A greatest hits album (sometimes referred to as a "best of" album) is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band. To increase the appeal of the album – especially to people who already own the previously released material – it is common to include remixes or alternate takes of popular songs or new material, with new songs often being released as singles (and themselves sometimes becoming successful). Madonna's ''The Immaculate Collection'' is the best selling greatest hits compilation by a solo artist; all of the songs on it are presented in different versions than the original hit versions. The Eagles' ''Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975)'' is the best selling greatest hits compilation by a group and also one of the ten best selling albums in history. Johnny Mathis's ''Johnny's Greatest Hits'' (1958) is generally considered the first greatest hits album. It was popular, remaining on the ''Billboard'' Top Albums Chart for a then record-breaking 490 continuous weeks. Greatest hits albums are typically produced after an artist has had enough successful songs to fill out an album release. Some artists, such as The Beatles, Kenny Rogers, Aerosmith, Kiss, U2, Los Tigres del Norte, Queen and Billy Joel, have released multiple greatest hits albums through their careers. Some greatest hits albums are released only at the end of the artist or group's career. Creed released a greatest hits album after they disbanded.

In British pop music, when a band releases a greatest hits album, in most cases after three or four studio albums, it is usually taken as a sign that the band are about to split up. Examples include greatest hits albums by Atomic Kitten, Steps, S Club 7, Blue and Take That, although the latter band would reform nine years later. Recent exceptions to this "rule" include Westlife, Girls Aloud, McFly, Feeder and Sugababes, who have released new material after their greatest hits collections.

Some bands refuse to release a greatest hits album, notably AC/DC and Metallica, (AC/DC, however, has released two compilation albums in the past: ''Who Made Who'' and ''Iron Man 2'', which are both movie soundtracks). Manic Street Preachers initially refused to do a greatest hits, but in the end ''Forever Delayed'' was released. Radiohead also refused to do such a compilation, but upon their departure from Parlophone Records, ''Radiohead: The Best of'' was released without their cooperation. This was initially to be the case with Oasis, but upon realization that the release was inevitable, the band took direct involvement, selecting the tracklisting, track order, and the artwork. The country music star Garth Brooks long opposed the release of a greatest hits collection, but agreed to it in 1994 but only for a limited time (his release, ''The Hits'' was quickly deleted, but not until selling well over ten million copies). Joni Mitchell also resisted releasing a greatest hits album for many years, reportedly fearing that the availability of a greatest hits compilation would lead her record label to take her actual studio albums out of print, but she agreed to release ''Hits'' in 1996 along with a second album titled ''Misses'', which compiled non-hit songs that Mitchell personally selected as being representative of her work.

Greatest hits collections can also boost a falling music career. The Beautiful South's first greatest hits album, ''Carry on up the Charts'', was originally strongly opposed by the band. However, upon release it became one of the fastest selling albums in chart history.

Often, a Greatest Hits VHS or DVD collection can be released, which features the music videos to the hits. These are often released concurrently with a Greatest Hits album (a more recent example being the Oasis release ''Time Flies... 1994-2009''). Although sometimes, a Greatest Hits VHS or DVD can be released as a solo release without a companion album (a good example being the Guns N' Roses VHS/DVD ''Welcome to the Videos'', released in 1998. Guns N' Roses would eventually release a greatest hits album in 2004). Another example of a video greatest hits without a companion audio album would be ''Positive Mental Octopus'' by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, released in 1990.

Radio stations are now emerging that only play Greatest Hits albums as their source material.

Criticism and popularity

A few artists feel that their individual songs should ideally be listened to in context of the other songs in their original albums, and taking out simply the greatest hits of that context would diminish all the work put into the album as a whole.

Another criticism has been including one or two new songs with a package of hits. This trend started in the early 1980s, and made it necessary for collectors to purchase the "greatest hits" album if they wished to have the complete catalog of an artist's songs, even if those collectors owned all the albums containing the pre-existing hits. However, with online music stores now available, people can just download the new songs. The Paperboys released ''Tenure'' in 2002, which, out of its eighteen tracks, contains six new songs.

Some greatest hits albums are ridiculed as premature releases by young artists. Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, for example, issued ''Greatest Hits'' in 1971, three years after their first top 40 pop hit. Jason Donovan had a hits album out in 1991, only two years after he debuted; Ol' Dirty Bastard released ''The Dirty Story: The Best of ODB'' after two albums and three singles. Hilary Duff, 'N Sync, and Mandy Moore released greatest hits albums though they might have had only a handful of hit singles in their short careers. The ''Jackson 5 Greatest Hits'' was released only two years after the band released their debut album.

The quality of a greatest hits package released early in an artist's career depends upon the artist. Elvis Presley released ''Elvis' Golden Records'' in 1958, which only covered 1956–1958, although this album still sells today, remaining in print on Compact Disc, despite the countless Presley hits collections issued since. The Bee Gees released ''Best of Bee Gees'' in 1969, only two years after their international debut, yet nine of the twelve tracks were hit singles in America. Sly and the Family Stone released their ''Greatest Hits'' album in 1970, after only three years. Ringo Starr's ''Blast From Your Past'' and John Lennon's ''Shaved Fish'' came out in 1975, after five-year solo careers (both had been in The Beatles). All of these compilations were well-received and continue to garner critical kudos.

