CEBU, Philippines — From the standpoint of Hall of Fame trainer James Walter ‘Buddy’ McGirt, the legacy of Manny Pacquiao weighs heavier than the money of Floyd Mayweather.
In a report by John Tan of International Business Times, McGirt claimed that Mayweather’s money will never match what Pacquiao has achieved in the course of the Pinoy ring star’s storied career.
McGirt, who has trained several world champions such as Sergey Kovalev, Arturo Gatti, Antonio Tarver, Hasim Rahman, and Paulie Malignaggi, pointed out that Mayweather made tons of money while staying in his comfort zone, while Pacquiao worked his way out to conquer multiple weight classes and in the process become the only eight-division world champion in history.
“I’d say the 8-division champion, because it’s something you will always be remembered for,” the 2002 Trainer of the Year told Elie Seckbach of EsNews.
“You still got a lot of money, you don’t have a billion dollars, but you got something your kids and grandkids could remember. It’s a legacy, something that lives on forever,” added McGirt, a two-division world titlist during his prime as a fighter.
Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins, another Hall of Famer who once reigned as the undisputed middleweight world champion, shares the same view, picking Pacquiao’s accomplishments over Mayweather’s riches.
“I’d rather have Manny Pacquiao’s legacy than Floyd Mayweather’s. Manny fought everybody and Floyd fought guys (on his watch). Also, I don’t think Floyd gave two you-know-whats about how people feel whether he fought the best guys or not. It was strictly business for Floyd,” stated Hopkins in an exclusive interview with The Ring.