A popular conversation among sports fans involves comparing different eras and generations of the greats and ultimately asking, who’s better?

We’re all guilty of it and professionals, it seems, are no different.

British boxer Shannon Courtenay posed an interesting question to her Instagram followers on her story. The question was simple; if both were in their prime, who would win? Floyd Mayweather or Canelo Alvarez?

It is a debate that has raged on ever since the pair squared off against each other in 2013.

First Fight & Journey Since

On that occasion, Alvarez suffered his first, and only, professional defeat via decision after the fight went the distance. Although it was a valiant display from the then 23-year-old Alvarez, an experienced Floyd Mayweather outclassed his opponent en route to his impeccable 50-0 record.

Since then, however, Alvarez has continued his trajectory and gone from strength to strength. Currently a unified super-middleweight world champion, many feel if this version of Alvarez was to step inside the ring against ‘Pretty Boy’, the outcome would be very different.

These sentiments have been echoed by Canelo’s training partner Ryan Garcia, who recently told ESPN: "Canelo wins.

“At his best, he is much smarter and knows how to manoeuvre in the ring much better.

"Pretty Boy was good but if he went directly against Canelo, he would be knocked out. He would have to box and [Saul] is a big guy by nature."

Poll Results

Despite the confidence in his partner, not everyone shares the same belief in Alvarez. Certainly not those who viewed Courtenay’s Instagram story, with Mayweather convincingly coming out on top of the poll with 67% of the votes.

It’s a fascinating debate, albeit hypothetical, as sadly we are unlikely to ever see the Mayweather vs Alvarez rematch given that the former has been out of action since 2017 and is arguably well past his peak years, whilst the latter is currently experiencing his.

Still, who’s your money on?