In Japan, it is common for artists to have "greatest hits" compilations released early in their career. Many acts release a compilation after three albums, which commonly means after only three years of career in the music market. Ayumi Hamasaki, Mai Kuraki, Hikaru Utada, Glay and Greeeen are a few examples (the band McFly, from England, also released a greatest hits album after three albums and three active years). Many times, the decision of having a greatest hits released is due to the popularity of the artist at the moment, which results in bigger sales. It is also common for the Japanese artists to have many compilations throughout their careers.

Gaming and television

A recent trend is for television shows to release compilation DVD's of their most well-regarded and highest-rated episodes to drive new viewers to watch a program. Two examples of this are the ''Family Guy'''s ''Freakin' Sweet Collection'' and ''South Park: The Hits''. Several video game companies have game rereleases after they have sold a certain number; Sony's PlayStation has a "Greatest Hits" banner; Nintendo has the Player's Choice label; and Microsoft has the Xbox Platinum Hits label. The European title (and original North American title) for ''Guitar Hero: Smash Hits'' was ''Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits''. The Simpsons released ''Greatest Hits'' on VHS in 1998.

See also

List of greatest hits albums

Grandes Éxitos (disambiguation) - The Spanish language equivalent of the concept

The Best Of (disambiguation) - another title

Compilation album

References

Category:Album types

ar:أفضل الأعمال (موسيقى) cs:Greatest Hits da:Greatest Hits et:Greatest Hits es:Grandes éxitos fr:Greatest Hits (homonymie) ko:Greatest Hits id:Kompilasi terbaik it:Greatest Hits he:אלבום אוסף nl:Greatest Hits ja:グレイテスト・ヒッツ no:Greatest Hits pl:Greatest Hits pt:Greatest Hits ru:Greatest Hits sk:Greatest Hits fi:Greatest Hits sv:Greatest Hits th:เพลงฮิต zh:精選輯

Birthname	Sarah Louise Heath
name	Sarah Palin
order1	9th
office1	Governor of Alaska
term start1	December 4, 2006
term end1	July 26, 2009
lieutenant1	Sean Parnell
predecessor1	Frank Murkowski
successor1	Sean Parnell
office2	Chairperson of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
term start2	February 19, 2003
term end2	January 23, 2004
governor2	Frank Murkowski
predecessor2	Camille Oechsli Taylor
successor2	John K. Norman
office3	Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska
term start3	October 14, 1996
term end3	October 14, 2002
predecessor3	John Stein
successor3	Dianne M. Keller
office4	Member of theWasilla City Council from Seat E
term start4	October 19, 1992
term end4	October 14, 1996
predecessor4	Dorothy Smith
successor4	Colleen Cottle
birth date	February 11, 1964
birth place	Sandpoint, Idaho, U.S.
Ethnicity	English, Irish and German
nationality	American
residence	Wasilla, Alaska
party	Republican
occupation	Local news sportscasterCommercial fishermanPolitician AuthorPolitical commentator
alma mater	University of Idaho - (B.S., 1987)
spouse	Todd Palin (m. August 29, 1988)
children	Track (b. 1989)Bristol (b. 1990)Willow (b. 1994)Piper (b. 2001)Trig (b. 2008)
religion	Non-denominational Christian
signature	Sarah palin signature.svg

Sarah Louise Palin (; née Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and the first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.

She was elected to Wasilla City Council in 1992 and became mayor of Wasilla in 1996. In 2003, after an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor, she was appointed Chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, responsible for overseeing the state's oil and gas fields for safety and efficiency.

The youngest person and first woman to be elected Governor of Alaska, Palin held the office from December 2006 until her resignation in July 2009. She has subsequently associated herself with the Tea Party movement, endorsing and campaigning for several candidates in the 2010 midterm elections.

Her book ''Going Rogue'' has sold more than one million copies, and is one of four recent political memoirs to sell more than one million copies. Since January 2010, she has also provided political commentary for Fox News, and hosted a television show, ''Sarah Palin's Alaska''. Five million viewers tuned in for the premiere episode, a record for TLC. A documentary about Palin's career, ''The Undefeated'', was released in July 2011.

Palin is a potential candidate for the 2012 presidential election.

Early life and family

Palin was born in Sandpoint, Idaho. She is the third of four children (three daughters, one son) born to Charles R. "Chuck" Heath, a science teacher and track coach, and Sarah "Sally" (née Sheeran), a school secretary. Palin's siblings are Chuck Jr., Heather, and Molly. Palin is of English, Irish and German ancestry.

When Palin was a few months old, the family moved to Skagway, Alaska, where her father received his teaching job. They relocated to Eagle River in 1969; and finally settled to Wasilla in 1972.

Palin played flute in the junior high band, then attended Wasilla High School where she was the head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and a member of the girls' basketball and cross country running teams. During her senior year, she was co-captain and point guard of the basketball team that won the 1982 Alaska state championship, earning the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" for her competitive streak.

College

After graduating from high school, Palin enrolled at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Shortly after arriving in Hawaii, Palin switched to Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu for a semester in the fall of 1982. She transferred to North Idaho College, a community college in Coeur d'Alene, for the spring and fall semesters of 1983. (In June 2008, the Alumni Association of NIC gave her its Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.)

In 1984, Palin won the Miss Wasilla beauty pageant. She finished third in the Miss Alaska pageant, playing flute in the talent portion of the contest, and receiving both the Miss Congeniality award and a college scholarship.

She attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho in the fall of 1984 and spring of 1985, and attended Matanuska-Susitna College in Alaska in the fall of 1985. Palin returned to the University of Idaho in the spring of 1986, and received her bachelor's degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism in 1987.

