Paul Smith picks his favourite five, with Joe Louis and Alexis Arguello in the mix

Leonard, Ali, Duran, Louis and Arguello

By Paul Smith, Boxer & Pundit

Image: Paul Smith picks his personal favourites

Paul Smith watched Floyd Mayweather explain his best five fighters and can understand it - but does not put Money in his own all-time favourites.

But he does include two new faces, following on from fellow Sky Sports pundits Johnny Nelson and Johnny Nelson...

Mayweather's top five

Floyd picked out his favourite fighters... including himself!

1) Sugar Ray Leonard - 36-3-1-KO25 (1977-1997)

Image: Sugar Ray Leonard was one of the toghest ever, says Smith

Paul says: I don't think you can have a top five anywhere without him in it and for me, he is No 1 every time. His ability levels were above anybody else's, he could do it all. He could stand there and trade, he was a classy, flashy fighter and he had the skills. He was the ‘Sugarman’. But the one thing I loved the most was his under-rated toughness. He looked so pleasant, always smiling, but he was one of the toughest we've ever seen.

2) Muhammad Ali - 56-5-0-KO37 (1960-1981)

Image: Muhammad Ali (left) makes another top five... other than Mayweather's

Paul says: People, including him, say he was The Greatest, but I put him behind Leonard. Of course what he did outside the ring made him who and what he is and like anyone, I loved watching him. I am not sure I would have expected him to beat all the heavyweights he did but his class, those reflexes and again, that toughness, made the difference. He was a one-off that many have tried to emulate but no one has quite got it right yet and I don't think anyone ever will.

3) Roberto Duran 103-16-KO70 (1968-2001)

Image: Roberto Duran brought the best out of the best

Paul says: I'm flipping this one because Duran's skills were under-rated, behind that toughness. He was rough-and-tumble, a come-forward fighter but he was also a classy fighter who we all loved to watch. One thing about him is that you need someone to bring the best out of fighters and that was one major thing he did. Mention Leonard, Tommy Hearns or Marvin Hagler and he is part of that. It takes great fighters to bring the best out of you and Duran fought them all.

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4) Joe Louis - 66-3-KO52 (1934-1951)

Image: Joe Louis was as accurate and efficient as they come

Paul says: I am not going to stick to one heavyweight and it was a different era altogether but what I love about Louis was his accuracy and his efficiency. If he threw five, four were within an inch of your chin and carried power with it, too. He never wasted anything and of course, that word toughness has to come in, because to be great, you have to have that. I think he has to be in anyone's top five pound-for-pound fighters ever.

5) Alexis Arguello - 77-8-KO62 (1968-1995)

Image: Alexis Arguello is Paul's personal favourite

Paul says: I am going against the grain because he probably won't get in any all-time top fives but one of my favourites has to be Alexis Arguello. I can break it right down because I don't think I have ever seen a better right hand in boxing than his. It was just pure class. The knockouts that right hand produced were one thing, but it looked absolutely effortless too. He also had some huge fights, like Ray Mancini and Aaron Pryor, and that was the era I was brought up watching.

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On Mayweather...

Paul says: He's the best of my generation but he is not in the best top-five of all-time. If Mike Tyson isn't in there, then there's no way he can be either. But I watched Mayweather give his explanations and he had no disrespect to the other great fighters but said he was the best ever and if you can't say that, you're in the wrong sport.

Image: Floyd Mayweather Jr's explanations made sense to Smith

Whatever you think of Mayweather he was right. That is something Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler would have said, never mind all the other ones we've heard say it.

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