Undefeated in 50 professional fights, the winner of 15 major titles in five different weight-classes and one of the greatest boxers to ever grace the ring, Floyd Mayweather Jr is bona fide boxing royalty.
From turning pro in 1996 to his retirement (of sorts) in 2017, there’s never really been a dull moment in the career of the self-proclaimed ‘Best Ever’ and to mark the master pugilist's 44th birthday, we’ve had a look at five of his five best performances…
Vs Canelo, 2015
Younger, stronger and himself unbeaten, Canelo was dubbed as the person to finally beat Mayweather in the run up to this one but those predictions would ultimately prove foolhardy as the older man completely outclassed the man who would become a superstar in his own right.
Floyd took a 12-round majority decision victory on the judge’s cards but the fight will perhaps be best remembered for CJ Ross’ infamous and utterly bonkers score of 114-114. Mayweather also made a tidy $41.5million for this fight.
Vs Ricky Hatton, 2007
Another fighter who saw his unbeaten record crumble at the mystic hands of Mayweather, this time it was British favourite Ricky Hatton who felt his wrath. With an army of boozy fans cheering him on from the stands, Hatton fought bravely, and may even have had more success had referee Joe Cortez not been so quick to split things up when the two fighter’s got close. But it wasn’t to be and Cortez halted the fight in the tenth after Hatton was dropped twice by the American.
The Mancunian joked in the aftermath that the win was “a fluke” but in reality it was another showcase for Mayweather’s excellence.
Vs Arturo Gatti, 2005
Arturo Gatti is undoubtedly one of the toughest men to step foot in the ring but when he clashed with Mayweather in 2005 he was given a savage beating. ‘Thunder,’ a man whose brawling style was capable of giving any fighter a nightmare, elected to try and box Mayweather, a decision he would pay dearly for. After six rounds of being bullied by Mayweather, and with serious swelling around both eyes, the Canadian’s trainer Buddy McGirt was forced to throw in the towel
Vs Shane Mosely, 2010
A defensive wizard, there were very few fighters that ever really gave Mayweather any real trouble in the latter stretch of his career. ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosely, a boxing legend in his own right, came the closest to ever knocking out the elusive master of defence in the second round of their 2010 bout, when a vicious right gave Floyd a serious case of wobbly legs. Nonetheless Mayweather survived to run out a clear winner on the cards.
Vs Diego Corrales, 2001
Not yet the PPV star we would all eventually know him for, the 2001 bout with Diego Corrales was something of an introduction to the world for Mayweather. Corrales, a man who had a penchant for a knockout, was unbeaten and the slight betting favourite going into this one but was completely routed by “Pretty Boy” Floyd.
By the time of Corrales' stoppage in the tenth, he’d only won one round, had been dropped five times, three times in the seventh, and at no point looked like troubling his opponent. This was vintage Mayweather.