Early career and marriage

After graduating, she worked as a sportscaster for KTUU-TV and KTVA-TV in Anchorage, and as a sports reporter for the ''Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman'', fulfilling an early ambition.

On August 29, 1988, she eloped with her high school sweetheart, Todd Palin. After the marriage, she became a mother and helped in her husband's commercial fishing business.

Early political career

City council

Palin was elected to the Wasilla City Council in 1992 winning 530 votes to 310. Throughout her tenure on the city council and the rest of her political career, Palin has remained a Republican, first registering as such in 1982.

Mayor of Wasilla

Motivated by concerns that revenue from a new Wasilla sales tax would not be spent wisely, Palin ran for mayor of Wasilla in 1996, defeating incumbent mayor John Stein 651 to 440 votes. Her biographer has described her campaign as targeting wasteful spending and high taxes; her opponent Stein has said that Palin introduced abortion, gun rights, and term limits as campaign issues. The election was nonpartisan, but the state Republican Party took the unprecedented step of running advertisements for Palin. Palin ran for re-election against Stein in 1999 and won, 909 votes to 292. In 2002, she completed the second of the two consecutive three-year terms she was allowed to serve by the city charter. She was elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors in 1999.

First term

Palin had a standoff with the ''Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman'', a local newspaper, and became involved in personnel challenges and a failed attempt to pack the City Council during her first year in office. Using income generated by a 2% sales tax that had been approved by Wasilla voters in October 1992, Palin cut property taxes by 75% and eliminated personal property and business inventory taxes. Using municipal bonds, she made improvements to the roads and sewers, and increased funding to the Police Department. She also oversaw new bike paths and procured funding for storm-water treatment to protect freshwater resources. At the same time, she shrank the local museum's budget and deterred talk of a new library and city hall.

Shortly after taking office in October 1996, Palin eliminated the position of museum director and asked for updated resumes and resignation letters from "city department heads who had been loyal to Stein," including the police chief, public works director, finance director, and librarian. Palin stated this request was to find out their intentions and whether they supported her. She temporarily required department heads to get her approval before talking to reporters, saying that they first needed to become acquainted with her administration's policies. She created the position of city administrator, and reduced her own $68,000 salary by 10%, although by mid-1998 this was reversed by the city council.

In October 1996, Palin asked library director Mary Ellen Emmons if she would object to the removal of a book from the library if people were picketing to have the book removed. Emmons responded that she would, and others as well. Palin explained that she not been proposing censorship but instead, had been been discussing many issues with her staff that were "both rhetorical and realistic in nature." Ultimately, no attempt was made to remove books from the library during Palin's tenure as mayor.

Palin said she fired Police Chief Irl Stambaugh because he did not fully support her efforts to govern the city. Stambaugh filed a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination and violation of his free speech rights. The judge dismissed Stambaugh's lawsuit, holding that the police chief served at the discretion of the mayor, and could be terminated for nearly any reason, even a political one, and ordered Stambaugh to pay Palin's legal fees.

Second term

During her second term as mayor, Palin proposed and promoted the construction of a municipal sports center to be financed by a 0.5% sales tax increase and $14.7  million bond issue. Voters approved the measure by a 20 vote margin and the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex (later named the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center) was built on time and under budget. However, the city spent an additional $1.3 million because of an eminent domain lawsuit caused by the failure to obtain clear title to the property before beginning construction. The city's long-term debt grew from about $1 million to $25 million due to $15 million for the sports complex, $5.5 million for street projects, and $3 million for water improvement projects. ''The Wall Street Journal'' characterized the project as a "financial mess." A city council member defended the spending increases as being caused by the city's growth during that time.

Palin also joined with nearby communities in hiring the Anchorage-based lobbying firm of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh to lobby for federal funds. The firm secured nearly $8 million in earmarks for the Wasilla city government, including $500,000 for a youth shelter, $1.9 million for a transportation hub, and $900,000 for sewer repairs.

In 2008, Wasilla's current mayor credited Palin's 75 percent property tax cuts and infrastructure improvements with bringing "big-box stores" and 50,000 shoppers per day to Wasilla.

State-level politics

In 2002, Palin ran for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, coming in second to Loren Leman in a five-way Republican primary. Following her defeat, she campaigned throughout the state for the nominated Republican governor-lieutenant governor ticket of Frank Murkowski and Leman. Murkowski and Leman won, Murkowski resigned from his long-held U.S. Senate seat in December 2002 to assume the governorship. Palin was said to be on the "short list" of possible appointees to Murkowski's U.S. Senate seat, but Murkowski ultimately appointed his daughter, State Representative Lisa Murkowski, as his successor in the Senate.

Governor Murkowski offered a number of other jobs to Palin, and in February 2003, she accepted an appointment to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which oversees Alaska's oil and gas fields for safety and efficiency. Although she had little background in the area, she said she wanted to learn more about the oil industry, and was named chair of the commission and ethics supervisor. By November 2003 she was filing non-public ethics complaints with the state attorney general and the governor against a fellow commission member, Randy Ruedrich, a former petroleum engineer and at the time the chair of the state Republican Party. He was forced to resign in November 2003. Palin resigned in January 2004 and put her protests against Ruedrich's "lack of ethics" into the public arena by filing a public complaint against Ruedrich, who was then fined $12,000. She also joined with Democratic legislator Eric Croft in complaining that Gregg Renkes, then the attorney general of Alaska, had a financial conflict of interest in negotiating a coal exporting trade agreement. Renkes also resigned his post.

