Jump to content

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by ArcTheLad (talk | contribs) at 05:37, 27 May 2006. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Floyd Mayweather Jr.
File:FloydMayweatherJr.jpg
Born
Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr.

February 24, 1977
Grand Rapids, MI, USA
NationalityAmerican
Other namesPretty Boy
Statistics
Weight(s)Welterweight
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights36
Wins36
Wins by KO24
Losses0
Draws0
No contests0

Floyd Mayweather Jr. (born February 24, 1977 in Grand Rapids, MI, USA) is a professional boxer. He is undefeated since making his pro debut on October 11, 1996, with a record of 36-0 (24 KOs). Since July 18, 2005, he has been rated by The Ring magazine as the number-one pound-for-pound boxer in the world.[1] Mayweather has won four world boxing championships in four different weight classes, and he is the current IBF welterweight champion.

Mayweather Jr. is a member of the Mayweather boxing family. His father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., is a former welterweight contender. One of his uncles, Jeff Mayweather, is a former IBO super featherweight champion. Another uncle, former two-division world champion Roger Mayweather, is Mayweather Jr.'s current trainer.

Amateur career

Mayweather had a successful amateur career, with a record of 84-6.[2] He won national Golden Gloves championships in 1993 (at 106 lb), 1994 (at 112 lb), and 1996 (at 125 lb).[3] He was given the nickname "Pretty Boy" by his amateur teammates because his face never had cuts or bruises after fights—a result of the defensive techniques that his father (Floyd Mayweather Sr.) and uncle (Roger Mayweather) had taught him.[4] In his orthodox defensive stance, Mayweather holds his right hand high (near his right temple), cradles his stomach with his left hand, and guards his chin with his left shoulder. From this stance, he blocks, slips, and deflects most of his opponents' punches, even when cornered, by twisting left and right to the rhythm of their punches.[5]

At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Mayweather won a bronze medal by reaching the semifinals of the featherweight (57 kg)[6] division's 31-boxer tournament. In the opening round, Mayweather led 10-1 on points over Bakhtiyar Tileganov of Kazakhstan before he won by round 2 referee stoppage. In the second round, Mayweather outpointed Artur Gevorgyan of Armenia 16-3. In the quarterfinals, Mayweather survived a late rally by Lorenzo Aragon of Cuba to win 12-11. In his semifinal bout against the eventual silver medalist, Serafim Todorov of Bulgaria, Mayweather lost by a controversial decision that the U.S. team officially protested. Nearly everyone who saw the bout, including the referee, thought that Mayweather had won. However, the international judges, whom U.S. boxing coach Al Mitchell called "a bunch of mobsters," ruled the bout 10-9 for Todorov.[7]

Professional career

Super featherweight

Mayweather fought his first professional bout on October 11, 1996 against fellow newcomer Roberto Apodaca. Mayweather won by knockout in round 2. Mayweather's trainer at the time was his uncle, Roger Mayweather, because Floyd Mayweather Sr. was still imprisoned after having been convicted of illegal drug trafficking in 1993. Mayweather Sr. took over as Mayweather Jr.'s trainer when he was released from prison (after Mayweather Jr.'s fourteenth fight—a second round knockout of Sam Girard).[8] From 1996 to early 1998, Mayweather fought against relatively easy opponents and won most of the fights by knockout or TKO. The most notable of these fights was a unanimous decision victory over former IBO lightweight champion Tony Pep on June 14, 1998.

In 1998, Mayweather won his first world title, the WBC super featherweight (130 lb) championship, when the corner of Genaro Hernandez stopped the fight after round 8. From there, Mayweather defended his title with dominating performances against contenders such as Angel Manfredy and Carlos Gerena. Mayweather was named as The Ring magazine's fighter of the year for 1998.

