A little over a year ago boxing’s biggest (and most controversial) superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. came out of retirement and signed a lucrative 30-month, six fight, 200 million dollar deal. He says that after he completes the contract in September of 2015 he will retire.

The self-proclaimed best pound-for-pound fighter in the world has been unbeaten in 45 tries. That is truly a great accomplishment and it should be recognized as such. However, I don’t think Floyd is the best fighter of his generation and I certainly don’t think he should be in the discussion of being one of the best boxers of all time.

Mayweather has won eight world titles in three different weight classes. He has won countless awards over the years as being the best fighter in the sport of boxing.

He became a super star when he beat famed boxers Oscar de la Hoya and Ricky Hatton. Although Hatton was on the decline and de la Hoya was hooked on drugs, Mayweather should get credit for these wins.

Floyd has also earned his nickname, “money”. Floyd “money” Mayweather is the most marketable boxers of all time. This guy is the definition of box office. He shatters records in pay-per-view every single time he fights. Floyd is also known for caring more about his brand than his fighting. He always cares about the bottom line, which is exactly why his legacy has taken a serious blow in my book.

This is the same man who reportedly bet 10 million dollars on the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

Floyd has always been known to be put on a bit of a side show. We all remember when he called out Sports Center anchor Brian Kenny during an on-air interview or how about when he brought Justin Bieber ringside. I have always gotten the impression that Floyd desperately wants credit for what he has accomplished. He has never believed he has gotten enough credit for what he has done.

Despite all of the records, the revenue, awards, and the titles Floyd will always be a coward in my book.

Floyd wants to be compared to the greats. Those greats include Tyson, Holifield,  and Ali, among others. But he just doesn’t stack up.

Every time I hear an interview from him he brings up three things:

One: He is the best pound for pound fighter of all time.

Two: He is undefeated.

Three: How marketable he is in the box office.

If all of things are true then why not fight one Manny Pacquiao? That would be the biggest box office draw that the sport has ever seen. Surely, Mayweather thinks that he can beat the same man that he loves to say got knocked out by Marquez (the last of three fights by the way). Why not prove to the doubters that he (and not Pac-Man) is the best pound for pound fighter in the world. Yet, Mayweather has just kept ducking this man.

That is why he is a coward.

Let’s go back a couple years ago. Pac-man was at the top of the sport. His popularity was at an all-time high and he just mowed down the same four fighters Mayweather beat to cement his super star status. Those fighters being Hatton, De La Hoya, Marquez, and Cotto. Pac-man still wasn’t happy. He was obsessed with beating the undefeated “boxing legend” Floyd Mayweather Jr. and he wanted to make that happen.

What did Floyd do? He ran because he was afraid that Pac-man would beat his perfect record. He would put a dent in his legacy. It was too risky for him. So, Mayweather set up his first fight the night before Pac-man boxed Hatton, never giving him a chance to fight.

Then Pac-man said he wanted Floyd so he had to respond. However, negotiations did not go well. Mayweather and Pac-man’s promoter Bob Arum have issues with each other and that did not make it any easier.

In initial negotiations Pac-man’s camp wanted a 50/50 split of the revenue. This makes sense because they were the top two boxers at that point. Mayweather refused to do that citing that he is more box office and wanted more towards a 60/40 split.

Pac-man then said okay we will do any split you want let’s just box. Then Floyd once again said not so fast. He then wanted Pac-man, who is afraid of needles, to do needle drug testing before the fight. Pac-man reluctantly agreed but Floyd still said no. Floyd wanted him to do this test the day of the fight. Pac-man denied this at first citing health reasons.

After months of negotiations being on hiatus Manny decided he would agree to this “rule” as well. However, the fight still did not happen.

Floyd may say different things but the reason why this fight didn’t happen is because he is a coward and a fake. Floyd knew Pac-man would not have only won but he would have been knocked out. Floyd is a defensive fighter and he knew that Pac-man’s right arm would have caught him eventually. Floyd has made a career out of running away and being quick. In this case, all he did was run.

Mayweather did not want to risk his legacy.

Floyd thinks that his legacy is tied to those three things. He believes that if one of those things proves not to be true then all three will be proven to be untrue. In other words, Floyd didn’t think he could win. He didn’t think the massive pay day was worth the thing he brags about the most- his undefeated record.

Name one other boxer who refused to fight the best boxer in their generation. This is like Ali not fighting Frazier or Tyson not fighting Holifield. It is just ridiculous. Floyd can say whatever he wants but at the end of the day of you want to be the best you have to beat the best and he never beat the other great boxer of his generation.

A Maywaeather victory would have not only made him a crazy amount of money but it would have also expanded his brand, made him more popular, and cemented his legacy. It was the perfect set up. Some people were calling this the greatest fight of all-time, but one thing was missing. Floyd didn’t think he could win.

All he could do was come up with ridiculous excuses and wait. He could wait till Manny lost.

That did happen. Pac-man lost the most controversial and ridiculous fight of all time to Timothy Bradley. Boxing experts said they had Pac-man in a route and somehow the judges gave Bradley the victory. Pac-man even said “ I am very surprised” ( at the judge’s decision).

Then in Pac-man’s next fight he got knocked out. This only fueled Mayweather-lovers such as Stephen A. Smith to say that Floyd shouldn’t have to fight him now. “Is he (Pac-man) even awake right now?” Smith asked. “Last time we saw him he was seeing stars”.

However, that Pac-man’s third fight against that boxer and he was coming off an unbelievably bad call in his previous fight. It is very hard to beat the same boxer (especially a good one) three times in a row.

Now, Floyd has a reason to not fight Manny. Floyd says that Pac-man isn’t good enough for him to fight. Pac-man has called Mayweather a coward himself. He says that there was no reason not to fight him.

Instead, Floyd fought and over-the-hill Shane Mosley and beat him convincingly.

Floyd knows that if he is going to beat Pac-man he would have to knock him out. Floyd also knows that is just not the fighter he is. That  (KO’d somebody) is not something he has done in a very long time. Floyd would not have won that fight.

Floyd ran scared. He knew he would have lost and was scared of the best boxer in the game at that time. He can give all of the excuses. But, the reality is if Floyd wanted to fight Pac-man it would have happened.

Now, there is little to no chance the two will ever fight.

Floyd will continue to schedule weak boxers that he hand-picked. He will continue to rake in record setting pay days despite that and he will continue to brag about his undefeated record. That is what Floyd really wants and his not willing to risk that. That’s the bottom line.

Mayweather Jr. (45-0) will fight Marcos Maidana (35-3) on May 3^rd for his next fight. Maidana is the welterweight champion of the world.

Mayweather can continue to make his case as the best against nobody’s but until he beats the best then he will never be the best.