From 2003 to June 2005, Palin served as one of three directors of "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group designed to provide political training for Republican women in Alaska. In 2004, Palin told the ''Anchorage Daily News'' that she had decided not to run for the U.S. Senate that year against the Republican incumbent Lisa Murkowski because her teenage son opposed it. Palin said, "How could I be the team mom if I was a U.S. Senator?"

Governor of Alaska

In 2006, running on a clean-government platform, Palin defeated incumbent Governor Frank Murkowski in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Her running mate was Sean Parnell, who since leaving the state senate in 2001 had worked as a corporate lobbyist.

In the November election, Palin was outspent but victorious, defeating former Democratic governor Tony Knowles by a margin of 48.3% to 40.9%. She became Alaska's first female governor, and, at the age of 42, the youngest governor in Alaskan history, the state's first governor to have been born after Alaska achieved U.S. statehood, and the first not to be inaugurated in Juneau (she chose to have the ceremony held in Fairbanks instead). She took office on December 4, 2006, and for most of her term was very popular with Alaska voters. Polls taken in 2007 showed her with 93% and 89% popularity among all voters, which led some media outlets to call her "the most popular governor in America." A poll taken in late September 2008 after Palin was named to the national Republican ticket showed her popularity in Alaska at 68%. A poll taken in May 2009 showed Palin's popularity among Alaskans was at 54% positive and 41.6% negative.

Palin declared that top priorities of her administration would be resource development, education and workforce development, public health and safety, and transportation and infrastructure development. She had championed ethics reform throughout her election campaign. Her first legislative action after taking office was to push for a bipartisan ethics reform bill. She signed the resulting legislation in July 2007, calling it a "first step," and declaring that she remained determined to clean up Alaska politics.

Palin frequently broke with the state Republican establishment. For example, she endorsed Parnell's bid to unseat the state's longtime at-large U.S. Representative, Don Young, and she publicly challenged then-U.S. Senator Ted Stevens to come clean about the federal investigation into his financial dealings. Shortly before his July 2008 indictment, she held a joint news conference with Stevens, described by ''The Washington Post'' as intended to "make clear she had not abandoned him politically."

Palin promoted oil and natural gas resource development in Alaska, including drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Proposals to drill for oil in ANWR have been the subject of a national debate.

In 2006, Palin obtained a passport and in 2007 traveled for the first time outside of North America on a trip to Kuwait. There she visited the Khabari Alawazem Crossing at the Kuwait–Iraq border and met with members of the Alaska National Guard at several bases. On her return trip, she visited injured soldiers in Germany.

Budget, spending, and federal funds

In June 2007, Palin signed a record $6.6 billion operating budget into law. At the same time, she used her veto power to make the second-largest cuts of the capital budget in state history. The $237 million in cuts represented over 300 local projects, and reduced the capital budget to $1.6 billion.

In 2008, Palin vetoed $286 million, cutting or reducing funding for 350 projects from the FY09 capital budget.

Palin followed through on a campaign promise to sell the Westwind II jet, a purchase made by the Murkowski administration for $2.7 million in 2005 against the wishes of the legislature. In August 2007, the jet was listed on eBay, but the sale fell through, and the plane was later sold for $2.1 million through a private brokerage firm.

Gubernatorial expenditures

Palin lived in Juneau during the legislative session and lived in Wasilla and worked out of offices in Anchorage the rest of the year. Since the office in Anchorage is 565 miles from Juneau, while she worked there, state officials said she was permitted to claim a $58 ''per diem'' travel allowance, which she took (a total of $16,951), and to reimbursement for hotels, which she did not, choosing instead to drive about 50 miles to her home in Wasilla. She also chose not to use the former governor's private chef. Republicans and Democrats have criticized Palin for taking the ''per diem'' and $43,490 in travel expenses for the times her family accompanied her on state business. In response, Palin's staffers said that these practices were in line with state policy, that her gubernatorial expenses are 80% below those of Murkowski, her predecessor, and that "many of the hundreds of invitations Palin receives include requests for her to bring her family, placing the definition of 'state business' with the party extending the invitation." In February 2009, the State of Alaska, reversing a policy that had treated the payments as legitimate business expenses under the Internal Revenue Code, decided that per diems paid to state employees for stays in their own homes will be treated as taxable income and will be included in employees' gross income on their W-2 forms. Palin herself had ordered the review of the tax policy.

In December 2008, an Alaska state commission recommended increasing the Governor's annual salary from $125,000 to $150,000. Palin stated that she would not accept the pay raise. In response, the commission dropped the recommendation.

Federal funding

In her State of the State address on January 17, 2008, Palin declared that the people of Alaska "can and must continue to develop our economy, because we cannot and must not rely so heavily on federal government [funding]." Alaska's federal congressional representatives cut back on pork-barrel project requests during Palin's time as governor; despite this, in 2008 Alaska was still the largest per-capita recipient of federal earmarks, requesting nearly $750 million in special federal spending over a period of two years.

