally effective either way.
Crawford feels similarly, backing himself to beat any fighter from any era. A bout with Mayweather is resigned to debate, but one difficult test that may not be is Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
‘Bud’ has been vocal in his pursuit of a fight with the Mexican, for which he would have to jump up a further two weight classes, and will likely make an offer for it to happen at the turn of the year.