Before he fought against former WBC featherweight champion Gregorio Vargas in early 2000, Mayweather fired his father as his manager and replaced him with James Prince. A few months after the fight, the rift between the father and son became wide enough that Mayweather Jr. fired Mayweather Sr. as his trainer as well.[9] Roger Mayweather returned to his role as Mayweather Jr.'s trainer in his next bout—a non-title fight against Emanuel Burton. In an interview in 2004, Mayweather Jr. said that he loves Mayweather Sr. as his father but feels that he has better chemistry with Roger, and his father had put too much pressure on him to be perfect.[10]

Mayweather's biggest fight as a super featherweight was on January 20, 2001, against Diego Corrales. At the time, neither fighter had been defeated or knocked down. In the bout, Mayweather won every round and knocked down Corrales five times (three times in round 7 and twice in round 10). After the fifth knockdown, Corrales' cornermen climbed onto the apron and stopped the fight, thereby establishing Mayweather as one of the claimants to boxing's mythical pound-for-pound title.

In Mayweather's next bout, on May 26, 2001, future IBF champion Carlos 'Famoso' Hernández "knocked down" Mayweather for the first time. Mayweather entered the bout with injured hands.[11] When Mayweather hit Hernández with a left hook in round 6, the pain caused Mayweather to drop his left hand to the canvas, and the referee called it a knockdown. Nonetheless, Mayweather won the fight by unanimous decision. In the award-winning[12] documentary film More Than Famous, Hernández's bout against Mayweather was prominently featured.

Mayweather's last fight in the super featherweight division was against future super featherweight and lightweight champion Jesús Chávez. It was Mayweather's eighth defense of the WBC super featherweight title, which he had held for more than three years. He won when Chávez's corner stopped the fight after round 9. Mayweather had such difficulty making weight for this fight that he did not eat for four days before the weigh-in.[13]

Lightweight

In 2002, Mayweather moved up to the lightweight (135 lb) division. Mayweather fought only four bouts at this weight, but they were all world championship fights.

Mayweather won two close bouts for the WBC and The Ring lightweight belts against Jose Luis Castillo. In their first bout, Castillo had success when he cut off the ring and used his strength to wear down Mayweather. Some analysts feel that Mayweather should have lost the fight,[14] but he won by unanimous decision. In the less controversial rematch, Mayweather used his quick footwork and combinations to coast to another unanimous decision victory.

On April 19, 2003, Mayweather dominated the Dominican Victoriano Sosa and won by unanimous decision. Mayweather's next fight (on November 1, 2003) was in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He fought against the promising South African knockout specialist Phillip Ndou, whose record was 31-1 with 30 KOs. Uncharacteristically, Mayweather was offensively oriented from the beginning of the fight. Round 5 was one of 2003's most action-packed.[15] In the middle of the round, Mayweather landed a barrage of powerful punches. Ndou endured and threw wild punches that forced Mayweather into the ropes, but Mayweather demonstrated his rhythmic defensive technique and let Ndou wear himself out further. In round 6, Ndou wobbled and was pushed down. In round 7, a combination of three straight right hands knocked down Ndou and caused a TKO.

Super lightweight

Mayweather then moved up to the super lightweight (140 lb) division. His first fight in this division was against southpaw DeMarcus Corley. Mayweather used his speed to win the early rounds. In the first minute of round 4, Corley landed a solid right hand and drove Mayweather into the ropes, but Mayweather recovered and fought back ferociously. After that round, Mayweather mostly controlled Corley. Mayweather knocked down Corley in rounds 8 and 10, but Corley was able to continue until the end. Mayweather won by unanimous decision. The fight was Mayweather's only one in 2004.

On January 22, 2005, Mayweather fought against Henry Bruseles of Puerto Rico in a WBC super lightweight title eliminator bout. Mayweather easily outclassed Bruseles throughout the first seven rounds. In round 8, Mayweather knocked down Bruseles twice, and the fight was stopped.