While there is no state sales tax or income tax in Alaska, royalty revenues from the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field (comprised mostly of state-owned lands) have funded large state budgets since 1980, with the exact amounts largely dependent upon the prevailing price of petroleum. As a result, state revenues doubled to $10 billion in 2008. For the 2009 budget, Palin gave a list of 31 proposed federal earmarks or requests for funding, totaling $197 million, to Alaska's senior U.S. Senator Ted Stevens. Palin has stated that her decreasing support for federal funding was a source of friction between her and the state's congressional delegation; Palin requested less in federal funding each year than her predecessor Frank Murkowski requested in his last year.

Bridge to Nowhere

In 2005, before Palin was elected governor, Congress passed a $442-million earmark for constructing two Alaska bridges as part of an omnibus spending bill. The Gravina Island Bridge received nationwide attention as a symbol of pork-barrel spending, following news reports that the bridge would cost $233 million in Federal funds. Because Gravina Island, the site of the Ketchikan airport, has a population of 50, the bridge became known nationally as the "Bridge to Nowhere." Following an outcry by the public and some members of the U.S. Senate, Congress eliminated the bridge earmark from the spending bill but gave the allotted funds to Alaska as part of its general transportation fund.

In 2006, Palin ran for governor with a "build-the-bridge" plank in her platform, saying she would "not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project ... into something that's so negative." Palin criticized the use of the word "nowhere" as insulting to local residents and urged speedy work on building the infrastructure "while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist."

As governor, Palin canceled the Gravina Island Bridge in September 2007, saying that Congress had "little interest in spending any more money" due to what she called "inaccurate portrayals of the projects." Alaska chose not to return the $442 million in federal transportation funds.

In 2008, as a vice-presidential candidate, Palin characterized her position as having told Congress "thanks, but no thanks, on that bridge to nowhere." This angered some Alaskans in Ketchikan, who said that the claim was false and a betrayal of Palin's previous support for their community. Some critics complained that this statement was misleading, since she had expressed support for the spending project and kept the federal money after the project was canceled. Palin was also criticized for allowing construction of a 3-mile access road, built with $25 million in federal transportation funds set aside as part of the original bridge project, to continue. A spokesman for Alaska's Department of Transportation made a statement that it was within Palin's power to cancel the road project, but also noted that the state was still considering cheaper designs to complete the bridge project, and that in any case, the road would open up the surrounding lands for development.

Gas pipeline

In August 2008, Palin signed a bill authorizing the State of Alaska to award TransCanada Pipelines — the sole bidder to meet the state's requirements — a license to build and operate a pipeline to transport natural gas from the North Slope to the continental United States through Canada. The governor also pledged $500 million in seed money to support the project. It is estimated that the project will cost $26 billion. ''Newsweek'' described the project as "the principal achievement of Sarah Palin's term as Alaska's governor." The pipeline faces legal challenges from Canadian First Nations.

Predator control

In 2007, Palin supported a 2003 Alaska Department of Fish and Game policy allowing the hunting of wolves from the air as part of a predator control program intended to increase moose and caribou populations for subsistence-food gatherers and other hunters. In March 2007, Palin's office announced that a bounty of $150 per wolf would be paid to the 180 volunteer pilots and gunners, to offset fuel costs, in five areas of Alaska. 607 wolves had been killed in the prior four years. State biologists wanted 382 to 664 wolves to be killed by the end of the predator-control season in April 2007. Wildlife activists sued the state, and a state judge declared the bounty illegal on the basis that a bounty would have to be offered by the Board of Game and not by the Department of Fish and Game.

Public Safety Commissioner dismissal

Palin dismissed Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan on July 11, 2008, citing performance-related issues, such as not being "a team player on budgeting issues" and "egregious rogue behavior." Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein said that the "last straw" was Monegan's planned trip to Washington, D.C., to seek funding for a new, multimillion-dollar sexual assault initiative the governor hadn't yet approved. Monegan said that he had resisted persistent pressure from Palin, her husband, and her staff, including state Attorney General Talis J. Colberg, to fire Palin’s ex-brother-in-law, Alaska State Trooper Mike Wooten; Wooten was involved in a child custody battle with Palin’s sister after a bitter divorce that included an alleged death threat against Palin's father. At one point Sarah and Todd Palin hired a private investigator to gather information, seeking to have Wooten officially disciplined. Monegan stated that he learned an internal investigation had found all but two of the allegations to be unsubstantiated, and Wooten had been disciplined for the others — an illegal moose killing and the tasering of his 11-year-old stepson (the child 'reportedly' asked to be tasered). He told the Palins that there was nothing he could do because the matter was closed. When contacted by the press for comment, Monegan first acknowledged pressure to fire Wooten but said that he could not be certain that his own firing was connected to that issue; he later asserted that the dispute over Wooten was a major reason for his firing. Palin stated on July 17 that Monegan was not pressured to fire Wooten, nor dismissed for not doing so.

Monegan said the subject of Wooten came up when he invited Palin to a birthday party for his cousin, state senator Lyman Hoffman, in February 2007 during the legislative session in Juneau. "As we were walking down the stairs in the capitol building she wanted to talk to me about her former brother-in-law," Monegan said. "I said, 'Ma'am, I need to keep you at arm's length with this. I can't deal about him with you. She said, 'OK, that's a good idea.'"

Palin said there was "absolutely no pressure ever put on Commissioner Monegan to hire or fire anybody, at any time. I did not abuse my office powers. And I don't know how to be more blunt and candid and honest, but to tell you that truth. To tell you that no pressure was ever put on anybody to fire anybody." "Never putting any pressure on him," added Todd Palin.

