Floyd Mayweather can trademark 50-0 but never knock out Rocky Marciano’s record

Floyd Mayweather’s boxing match against Conor McGregor is the biggest one you’ll see this year, even if on paper it is completely one-sided. It’s one-sided because Mayweather boasts a perfect 49-0 record, and McGregor has never even competed in the sport before. It’s one-sided because a mixed martial artist is set to compete against the most decorated boxer of this generation.

Both competitors are going to benefit greatly from the contest, regardless. With payouts to each fighter rumored to be in the $100 million range, it’s easy for someone like McGregor to dive into the deep end and someone like Mayweather to leave retirement.

But there’s more to it than that for Mayweather. At 49-0, he has equaled the record of the nearly mythical Rocky Marciano, the heavyweight champion who notched 43 knockouts en route to his own 49-0 record before calling it a career. That mark stood unequaled until Mayweather notched a 49th win by beating Andre Berto in 2015.

Some would argue it’s still unequaled and still would be after Mayweather beats McGregor.

Marciano’s mark is impressive from so many different angles. In the heavyweight division, the stakes are higher because everybody — yes, everybody — hits harder. The difference in power between the divisions is massive, and Marciano dusted 43 qualified contenders.

The judges only had to score a Marciano fight six times, and only once was he given a split decision. That came on March 24, 1950, when he fought a close match against Roland La Starza, perhaps the man closest to defeating Marciano ever. But it wasn’t a controversial decision, and Marciano retired on top of the most prestigious weight class with the 49-0 mark.

Some think that Mayweather doesn’t deserve to have the same record as Marciano. Throughout his career, he’s had something of a reputation for picking his fights and avoiding the most dangerous ones. The fact that he didn’t fight Manny Pacquiao until 2015 is a good example of this.

On April 20, 2002, Mayweather, then 25 years old, challenged José Luis Castillo for the WBC, The Ring Magazine and lineal lightweight titles. It was his first fight at the new weight class, and he was favored to win. Early on, the fight looked like many expected, with Mayweather using his supreme technical striking to frustrate the slower Castillo.

But gradually, Castillo took control of the bout, luring Mayweather into a toe-to-toe scrap that he wasn’t used to. It was a mistake by Mayweather, getting fooled into that kind of fight, and it being earlier on in his career, it’s not surprising.

Castillo cut off the ring and gave Mayweather nowhere to escape. He used his superior strength to wear down Mayweather, who is typically the most fit boxer in the ring. In the middle rounds, he found Mayweather’s body and he went back to it over and over. Mayweather stopped backing up, stopped circling, and ultimately absorbed far fewer shots.

Mayweather was outstruck from the middle rounds through the end of the match. Castillo landed 203 punches to Mayweather’s 157. He also connected on far more power punches, with a staggering 173 against Mayweather’s 66.

The judges, though, awarded Mayweather a unanimous decision, and the scorecards were laughable. Even if you thought Mayweather squeaked out a narrow win, the 115-111, 116-111, 116-111 cards were unbelievable. A shocked crowd was vocal in its displeasure, and experts were quick to say the decision was a bad one.

But time passed, and Mayweather has proved his dominance time and time again. The argument that Castillo is the better boxer is not being made, especially because Mayweather also won a rematch in much more convincing fashion. But the argument that Mayweather should be 48-1 instead of 49-0 is completely legitimate.

Mayweather is an incredible boxer, and carefully choosing his fights over the course of his career should not diminish that. That’s something that comes into the discussion when you’re comparing the best ever against the second-best ever. But his 49-0 is, at the very least, legitimate discounting the Castillo fight.

Should he beat McGregor on Saturday and claim his 50-0 record, would that be legitimate? It’s hard to justify him getting the nod over someone like Marciano by beating someone who is making his professional debut in the sport. There are plenty of boxers out there that Mayweather can still beat who would make 50-0 look a lot better than a complete novice.

Many people believe that the Nevada State Athletic Commission shouldn’t have even sanctioned such a fight in a professional capacity. Marciano’s son has been on record stating that the fight should be considered an exhibition contest, and it’s hard to argue with that.

McGregor is a legitimate combat sports practitioner, and you can’t truly make the argument that he’s endangering himself by getting into this bout. But it’s hard to see the commission’s reasoning for why this should be considered a professional fight as opposed to a sideshow.