The win over Bruseles made Mayweather the mandatory challenger for Arturo Gatti's WBC super lightweight championship. Before the fight, Mayweather was supremely confident. He described Gatti with terms such as "a C+ fighter," "a fake," and "a blown-up club fighter."[16] The pay-per-view fight occurred on June 25, 2005 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where the fans heavily supported Gatti. Near the end of round 1, Gatti left himself vulnerable when he seemed to expect a referee break, and Mayweather capitalized by knocking Gatti into the ropes for a knockdown. Throughout the next five rounds, the much faster Mayweather landed with nearly every big shot against Gatti, who had no offense with which he could return fire. Gatti's corner stopped the fight after round 6—giving Mayweather his third world title. In the post-fight interview, Mayweather praised Gatti and claimed that his pre-fight comments "were just to sell tickets." Among many boxing experts, Mayweather's dominance over Gatti solidified his position as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.[17]

One month after the Gatti fight, Mayweather went to trial for a domestic violence charge. He faced a minimum of one year in prison if he were convicted. Mayweather had been accused of violence against his former girlfriend, Josie Harris. Harris had claimed that Mayweather had punched and kicked her during an argument in Mayweather's Bentley, outside a Las Vegas nightclub in 2003. During the trial, however, Harris admitted that she had lied on the initial police report and testified that Mayweather never hit her. The jury acquitted Mayweather.[18]

Welterweight

On November 19, 2005, Mayweather fought a non-title bout at 147 lb against welterweight Sharmba Mitchell. In round 3, Mayweather knocked down Mitchell with a straight right hand to the head. In round 6, another straight right hand—this one to Mitchell's body—dropped Mitchell again and ended the fight.

On April 8, 2006, Mayweather defeated Zab Judah for the IBF and vacant IBO world welterweight titles by unanimous decision. Beforehand, the fight had been jeopardized after Judah lost the WBC welterweight title to Carlos Manuel Baldomir on January 7, 2006, but Mayweather's and Judah's camps reworked the contract and decided that the fight would go on.[19] In the fight, Mayweather stayed calm during Judah's aggressive early rounds. Mayweather began to dominate Judah in round 5, and Judah eventually bled. Near the conclusion of the tenth round, Judah hit Mayweather with a left hand that was clearly below the belt and followed up with a right-handed rabbit punch. After referee Richard Steele called time with five seconds remaining in the round, Roger Mayweather entered the ring and approached Judah, but Steele restrained him. Judah's father and trainer, Yoel Judah, entered the ring as well. Floyd remained in the neutral corner while both Yoel and Zab scuffled with Roger (and others who had entered the ring) until police and security managed to restore order. Roger was thrown out, but the fight continued and went the scheduled 12 rounds.

Five days after the fight, the Nevada State Athletic Commission decided not to overturn the result of the bout, but Roger Mayweather was fined US$200,000 and suspended for one year.[20] The suspension entails that Roger can train Mayweather Jr. in the gym but cannot work the corner during fights.[21] On April 17, 2006, the IBF ordered a rematch between Mayweather and Judah, but the NSAC suspended Judah for one year on May 8, 2006.[22]

Mayweather's next opponent has not been determined. Mayweather rejected an offer of US$8 million to fight against Antonio Margarito because of a hand injury and a potentially bigger purse with Oscar de la Hoya.[23] De la Hoya has said that he wants his last fight to be against Mayweather,[24] but the fact that Floyd Mayweather Sr. trains de la Hoya may prevent the superfight from occurring.