On August 13 she acknowledged that a half dozen members of her administration had made more than two dozen calls on the matter to various state officials. "I do now have to tell Alaskans that such pressure could have been perceived to exist, although I have only now become aware of it," she said. Palin said, "Many of these inquiries were completely appropriate. However, the serial nature of the contacts could be perceived as some kind of pressure, presumably at my direction."

Chuck Kopp, whom Palin had appointed to replace Monegan as public safety commissioner, received a $10,000 state severance package after he resigned following just two weeks on the job. Kopp, the former Kenai chief of police, resigned July 25 following disclosure of a 2005 sexual harassment complaint and letter of reprimand against him. Monegan said that he did not receive a severance package from the state.

Legislative investigation

On August 1, 2008 the Alaska Legislature hired an investigator, Stephen Branchflower, to review the Monegan dismissal. Legislators stated that Palin had the legal authority to fire Monegan, but they wanted to know whether her action had been motivated by anger at Monegan for not firing Wooten. The atmosphere was bipartisan and Palin pledged to cooperate. Wooten remained employed as a state trooper. She placed an aide on paid leave due to a tape-recorded phone conversation that she deemed improper, in which the aide, appearing to act on her behalf, complained to a trooper that Wooten had not been fired.

Several weeks after the start of what the media referred to as "troopergate," Palin was chosen as John McCain's running mate. On September 1, Palin asked the legislature to drop its investigation, saying that the state Personnel Board had jurisdiction over ethics issues. The Personnel Board's three members were first appointed by Palin’s predecessor, and Palin reappointed one member in 2008. On September 19, Todd Palin and several state employees refused to honor subpoenas, the validity of which were disputed by Talis Colberg, Palin's appointee as Alaska's Attorney General. On October 2, a court rejected Colberg's challenge to the subpoenas, and seven of the witnesses, not including Todd Palin, eventually testified.

Branchflower Report

On October 10, 2008, the Alaska Legislative Council unanimously voted to release, without endorsing, the Branchflower Report, in which investigator Stephen Branchflower found that firing Monegan "was a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority," but that Palin abused her power as governor and violated the state's Executive Branch Ethics Act when her office pressured Monegan to fire Wooten. The report stated that "Governor Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates to advance a personal agenda, to wit: to get Trooper Michael Wooten fired." The report also said that Palin "permitted Todd Palin to use the Governor's office [...] to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired."

On October 11, Palin's attorneys responded, condemning the Branchflower Report as "misleading and wrong on the law." One of Palin's attorneys, Thomas Van Flein, said that it was an attempt to "smear the governor by innuendo." Later that day, Palin did a conference call interview with various Alaskan reporters, where she stated, "Well, I’m very, very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing... Any hint of any kind of unethical activity there. Very pleased to be cleared of any of that."

Alaska Personnel Board investigation and report

The bipartisan State of Alaska Personnel Board reviewed the matter at Palin's own request. On September 15, the Anchorage law firm of Clapp, Peterson, Van Flein, Tiemessen & Thorsness filed arguments of "no probable cause" with the Personnel Board on behalf of Palin. The Personnel Board retained independent counsel Timothy Petumenos, a Democrat, as an investigator. On October 24, Palin gave three hours of depositions with the Personnel Board in St. Louis, Missouri. On November 3, 2008, the State of Alaska Personnel Board reported that there was no probable cause to believe Palin or any other state official had violated state ethical standards. The report further stated that the Branchflower Report used the wrong statute in reaching its conclusions, misconstrued the available evidence and did not consider or obtain all of the material evidence required to properly reach findings in the matter.

Job approval ratings, with comparisons

As governor of Alaska, Palin's job approval rating ranged from a high of 93% in May 2007 to 54% in May 2009. In November 2006, the month before Palin took office, Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski’s job approval rating was 19%.

! Date	! Approval	! Disapproval	! Pollster
May 15, 2007	93%	''Not reported''	Dittman Research
May 30, 2007	89%	''Not reported''	Ivan Moore Research
October 19–21, 2007	83%	11%	Ivan Moore Research
April 10, 2008	73%	7%	Rasmussen Reports
May 17, 2008	69%	9%	Rasmussen Reports
July 24–25, 2008	80%	''Not reported''	Hays Research Group
July 30, 2008	64%	14%	Rasmussen Reports
September 20–22, 2008	68%	''Not reported''	Ivan Moore Research
October 7, 2008	63%	37%	Rasmussen Reports
March 24–25, 2009	59.8%	34.9%	Hays Research
May 4–5, 2009	54%	41.6%	Hays Research
June 14–18, 2009	56%	35%	Global Strategy Group

In April 2009, SurveyUSA reported job approval ratings for the following U.S. governors: Bob Riley (AL) 54%, Arnold Schwarzenegger (CA) 25%, Chet Culver (IA) 42%, Kathleen Sebelius (KS) 46%, Steve Beshear (KY) 47%, Tim Pawlenty (MN) 46%, Jay Nixon (MO) 56%, Bill Richardson (NM) 46%, David Paterson (NY) 25%, Ted Kulongoski (OR) 40%, Tim Kaine (VA) 50%, Christine Gregoire (WA) 40%, and Jim Doyle (WI) 35%. (Polls taken April 24 – 26, 2009).

