   #copyright

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Sports and games people

   Floyd Mayweather Jr.
                Statistics
    Real name   Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr.
     Nickname   Pretty Boy
      Weight    Welterweight
   Nationality  United States American
    Birth date  February 24, 1977
   Birth place  Grand Rapids, MI, USA
      Style     Orthodox
              Boxing record
   Total fights 37
       Wins     37
    Wins by KO  24
      Losses    0
      Draws     0
   No contests  0

   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 37-0 (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. To date, Mayweather has won five
   world boxing championships in five different weight classes. Mayweather
   is scheduled to fight Oscar de la Hoya on May 5th.

   Mayweather Jr. is a member of the Mayweather boxing family. His father,
   Floyd Mayweather Sr., is a former welterweight contender and is
   currently the trainer of Oscar de la Hoya. Mayweather has stated that
   he and his father are not on speaking terms. 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. He
   won national Golden Gloves championships in 1993 (at 106 lb), 1994 (at
   112 lb), and 1996 (at 125 lb). 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. In
   his orthodox defensive stance, Mayweather—much like James Toney—often
   utilizes the 'shoulder roll.' The shoulder roll is an old-school boxing
   technique in which the right hand is held normally or slightly higher
   than normal, the left hand is down around the midsection, and the lead
   shoulder is raised high on the cheek in order to cover the chin and
   block punches. The right hand (from orthodox stance) is used as it
   normally would be to block punches coming from the other side, such as
   left hooks. From this stance, Mayweather blocks, slips, and deflects
   most of his opponents' punches, even when cornered, by twisting left
   and right to the rhythm of their punches.

   At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Mayweather won a bronze medal by
   reaching the semifinals of the featherweight (57 kg) 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.

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). 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. Hernandez had never been
   defeated at the weight class. 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. 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.

   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. 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 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.

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 bouts for the WBC and The Ring lightweight belts
   against José Luis Castillo. In their first bout, Castillo had success
   when he cut off the ring and used his strength to wear down Mayweather.
   But it wasn't enough to make up for his slow start in the fight. Still,
   some analysts feel that Mayweather should have lost the fight, but he
   won by unanimous decision. In the rematch, Mayweather used his quick
   footwork and combinations to coast to another unanimous decision
   victory, this time with no controversy.

   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. 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, when N'Dou's trainers - Nick Durandt and Tommy Brooks -
   stepped into the ring to throw in the towel.

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." 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.

   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.

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. 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. The suspension entails that
   Roger can train Mayweather Jr. in the gym but cannot work the corner
   during fights. 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. Mayweather vacated the IBF title on June 20, 2006.

   Mayweather rejected an offer of US$8 million to fight Antonio Margarito
   and split with promoter Bob Arum for the possibility of a superfight
   with Oscar de la Hoya. de la Hoya, however, postponed his decision
   until 2007, leaving Mayweather in the awkward position of choosing his
   next opponent, while deflecting accusations that he had ducked
   Margarito. Mayweather considered moving up in weight again to fight
   junior middleweight champion Cory Spinks, but because of negative
   publicity and Spinks' impending mandatory defense of his title, he
   finally decided to face WBC and The Ring welterweight champion Carlos
   Baldomir on November 4, 2006 in Las Vegas.

   Mayweather would ultimately defeat Baldomir by unanimous decision for
   both titles. Ringside punch statistics showed Mayweather landing 199 of
   458 punches, while Baldomir landed just 79 of 670. Mayweather earned $8
   million for the fight, while Baldomir was paid $1.6 million. Both were
   career highs in earnings for each fighter.