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ The Ring Ratings. 1 May 2006. The Ring. URL accessed 5 May 2006.
  2. ^ Boxing-Records: Floyd Mayweather Jr. GFAX. URL accessed 16 April 2006.
  3. ^ HBO: Boxing - Floyd Mayweather Jr. HBO. URL accessed 7 January 2006.
  4. ^ Schulberg, Benn. "Floyd Mayweather Jr. Born to be a Pretty Boy." 19 November 2005. The Sweet Science. URL accessed 12 April 2006.
  5. ^ Coleman, Steve. "The Sweet Science: Floyd Mayweather and Improvised Modalities of Rhythm." 1 December 2003. Sudden Thoughts. URL accessed 22 April 2006.
  6. ^ Olympic weight classes use kilograms instead of pounds. 57 kg ≈ 125.66 lb
  7. ^ Dahlberg, Tim. "Boxing: Judge quits to protest 'incompetent' scoring." 2 August 1996. AP. URL accessed 12 April 2006.
  8. ^ Pierce, Ben. "Floyd Mayweather Sr.: Father, son and holy cow!" 22 August 2002. East Side Boxing. URL accessed 17 April 2006.
  9. ^ Iole, Kevin. "Dinner spat widens Mayweather family rift." 17 May 2000. Las Vegas Review-Journal. URL accessed 17 April 2006.
  10. ^ "In This Corner with James Smith." Jon Hait, producer/director. 2004.
  11. ^ Escobar, Luis. "Too Much Heat from Pretty Boy Tames Hernandez." 26 May 2001. The Boxing Times. URL accessed 22 April 2006.
  12. ^ Awards for More Than Famous. IMDb. URL accessed 22 April 2006.
  13. ^ Curry, Chris. "Floyd Mayweather Shows Chavez Boxing's Not So Pretty." 11 November 2001. East Side Boxing. URL accessed 17 April 2006.
  14. ^ González, Frank. "Why Bother Fighting the Fights? Just Ask the Judges." 21 April 2002. East Side Boxing. URL accessed 12 April 2006.
  15. ^ Romppainen, Janne. "Boxing: The Best Of The Year." 17 December 2003. East Side Boxing. URL accessed 25 April 2006.
  16. ^ "Floyd Mayweather Conference Call Transcript." 16 May 2005. East Side Boxing. URL accessed 23 April 2006.
  17. ^ Upham, Paul. "The Boxing Experts on Floyd Mayweather Jr." SecondsOut.com. URL accessed 28 January 2006.
  18. ^ Almeida, Christina. "Jury in Vegas acquits Mayweather of domestic violence charge." 29 July 2005. AP. URL accessed 12 April 2006.
  19. ^ Rafael, Dan. "Judah, Mayweather to fight in Vegas on April 8." 24 January 2006. ESPN.com. URL accessed 12 April 2006.
  20. ^ Vester, Mark. "Mayweather Still Champ, Roger Not So Lucky." 13 April 2006. BoxingScene.com. URL accessed 13 April 2006.
  21. ^ Frauenheim, Norm. "Nevada deals big blow to Mayweather's uncle." 17 April 2006. The Arizona Republic. URL accessed 3 May 2006.
  22. ^ Rafael, Dan. "Judah and father fined, both lose license for year." 8 May 2006. ESPN.com. URL accessed 10 May 2006.
  23. ^ Rafael, Dan. "Mayweather turns down $8 million to fight Margarito." 25 April 2006. ESPN.com. URL accessed 10 May 2006.
  24. ^ "De la Hoya eyes Mayweather clash." 25 February 2006. BBC Sport. URL accessed 12 April 2006.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Floyd Mayweather Jr..
Preceded by Super featherweight boxing champion (WBC)
October 3, 1998–April 20, 2002 		Succeeded by
Vacancy filled by
Sirimongkol Singwangcha
Preceded by Lightweight boxing champion (WBC)
April 20, 2002–May 22, 2004 		Succeeded by
Vacancy filled by
Jose Luis Castillo
Preceded by
N/A
 Lightweight boxing champion (The Ring)
April 20, 2002–May 22, 2004 		Succeeded by
Vacancy filled by
Jose Luis Castillo
Preceded by Super lightweight boxing champion (WBC)
June 25, 2005–March 23, 2006 		Succeeded by
Vacant
Preceded by Pound-for-pound #1 boxer (The Ring)
July 18, 2005–Present 		Succeeded by
N/A
Preceded by Welterweight boxing champion (IBF)
April 8, 2006–Present 		Succeeded by
N/A
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Floyd_Mayweather_Jr.&oldid=55377294"