Resignation

On July 3, 2009, Palin announced that she would not run for re-election in the 2010 Alaska gubernatorial election and would resign before the end of July. In her announcement, Palin stated that both she and the state had been expending an "insane" amount of time and money ($2.5 million) to address "frivolous" ethics complaints filed against her, and that her decision not to seek reelection would make her a lame duck governor. A Palin aide said Palin was "no longer able to do the job she had been elected to do. Essentially, the taxpayers were paying for Sarah to go to work every day and defend herself." Palin and her husband Todd had personally incurred more than $500,000 in legal fees defending against ethics charges brought against her as governor. Palin transferred the office of governor to Sean Parnell in Fairbanks on July 26, 2009.

In December 2010, new rules governing Alaska executive branch ethics, stemming from Sarah Palin's tenure as governor, took effect. "These include allowing for the state to pay legal costs for officials cleared of ethics violations; (and) allowing for a family member of the governor or lieutenant governor to travel at state cost in certain circumstances . . ."

2008 vice-presidential campaign

Several conservative commentators met Palin in the summer of 2007. Some of them, such as Bill Kristol, later urged McCain to pick Palin as his vice presidential running mate, arguing that her presence on the ticket would provide a boost in enthusiasm among the Religious Right wing of the Republican party, while her status as an unknown on the national scene would also be a positive factor.

On August 24, 2008 during a general strategy meeting, Steve Schmidt and a few other senior advisers to the McCain Campaign, discussed potential vice presidential picks with the consensus settling around Palin. The following day, the strategists advised McCain of their conclusions and he personally called Palin who was at the Alaska State Fair.

On August 27, she visited McCain's vacation home near Sedona, Arizona, where she was offered the position of vice-presidential candidate. According to Jill Hazelbaker, a spokeswoman for McCain, he had previously met Palin at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington in February 2008 and had come away "extraordinarily impressed." Palin was the only prospective running mate who had a face-to-face interview with McCain to discuss joining the ticket that week. Nonetheless, Palin's selection was a surprise to many because a main criticism he had of Obama was his lack of experience, and speculation had centered on other candidates, such as Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. On August 29, in Dayton, Ohio, McCain announced that he had chosen Palin as his running mate.

Palin was the first Alaskan and the second woman to run on a major U.S. party ticket.

Since Palin was largely unknown outside Alaska before her selection by McCain, her personal life, policy positions, and political record drew intense media scrutiny. On September 1, 2008, Palin announced that her daughter Bristol was pregnant and that she would marry the father, Levi Johnston. During this period, some Republicans felt that Palin was being unfairly attacked by the media. Timothy Noah of ''Slate'' magazine predicted that Palin's acceptance speech would be "wildly overpraised" and might end speculation that she was unqualified for the job of vice president because the press had been beating her up for "various trivial shortcomings" and had lowered the expectations for her speech. On September 3, 2008, Palin delivered a 40-minute acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention that was well-received and watched by more than 40 million people. A Rasmussen poll taken immediately after the Convention found that 51% of Americans believed that the media was "trying to hurt" Palin with negative coverage, and 40% believed Palin to be ready for the Presidency.

During the campaign, controversy erupted over alleged differences between Palin's positions as a gubernatorial candidate and her position as a vice-presidential candidate. After McCain announced Palin as his running mate, ''Newsweek'' and ''Time'' put Palin on their magazine covers, as some of the media alleged that McCain's campaign was restricting press access to Palin by allowing only three one-on-one interviews and no press conferences with her. Palin's first major interview, with Charles Gibson of ABC News, met with mixed reviews. Her interview five days later with Fox News' Sean Hannity went more smoothly and focused on many of the same questions from Gibson's interview. Palin's performance in her third interview, with Katie Couric of CBS News, was widely criticized; her poll numbers declined, Republicans expressed concern that she was becoming a political liability, and some conservative commentators called for Palin to resign from the Presidential ticket. Other conservatives remained ardent in their support for Palin, accusing the columnists of elitism. Following this interview, some Republicans, including Mitt Romney and Bill Kristol, questioned the McCain campaign's strategy of sheltering Palin from unscripted encounters with the press.

Palin reportedly prepared intensively for the October 2 vice-presidential debate with Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden at Washington University in St. Louis. Some Republicans suggested that Palin's performance in the interviews would improve public perceptions of her debate performance by lowering expectations. Polling from CNN, Fox and CBS found that while Palin exceeded most voters' expectations, they felt that Biden had won the debate.

Upon returning to the campaign trail after her debate preparation, Palin stepped up her attacks on the Democratic candidate for President, Illinois Senator Barack Obama. At a fundraising event, Palin explained her new aggressiveness, saying, "There does come a time when you have to take the gloves off and that time is right now." Palin said that her first amendment right to "call Obama out on his associations" was threatened by "attacks by the mainstream media."

Palin appeared on ''Saturday Night Live''s "Weekend Update" segment on October 18. Prior to her appearance, she had been parodied several times by Tina Fey, who was noted for her physical resemblance to the candidate. In the weeks leading up to the election, Palin was also the subject of amateur parodies posted on YouTube.

Controversy arose after it was reported that the Republican National Committee (RNC) spent $150,000 of campaign contributions on clothing, hair styling, and makeup for Palin and her family in September 2008. Campaign spokespersons stated the clothing would be going to charity after the election. Palin and some media outlets blamed gender bias for the controversy. At the end of the campaign, Palin returned the clothes to the RNC.