   During the fight, Baldomir chased Mayweather sluggishly, unable to land
   any meaningful shots but trying to remain the busier fighter, while
   Mayweather picked away with sharp jabs and hooks, even managing to cut
   Baldomir over his left eye in the first round. This pattern continued
   throughout the fight, thanks in no small part to Baldomir's weighing in
   at 160 pounds on fight night (normal weight for a middleweight),
   leading some to believe that Baldomir's sole intention was to knock
   Mayweather out. The defensive-minded Mayweather, however, apparently
   not looking to knock out or even exchange blows with his opponent, put
   on what many witnesses and Mayweather himself called a "boxing clinic"
   to take Baldomir's WBC and Ring welterweight titles in a lopsided 12
   round decision. Two judges had Mayweather winning all 12 rounds, with
   the other giving all but two rounds to Mayweather.

Retirement?

   At the post-fight press conference, a teary-eyed Mayweather stated he
   would like to retire after one final fight. This announcement has
   caused shock and even some anger in the boxing community, as many feel
   that Mayweather should still test himself against the top welterweight
   champions and contenders while still in his prime. However, many also
   believe that Mayweather, although clearly emotional, may just be weary
   after 10 years of boxing, and is merely selling his next fight as a
   retirement fight to both raise the stakes and give him the opportunity
   to take a break.

   It should also be noted that Mayweather was upset during the post-fight
   interview for what he felt was disrespect from Larry Merchant and the
   crowd for not giving him due credit for his victory over Baldomir. This
   was likely caused by Mayweather's reluctance to press for the knockout
   even though he was virtually assured the win, leading some people to
   leave in the later rounds when it became clear that he was going to
   ride out the points victory. (Mayweather did say that he had hurt his
   right hand in the middle rounds, and could not press like he wanted
   to.) It has been inferred that Mayweather was riding high on emotions
   after not getting credit after he, in his own words, "fought a perfect
   fight", and was venting his frustration at being considered the best
   boxer in the world, but still getting criticized for how he wins
   matches.

Superfight against Oscar De La Hoya

   Mayweather's next (and possibly final) match will be the
   long-anticipated superfight against six-division champion and current
   WBC Junior Middleweight titleholder Oscar De La Hoya on May 5, 2007. De
   La Hoya's belt will be on the line, which will require Mayweather to
   move up in weight from 147 pounds to 154. (Should Mayweather win, he
   will have won major titles in five different divisions.)

   "Done deal, baby! Done deal," said De La Hoya. "I wanted it. How could
   I not be excited? I took this fight because, like always, I always want
   to take on the best, and Floyd is considered the best in the world.
   Here we go again. My thinking wasn't financial. It had to do with it
   being the biggest event out there and wanting to fight the best and be
   the best." De La Hoya has also hinted that the fight with Mayweather
   will not be his last, as was widely thought. Whether the same can be
   said for Mayweather, however, remains to be seen.

   Despite De La Hoya's insistence that money is not a factor, the
   Mayweather-De La Hoya bout figures to be one of the biggest
   money-making fights in boxing history. Mayweather stands to make at
   least $10 million to De La Hoya's $25 million, with possibly much more
   for each if pay-per-view sales satisfy predictions. Early speculation
   indicates that the fight could flirt with the all-time record for
   pay-per-view buys. The current record comes from the 1997 rematch
   between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, which took in 1.99 million.
   De La Hoya's fight with Felix Trinidad in 1999 generated 1.4 million
   buys, which stands as the record for a non-heavyweight bout. De La Hoya
   has been quoted as saying his goal is 2 million buys, which, given the
   amount of time still remaining to promote the fight, is a definite
   possibility.

   Adding further intrigue to the fight is the presence of Mayweather's
   father and uncle. It has already been confirmed that Floyd Mayweather
   Sr. will train De La Hoya in Puerto Rico and be in his corner on fight
   night, just as his brother Roger Mayweather will be preparing
   Mayweather Jr. after serving his jail sentence for battery. With the
   hype already surrounding the fight, the family element should serve to
   deepen the drama and garner more interest. Both sides have insisted
   that they will be all business for the fight, and will maintain
   professionalism despite the personal nature of the fight.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Mayweather_Jr."
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
