Roy Jones Jr has questioned Floyd Mayweather's undefeated record. The boxing legend cast doubt on his fellow countryman's perfect 50-0 career, zeroing in on Mayweather's fight against Oscar De La Hoya.
Mayweather's professional career spanned 21 years from 1996 to 2017. He captured world titles in five weight classes, from super featherweight all the way up to super-welterweight. His list of conquered opponents reads like a who's who of boxing - Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, Canelo Alvarez, and Miguel Cotto, to name a few. Mayweather capped off his career by beating UFC star Conor McGregor in his 50th and final bout.
But Jones isn't buying the hype. In a recent interview on Ring Champs with Ak & Barak, he took aim at Mayweather's record.
"He fought Shane Mosley at 38-years-old and it still was a good fight and Shane almost took him out at 38. He fought Oscar De La Hoya at an old age and we still ain't sure, if you go look at the fight, I still ain't sure who won that fight but this a old Oscar De La Hoya, this a old Oscar De La Hoya, if you a all time great, Oscar De La Hoya didn't do that when he fought Chavez."
Jones' critique focuses on Mayweather's performances against older opponents. He specifically questions the outcome of the De La Hoya fight, which took place on May 5, 2007, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
That night, Mayweather won a 12-round split decision to claim the WBC junior middleweight title. The judges scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Mayweather, with one card 115-113 for De La Hoya. The fight was a massive commercial success, raking in around 2.4 million pay-per-view buys and over $120 million in revenue.
Jones isn't alone in his skepticism. Some fans and analysts have long questioned whether Mayweather truly deserves an unbeaten record. They point to other controversial fights, like his 2002 bout with Jose Luis Castillo, as moments where Mayweather's perfect record could have been blemished.
This latest critique from Jones adds fuel to an ongoing feud between the two boxing greats. It's clear that even years after Mayweather's retirement, debates about his legacy continue to rage on.
