Floyd Mayweather has made it clear that he does not agree with the Associated Press after they named LeBron James the Male Athlete of the Decade. The five-division boxing world champion was adamant that James cannot be handed the honour because the boxer believes he is more worthy of the title.
The 42-year-old, who retired with a 50-0 record, was a professional from 1996 to 2015 with breaks in between. Mayweather again came out of retirement for a one-off fight in 2017 when he took on MMA legend Conor McGregor, which he won after a 10th round stoppage.
The Boxing legend believes he should have been handed the award James was handed by the Associated Press and believes he is the greatest male athlete of not only the last decade but the last two decades. Moreover, he also spoke of his fortune, emphasising that it was self-earned without any endorsements while also having been named highest earning athlete on more than one occasion.
"I love LeBron James but when we talking about Athlete of the Decade, that's me. That's me. Hands down," Mayweather told Drink Champs during a recent interview, as quoted on Boxing Scene. "We talking about from 1996 to 2020 ... and I've never received Athlete of the Decade. At the top of Forbes and I'm my own boss."
"No Gatorade behind me, no Sprite behind me, no Nike behind me. These are billion-dollar companies and we like to call it placement," the boxing legend added. "So if they (are) paying, you get what you want if you're paying enough. Just honestly, I'm the athlete of the decade ... and last two decades, actually."
James was selected as the Male Athlete of the Year ahead of superstars like Tom Brady, Usain Bolt, Lionel Messi and Michael Phelps. It should also be noted that the boxing legend was not even considered despite his immense success in the boxing ring.
The Boxing Scene report claims that there has been talk about a potential return for Mayweather in 2020. However, apart from just some trash talking there has been nothing concrete about a fight being sanctioned.
