Paddy Pimblett has revealed how his perception of legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather changed over time.
'The Baddy' has taken the MMA world by storm after his highly entertaining debut at UFC Vegas 36. Various combat sports personalities like Daniel Cormier and Ariel Helwani showered the 26-year-old with praise in the aftermath of his first appearance.
Pimblett also got the attention of boxing royalty Teddy Atlas, who invited the British fighter on his podcast The Fight with Teddy Atlas. At one point during the interview, the conversation steered in the direction of boxing legend Floyd Mayweather. Sharing his thoughts on 'Money', Pimblett said:
"Until I got proper into me boxing a lot, I used to under-appreciate how good [Floyd] Mayweather was because I didn't realize that he had to change the style because of his hands and stuff... I always just thought he was a boring boxer who didn't want to get into scraps. But obviously, now that I know about his style more and why he had to change his style, I completely understand and I think he is possibly the best boxer of all time now that I understand that more."
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You can listen to Paddy Pimblett's full interview with Teddy Atlas below:
Paddy Pimblett fought Luigi Vendramini in his first UFC fight at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs Till. After getting rocked in the opening minutes of the fight, Pimblett bounced back and finished Vendramini inside five minutes..
Teddy Atlas praised Paddy Pimblett after 'The Baddy' won his UFC debut
After scoring a finish in his UFC debut at UFC Vegas 36, Paddy Pimblett became the talk of the down. Teddy Atlas also lauded the 26-year-old for his 'granite' chin.
Pimblett, elated by Atlas' words, shared the quote on his Instagram account.
”Reading stuff like this makes my day, sporting legends like Teddy Atlas bigging the bad man up, this is my favourite thing he’s ever said now but close 2nd is definitely… 'WERE FIREMEN!'"