Shaquille O’Neal Doubts Floyd Mayweather’s Claim of Being Athlete of the Decade Over LeBron James

If we forget how much knockouts matter in the legacy of a boxer, Floyd Mayweather Jr. might be the best pound-for-pound boxer of all time. However, the 15x world champion thinks he is the greatest athlete of the past two decades over LeBron James.

The 6ft 9” NBA great, playing for the Lakers in his 20th season on the world’s grandest stage for basketball, has accomplished almost everything there is for a basketball player to win.

He also took over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time top scorer of the NBA while averaging 30 points per game at 38 years young. The man is doing all this after he was a consistent presence in almost all the Finals in the 2010s. He competed in 8 of them in straight 8 seasons and won 4 titles.

James was recognized as the athlete of the decade for it. But Floyd thinks it should have been him and Shaquille O’Neal might not be in agreement.

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Shaquille O’Neal left in confusion by Floyd Mayweather’s claim to be the athlete of the decade over LeBron James

Sharing a clip of Floyd where he says he was a better athlete than the King and good enough to be the athlete of the decade for the 2010s as well as 2000s, Shaq put up a confused emoji on his Instagram story.

 

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As defensive, as he was throughout his professional career, getting the 49th win over Manny Pacquiao by dodging and running all over the ring, Floyd is too offensive with a microphone in his hands.

As great a boxer as he was, this man won his 50th match via a 10th-round TKO against Connor McGregor, who was in his first professional boxing match against a self-proclaimed GOAT.

Also read: WATCH: 400lb Shaquille O’Neal Was Once Rushed in an Ambulance After Crashing Through Tables on AEW

Why Mayweather is not the GOAT boxer?

The 50-0 record with just 27 knockouts has not allowed him to go anywhere near the likes of Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali in greatness or popularity among the fans and experts of his sport.

So, his arrogance in claiming himself better than not only James, but Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and a lot of other athletes is just berserk.

Shaq is just being humble with that confusion about that take.

Also read: “Bronny James’ Team is Flexing Too Hard!”: LeBron James’ Sons and Sierra Canyon All Show Up in Kobe Bryant’s ‘Grinch’ Sneakers

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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