As the world awaits the clash between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, one of the narratives is the fight should have taken place about five years ago when both were closer to their peaks.  

Experienced boxing journalist Jerry Izenberg feels that both have declined - but at the same rate, as he told Off The Ball.  

"They've each gone back about the same degree and this is a fight where both fighters' strengths are also their biggest weaknesses.

Pacquiao's strength is relentless pressure and you saw what happened when he ran into Marquez's right hand and that can happen. I don't know if it will happen with Mayweather because I don't think Mayweather can knock him out.

"On the other hand, Mayweather's big thing is his offense flows from his defence with the shoulder roll and those kind of things. The thing about that is often when the crowd is mesmerised by his dancing and movement, he'll forget to punch. If he does that, it'll be a very bad night for him."  

Izenberg also added that Mayweather's greatest fear was losing a fight for the first time in his pro career and talked about who he regards as the all-time great fighters after Mayweather claimed he is better than Muhammad Ali.

"The greatest fighter pound for pound to me was [Sugar] Ray Robinson and then I don't put Ali in that greatest, greatest, greatest category because you've to remember I saw Joe Lewis and Joe Lewis was simply the greatest fighter, period, in my mind. Then you look at the other guys. I think the era makes fighters. Hearns, Leonard and Hagler all destroyed each other," he said.