Floyd Mayweather, Jr., bynames Money and Pretty Boy, (born February 24, 1977, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.), American boxer whose combination of speed, power, and technical prowess made him one of the best pound-for-pound fighters of all time.
Mayweather earned the nickname “Pretty Boy” throughout his beginner profession due to his unmarked face. He gained the nationwide Golden Gloves in 1993, 1994, and 1996 however ended his beginner profession on a bitter observe on the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, the place he misplaced a controversial choice to Serafim Todorov of Bulgaria within the semifinals and needed to accept a bronze medal within the featherweight division. He turned professional on October 11, 1996, scoring a second-round knockout of American Roberto Apodaca. Despite a bitter feud between his two trainers—his father, former boxer Floyd Mayweather, Sr., and his uncle Roger Mayweather, a former holder of the World Boxing Council (WBC) tremendous featherweight (junior light-weight) and tremendous light-weight (junior welterweight) titles—Mayweather flourished, profitable the WBC junior light-weight title on October 3, 1998, in his 18th bout by stopping veteran American titleholder Genaro Hernandez within the eighth spherical. Mayweather additionally gained Ring journal’s Fighter of the Year award in 1998.
Mayweather moved up in weight 4 occasions, capturing Ring journal and WBC light-weight titles in 2001, the WBC tremendous light-weight title in 2005, and Ring journal and WBC welterweight titles in 2006. At the start of 2007, he was already extensively thought-about one of the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, remaining undefeated in 38 skilled bouts (24 by knockout). However, it was not till he defeated fellow American Oscar De La Hoya for the WBC tremendous welterweight (junior middleweight) title that Mayweather gained mainstream recognition. More than the combat itself, it was the four-part documentary 24/7, which was broadcast on HBO cable tv throughout the buildup to the combat, that boosted Mayweather’s profile. He emerged as a riveting character with an ego as massive as his expertise and a proclivity for being alternatively obnoxious and charming. Mayweather’s combat in opposition to De La Hoya was an infinite monetary success, smashing current pay-per-view and live-gate data. He returned to the ring in December 2007 and scored a Tenth-round knockout in opposition to Britain’s beforehand undefeated Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas. The bout attracted one other capability crowd and, collectively together with his victory over De La Hoya, earned Mayweather Ring journal’s Fighter of the Year award for that 12 months.
In June 2008, simply months earlier than a scheduled rematch with De La Hoya, Mayweather introduced his retirement from boxing. While most observers assumed that the “retirement” could be momentary, some 18 months handed between Mayweather’s combat with Hatton and his return to the ring in September 2009 in opposition to Juan Manuel Márquez, a pure light-weight and crowd favorite who moved up two divisions to simply accept the bout. Although Márquez confirmed nice fortitude, the judges awarded Mayweather a unanimous choice after 12 rounds.
Much pleasure and greater than slightly gamesmanship attended the buildup to Mayweather’s subsequent scheduled combat, in opposition to Filipino sensation Manny Pacquiao, whom Mayweather’s father accused of utilizing performance-enhancing medicine, resulting in extended wrangling over the character of the blood testing that may precede the combat. With the Pacquiao combat stalled, Mayweather gained a unanimous choice over three-time welterweight champion Shane Mosley in a May 2010 nontitle bout. Mayweather subsequent fought Victor Ortiz in September 2011, recapturing the WBC welterweight title—which he had surrendered at his retirement—after he controversially (although legally) knocked Ortiz out when Ortiz approached him together with his guard all the way down to apologize for an earlier head butt.
In December 2011 Mayweather—who had obtained suspended sentences for 2 earlier situations of home violence—was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 100 hours of group service after pleading responsible to decreased home violence battery and harassment fees that stemmed from a September 2010 incident during which Mayweather attacked his former girlfriend in entrance of two of their youngsters. Before he entered jail, he fought Miguel Cotto in May 2012, profitable a unanimous choice to seize the World Boxing Association (WBA) gentle middleweight title. Mayweather started his jail sentence in June 2012 and was launched for good behaviour after serving two months.
Mayweather’s subsequent bout was a unanimous choice over Robert Guerrero in May 2013. His following two fights confirmed doable chinks within the nice fighter’s armour: Mayweather gained majority choices (whereby one of many three judges deemed the bout a draw) in opposition to Mexico’s Saul Alvarez in September 2013 and Argentina’s Marcos Maidana in May 2014, which have been solely the second and third occasions of his profession that he didn't win a combat by knockout, unanimous choice, or retirement of his opponent. After years of rumours and on-and-off negotiations, Mayweather and Pacquiao agreed to combat on May 2, 2015. Mayweather entered the bout because the clear favorite, and he largely dictated the tempo on his option to a victory by unanimous choice. On August 26, 2017, Mayweather fought blended martial arts champion Conor McGregor. The bout produced an enormous monetary windfall for each fighters—Mayweather was assured at the least a $100 million purse for showing—however was extensively derided as a publicity stunt by boxing observers, who have been validated when Mayweather simply defeated a fighter who had by no means earlier than participated in a pure boxing match with a Tenth-round technical knockout. Following the bout, Mayweather introduced his retirement from boxing with a 50–0 profession report.