Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, lands a left on Oscar De La Hoya during the twelfth round of their WBC super welterweight world championship boxing match on Saturday, May 5, 2007, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. (Kevork Djansezian, The Associated Press)
It’s been nearly 19 years since Floyd Mayweather Jr. lost in the ring — a highly controversial loss to Bulgaria’s Serafim Todorov at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. Since turning pro, he’s been a flawless 47-0.
After finishing my list of , I took a look at Mayweather’s career.
Here are my top five defining moments in Mayweather’s career. Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments:
Floyd Mayweather Jr. RTD 8 Genaro Hernandez
Oct. 3, 1998 at Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas
WBC Super Featherweight title fight — first world title
Mayweather lacked no confidence in his first title fight. Entering the ring, he had a WBC patch on his trunks. Against an undefeated Hernandez, the 21-year-old Mayweather’s speed and skills proved to be too much for the super featherweight champion, whose only loss to that point was to an up-and-coming Oscar De La Hoya three years prior.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. RTD 6 Arturo Gatti
June 25, 2005 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
WBC world super lightweight title
Two years removed from his epic trilogy against Micky Ward, Gatti would defend his WBC light welterweight title against Mayweather in the undefeated boxer’s first pay-per-view. Gatti showed heart, but his cornerman threw in the towel in the sixth round after Mayweather paid him a beating.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. SD 12 Oscar De La Hoya
May 5, 2007 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas
WBC light middleweight title
Always looking to make noise, Mayweather entered the fight wearing a sombrero and the colors of the Mexican flag on his trunks on Cinco de Mayo. Against the bigger, more-accomplished De La Hoya, Mayweather staved off the future hall of famer’s attacks and connected on enough to narrowly win the split decision by the judges.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. UD 12 Shane Mosley
May 1, 2010 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas
To this point, no one had seriously had Mayweather in trouble. Zab Judah (should have) scored a knockdown when the two had fought, but Mosley gave Mayweather a big scare early. In the second round, Mosley connected on a huge right hook that buckled his opponent’s knees. Mayweather showed his resilience and survived Mosley’s attack, eventually falling into his rhythm and winning with a unanimous decision.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. MD 12 Marcos Maidana
May 3, 2014 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas
WBC world welterweight title and WBA super world welterweight title
In what quite possibly was Mayweather’s closest fight, Maidana pushed the undefeated welterweight champion to the limit. Employing a rough, brawling-style of attack and closing the distance between himself and Mayweather, Maidana tried to break his speed disadvantage by using bully tactics. And it nearly worked. Mayweather was able to eek out a majority decision.
