Floyd Mayweather sounds off on Naoya Inoue being pound-for-pound number one

Floyd Mayweather believes that Naoya Inoue is great, but not pound-for-pound number one.

'The Monster' returned to the ring late last month in Japan. There, the former unified bantamweight champion moved up to super bantamweight to face WBC and WBO champion, Stephen Fulton. While many expected Inoue to win, 'Cool Boy Steph' was expected to give him the toughest fight of his career to date.

Instead, he fell just like all the rest. After a brief feeling-out period, Inoue turned up the pressure and never looked back. In the eighth round, he dropped and stopped Fulton with a devastating combination for the TKO win. With that, the Japanese boxer had gold in yet another weight class.

Following the win, many praised Naoya Inoue, even proclaiming him to be pound-for-pound number one. While many believe the Japanese boxer is the best on the planet, it's safe to say that Floyd Mayweather doesn't agree.

In a recent interview with FightHype, 'Money' proclaimed that Gervonta Davis should be pound-for-pound over Inoue, and Terence Crawford. He stated:

“When is Gervonta Davis going to go in the pound-for-pound list? Does Naoya Inoue deserve it? Absolutely. Does Terence Crawford? Absolutely. But what about Gervonta Davis? [They don't give him that credit] because he was affiliated with me."

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Floyd Mayweather calls for Naoya Inoue vs. Gervonta Davis

Floyd Mayweather believes Gervonta Davis' next fight should be Naoya Inoue.

'Tank' last defeated Ryan Garcia in April, in the biggest bout of his career to date. Following the victory, Davis was linked to potential clashes with Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney. Sadly, he broke the terms of his probation and was sent to jail post-fight.

Luckily, he was released earlier this summer, and Mayweather has big plans for his longtime protege. In the interview with FightHype, the retired boxer stated that the lightweight champion should be number one, taking aim at Naoya Inoue.

However, Floyd Mayweather also believes that the two stars should box next. While they're far apart in weight, the former champion believes that can be resolved with a catchweight. He stated in the interview:

"What I need Inoue to do is to come fight in the USA, random blood and urine testing. I think he's a helluva fighter. He takes a lot of stuff from my playbook. But it's okay, you're supposed to take from the greats. I would like to see him fight Gervonta Davis at a catchweight.”