Is Canelo Alvarez the greatest living Mexican boxer? Well, that is a never-ending debate with no concrete answers in sight. Unfortunately, Canelo’s former rival and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather was recently drawn into the debate. Although Mayweather soundly defeated Alvarez in their 2013 showdown, he was ready to present the Mexican boxing icon with his flowers in a recent interview with Fight Hub TV.

Mayweather’s remarks were diplomatic, however, as he did not appear to give a direct answer to the interviewer’s question. In fact, “TBE’s” response is more significant following legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas’ refusal to consider Alvarez.the greatest Mexican fighter of all time.” Nevertheless, “Canelo” was titled with Floyd’s iconic saying.

Floyd Mayweather avoids controversy

Fight Hub TV met Floyd Mayweather before his exhibition fight against John III this Saturday in Mexico City. Hoping for a clear answer, the interviewer asked Floyd:“Is Canelo the greatest Mexican boxer?”

In response, the 50-0 boxer initially admitted that Canelo was a “a damn good fighter”. At the same time, Mayweather stressed that he did not feel able to include legendary fighters from Mexico in a ranking. In addition, he paid tribute to fighters from Mexico who inspired him to start a boxing career himself.

“Canelo is a damn good fighter. There are a lot of great Mexican fighters. It’s not my job to judge fighters. I just take my hat off to so many fighters that have paved the way. You know, for me to be able to be where I am now. Just, you know, in life! Canelo is a damn good fighter.” With this statement, Mayweather wanted to avoid any controversy that could arise if he answered the question with a clear yes or no.

But how does Canelo Alvarez compare to a long line of legendary Mexican boxers, including: Julio Ceaser Chavez, Ruben Olivares, Salvador Sanchez, Ricardo Lopez, Vicente Saldivar, Miguel Canto, Erik Morales, And Juan Manuel Marquez? Well, Teddy Atlas answered the question clearly and left no room for speculation.

Is Canelo Alvarez overrated?

Teddy Atlas was not particularly impressed with Canelo Alvarez’s performance against John Ryder last year. He called him “overrated”, The 68-year-old coach continued: “doesn’t mean he’s not a really good fighter. But he’s not the greatest Mexican fighter of all time.”

To further explain his previous comments about Canelo, which even infuriated the Mexican star, Atlas recently told Fight Hub TV that he just wanted to remind fans “How steep the history of the great Mexican fighters is.”

“I don’t think they realize how special this list is, this long list of Mexican fighters who have won titles and fought with honor! And to put Canelo at the top of this list, I just thought it was wrong!“, Atlas remarked boldly.

Furthermore, Teddy Atlas believes that Canelo Alvarez lost his first two fights against Gennady Golovkin and that the Mexican icon, with two losses in just 65 fights, therefore does not deserve to be on the same list as some of the Mexican boxing greats of yesteryear, some of whom have more than 100 fights under their belt.

Do you still think Canelo Alvarez is the greatest Mexican boxer of all time? Let us know in the comments section below.