Athletes - Floyd Mayweather Jr.

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	Athletes - Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. (born February 24, 1977, Grand Rapids, MI) is rated by The Ring magazine as the #1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world. He is the son of former welterweight contender Floyd Mayweather Sr., who currently is the trainer of Oscar de la Hoya. Mayweather Jr.'s trainer is his uncle, Roger Mayweather; neither Floyd Jr. nor Roger speak with Floyd Sr.

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 Floyd Sr. and Roger had taught him. In his orthodox defensive stance, Mayweather holds his right hand high (near his right temple), his left hand cradles his stomach, and his left shoulder guards his chin. He slips and deflects most punches this way, even when cornered, by twisting left and right in this position to the rhythm of his opponents' punches.

As a featherweight, Mayweather won a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Mayweather lost by a controversial decision in his semi-final bout against silver medalist Serafim Todorov of Bulgaria. 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.

In 1998, Mayweather won his first professional title, the WBC super featherweight championship, when the corner of Genaro Hernandez stopped the fight after round 8. From there, Mayweather defended his title with dominating performances against challengers such as perennial contender Angel Manfredy and former WBC featherweight champion Gregorio Vargas. Mayweather's biggest fight as a super featherweight was in 2001, against Diego Corrales. At the time, neither fighter had been defeated or knocked down. In the bout, Mayweather won every round, and knocked Corrales down five times (three times in round 7 and twice in round 10). After the fifth knockdown, Corrales' corner displayed the towel, thereby establishing Mayweather as one of the claimants to boxing's mythical pound-for-pound title.

In his first bout after Corrales, against future IBF champion Carlos Alberto Hernandez, Mayweather was knocked down for the first time, when his right glove touched the canvas—a result of Mayweather's injuring his hand while punching Hernandez—but he rose to win the fight. After defending his title against Hernandez and future WBC champion Jesus Chavez, Mayweather moved up to the lightweight division, where he won the WBC lightweight championship. In 2002, Mayweather won two close bouts against Jose Luis Castillo. Some feel he should have lost the first fight, but he won the rematch relatively easy and removed any doubt left over from the first bout. He went on to beat Victoriano Sosa and knocked out Phillip N'dou in 2003. The latter proved to be a very exciting bout, with N'dou pursuing Mayweather and being hit with constant right hand blows, until finally being knocked out in the 7th round.

Mayweather then moved up to the super lightweight division. He defeated DeMarcus Corley in another exciting toe-to-toe war, and knocked out Henry Bruseles. He was then given an opportunity to fight WBC super lightweight champion Arturo Gatti on June 25, 2005 in his first pay-per-view fight. Gatti was a heavy fan favorite, but Mayweather easily out-boxed and battered him throughout the fight. Gatti's corner stopped the fight after round 6, giving Mayweather his third world title. 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, facing 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.

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.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Floyd Mayweather Jr. ]

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Athletes - Floyd Mayweather Jr.

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