Boxing icons Buster Douglas and Oscar De La Hoya believe that Floyd Mayweather Jr. will win over Manny Pacquiao if their proposed showdown on May 2 next year happens.

Mayweather holds a perfect 47-0 record with 26 knockouts, while Pacquiao has a 57-5-2 record with 38 knockouts. For Douglas, Mayweather's more impressive record is enough to prove that he is better than his Filipino rival.

"I'm gonna go with Mayweather," Douglas told Tha Boxing Voice when asked to pick between Mayweather and Pacquiao. "I think Floyd Mayweather is a class act and he has great ability, so I'm gonna go with Mayweather to beat Manny Pacquiao."

De La Hoya, who has faced both fighters before, said that the super fight is too close to call, but he is convinced that Mayweather has an edge at this point unlike three years ago, when Pacquiao's skills were better than the reigning pound-for-pound king.

"It's one of those fights where anybody could win," De La Hoya told BoxingScene. "Who would I give the edge to if it was today, I would have to go with Floyd. Three years ago, hands down it would have been Manny Pacquiao. But now I would go with Floyd. If he fights Pacquiao, then Floyd will erase all doubts that anybody might have."

De La Hoya added, though, that Pacquiao will earn more respect from boxing fans than Mayweather when both fighters decide to hang up their gloves.

The Boxing Hall of Famer pointed out that Pacquiao has slowed down over the past several years because he made sure that he was fighting the best possible opponent, unlike Mayweather, who was accused of docking several foes to keep his record unblemished.

"Who has more respect which is going to live on forever -- that's Manny Pacquiao," De La Hoya added. "There is no doubt about that. With Manny Pacquiao, they are going to say 'wow, he fought all these guys, fought tough battles and gave us all these fights.' Now it's a matter of what matters most."

After several negotiations for the fight went down before, Mayweather recently expressed interest in facing Pacquiao on May 2 next year, but both camps are still trying to find a common ground at this point.

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