Athlete of the century
doubledragon
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I bring this up because Floyd Mayweather Jr. has officially picked his athlete of the century and guess who he picked, yep, you guessed it, himself. Who do you think is the greatest athlete of the past century?
Floyd Mayweather Reveals His Pick For Athlete Of The Century
Boxing legend Floyd “Money” Mayweather recently revealed his pick for “Athlete of the Century”. And if you know anything about Mayweather, you can probably guess who he chose.
In a recent interview Mayweather asserted that he should be considered the Athlete of the Century (surprise-surprise). He said that because he has stayed undefeated for his whole career and has been boxing since Michael Jordan and LeBron James were in their prime, he deserves that mantle.
“I’ve been fighting since Michael Jordan was playing basketball. I’ve been undefeated from then to now, [when] LeBron James’ career is almost over. ‘Oh, this athlete got Athlete of the Decade.’ Well s-, do I get Athlete of the Century?”
That’s certainly the kind of answer that we’ve come to expect from Floyd Mayweather. And there’s certainly an argument to be made in Mayweather’s favor. He’s 50-0, won titles in every weight class he competed in and parlayed his success into an incomparable fortune.
As you can imagine, Floyd Mayweather’s bold assertion immediately started an intense conversation about who the greatest athlete of the last century is.
Some argued that Mayweather doesn’t deserve the role because he got to choose his own opponents – unlike most sports. But others feel that his record speaks for itself.
Not many people are bothering to include other top athletes in other sports like Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky or Pele. But all of those greats could make a case too.
Is Floyd Mayweather the Athlete of the Century in your mind?
Comments
What a joke, he's not even the greatest boxer of the century, how the heck can he be the greatest athlete? He waited until Pacquiao was washed up to fight him.
The best ever! Nothing but class.
Fine choice, I have nothing but respect for Henry Aaron, great player, great person!
This is a No Brainer.... For Reasons!
Oh, you're just trying to get revenge on the lovely Mrs. Hydrant because she has a crush on the old and bald Terry Bradshaw.
I guess Floyd Mayweather has never heard of Jim Thorpe, he would be a good choice as well, the guy could do it all, track and field, football, basketball, baseball, you name it.
It is difficult to pick someone who is the top athlete of the last Century. There would be many differing opinions. You can take the best in each sport to start, but then there can be lots of arguing about that. Baseball, I would take Babe Ruth. Others may say he was a fat slob who could hit the ball out of the park. Perhaps they would take Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, or one of several good choices. Football, I say Jim Brown whereas others may say Otto Graham ( I know you can't see me but my tongue is in my cheek) or one of many other good choices. Basketball I say Michael Jordan and would get just a small amount of disagreement. Boxing, I like Ali but just how good was Joe Louis? He fought before I was born. Never saw him, only hear stories of his greatness. Track and field, Jesse Owens, however there has been many great ones both before his time and afterwards. Golf, no doubt Jack Nicklaus, but some would say golf is not an athletic competition. If I had to vote on the matter I would wait and take in others opinions before I cast my ballot.
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Ralph
Is Floyd Mayweather the Athlete of the Century in your mind?
No, because in my mind I've led KU to 4 straight national championships, as a teenage golf phenom I
bested Jack Nicklaus at the Masters' by scorching a 270 yard one iron to within six inches of the flag
on eighteen to send the match into a playoff. I also batted behind Brett for the
Royals in a three game playoff stretch with the Yankees, all at Yankee Stadium, Billy Martin kept
intentionally walking Brett to get to me and I went 15-15 in that three game stretch to send the series
back to KC up 3-2. As I was injured going over the wall to catch a potential game winning HR off the
bat of Reggie Jackson in that historic third game in NY, I was unable to play in KC. My teammates won the
game easily and when we were up 12-2 in the ninth made me come out to receive a 10 minute
standing ovation from the crowd for my unbelievable performance in NY.
I've got a lot more but just those things puts me at the top in my mind.
But seriously I might go with Wilt Chamberlain who in my opinion is the GOAT in basketball.
He would also dominate volleyball and I'm sure would be very good in several track and field
events. It seems like he would be a natural for the triple jump with his long legs and stride
and maybe long jump and high jump.
You are correct, Darin. Wilt The Stilt was not only a force to be reckoned with in basketball. He would probably dominate any activity that he engaged in.....case in point: He was a top notch Ladies Man! According to him, he set many records in that arena! A good friend of mine told me that his sister went to a party and..WILT WAS THERE!!!!!.....Wilt Baby spent the entire evening collecting telephone numbers from the gals at the party......He was probably the GOAT at getting pretty girls phone numbers too!....And I mean THE GOAT!!!!!....He even got my friends sisters number. And......called her for a date. She declined. But just think of all the lucky "Chosen Ones" who accepted his invitation......... Oh, yes.........Wilt Chamberlain was a GOAT.......in the strictest meaning of the word. 🐏
Jim brown was probably the football goat for non QBs. I have heard he is also the goat for lacross. a great all around athlete
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Jim Brown gets better and better as Time Marches On.
My vote for the singular greatest athlete of the last century lettered in four sports in college, then chose to play baseball and that decision, quite literally, had a societal impact that is still being felt today. Simply put, I don’t believe there’s an athlete who had a greater impact on the world than Jack Roosevelt Robinson did when he stepped onto Ebbets Field on April 15, 1947 to play first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
In the face of enormous pressure, the likes of which had never really been felt by any athlete before or since, Jackie Robinson was nothing short of spectacular as both player and human being. A rookie of the year award, a batting title, and an MVP winner as a player, he was also a champion (1955) of the highest order - both on and off the field.
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I believe it was Gus Johnson, one of my favorite Play by Play Announcers who made a great point, He said he has NEVER EVER heard anyone who was around to witness Jim Brown say they thought there was ever anyone better.
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Ralph
No question about it. Eddy Merckx. No one has dominated a sport like he did. He won the monuments, he won the Tours. He just won even though the skill sets to win a 3 week race is completely different than winning on the Roubaix pave. In a sport that takes incredible skill to stay upright and avoid lifelong injuries (think Beloki, Froome, and even this year, Bernal), incredible suffering and pain, and mind boggling fitness from hours and hours of training each day after day with no pause for the weak. Hardest sport in the world, the most dangerous sport in the world, but he just won. Even the best of this century, Armstrong and Pogacar, can't come close to what Eddy did.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_career_achievements_by_Eddy_Merckx