The election took place on November 4, and Obama was projected as the winner at 11:00 PM EST. In his concession speech McCain thanked Palin, calling her "one of the best campaigners I've ever seen, and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength." While aides were preparing the teleprompter for McCain's speech, they found a concession speech written for Palin by George W. Bush speechwriter Matthew Scully. Two members of McCain's staff, Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, told Palin that there was no tradition of Election Night speeches by running mates, and that she would not be speaking. Palin appealed to McCain, who agreed with his staff.

After the 2008 election

Palin was the first guest on commentator Glenn Beck's Fox News television show on January 19, 2009, commenting on Barack Obama that he would be her president and that she would assist in any way to bring progress to the nation without abandoning her conservative views.

On January 27, 2009, Palin formed the political action committee, SarahPAC. The organization, which describes itself as an advocate of energy independence, supports candidates for federal and state office. Following her resignation as Governor, Palin announced her intention to campaign "on behalf of candidates who believe in the right things, regardless of their party label or affiliation." It was reported that SarahPAC had raised nearly $1,000,000. A legal defense fund was set up to help Palin challenge ethics complaints, and it had collected approximately $250,000 by mid-July 2009. In June 2010, Palin's defense fund was ruled illegal and will have to pay back $386,856 it collected in donations because it used Palin's position as governor to raise money for her personal gain. Palin subsequently set up a new defense fund.

In March 2010, Palin started a show to be aired on TLC called ''Sarah Palin's Alaska''. The show was produced by Mark Bennett. Five million viewers tuned in for the premiere episode, a record for TLC. Palin also has secured a segment on Fox News. Two guests that she was shown to have interviewed claimed to have never met her. Guests LL Cool J and Toby Keith stated that footage shown on the segment was actually taken from another interview with someone else, but was used in Palin's segment.

On December 8, 2010, it was reported that SarahPAC and Palin's personal credit card information were compromised through cyber attacks. Palin's team believed the attack was executed by Anonymous during Operation Payback. The report was met with skepticism in the blogosphere. Palin's email had been hacked once before in 2008.

In August 2009, she coined the phrase "death panel", to describe health care reform. She stated that it would require Americans such as her parents or her child with Down syndrome, "to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care." The phrase was criticized by many on both sides of the political aisle and politifact named it the "Lie of the Year of 2009"

''Going Rogue'' and ''America by Heart''

In November 2009, Palin released her memoir, ''Going Rogue: An American Life'', in which she details her private and political career, including her resignation as Governor of Alaska. Palin said she took the title from the phrase 'gone rogue' used by McCain staffers to describe her behavior when she spoke her mind on the issues during the campaign. The subtitle, "An American Life," mirrors the title of President Ronald Reagan's 1990 autobiography. Less than two weeks after its release, sales of the book exceeded the one million mark, with 300,000 copies sold the first day. Its bestseller rankings were comparable to memoirs by Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Palin traveled to 11 states in a bus, with her family accompanying her, to promote the book. She made a number of media appearances as well, including a widely publicized interview on November 16, 2009 with Oprah Winfrey. In November 2010 HarperCollins released Palin's second book, titled ''America by Heart''. The book contains excerpts from Palin's favorite speeches, sermons and literature as well as portraits of people Palin admires, including some she met in rural America on her first book tour.

Tea Party movement

On February 6, 2010, Palin appeared as the keynote speaker at the inaugural Tea Party convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Palin said the Tea Party movement is "the future of politics in America." She criticized Obama for rising deficits, and for "apologizing for America” in speeches in other countries. Palin said Obama was weak on the War on Terror for allowing the so-called Christmas bomber to board a plane headed for the United States. Palin’s speaking fee was reported to be $100,000. Judson Phillips, the founder of Tea Party Nation, the social networking site that sponsored the convention, did not confirm the amount paid to Palin saying he was contractually obligated not to speak about it.

"Pink Elephant" movement and 2010 endorsements

In the middle of 2010, Palin flagged the launch of a new "Pink Elephant Movement." She set about endorsing a number of female GOP candidates. Her endorsement helped Georgia Gubernatorial candidate Karen Handel to take the lead in the campaign for the Republican nomination, though ultimately Handel lost the primary. Palin has endorsed several female candidates nationally. Ryan Rudominer, a spokesman for the House Democratic campaign operation has called her involvement in various U.S. House campaigns a "great thing across the board." She spoke at a May 2010 fundraiser for the Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life political advocacy group and political action committee that supports pro-life women in politics, in which she coined the term "mama grizzly."

In the months ahead of the November 2010 elections, Palin selectively endorsed Republican candidates, and was a significant fundraising asset to those she campaigned for during the primary season. According to ''Politico'', Palin's criteria for endorsing candidates was whether they had the support of the Tea Party movement and the support of the Susan B. Anthony List. In terms of success, Palin was 7-2 for Senate endorsements; 7-6 for House endorsements; and 6-3 in endorsements of gubernatorial candidates Palin's endorsement of Joe Miller in the August 24 Alaska primary election for U.S. Senator was identified as a possible pivotal moment in Miller's upset of the incumbent Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski. According to Daily Beast reporter Shushannah Walshe, Christine O'Donnell's prospects of upsetting establishment Republican candidate Mike Castle "changed overnight" due to Palin's endorsement. O'Donnell defeated Castle in the September 14 primary for Joe Biden's former Senate seat in Delaware. Her O'Donnell endorsement further increased tensions between Palin and the Republican establishment: leading conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer described the endorsement as "reckless and irresponsible"; party strategist Karl Rove argued that her endorsement may have cost the GOP the Delaware Senate seat; and commentators including Politico's Ben Smith posited that Palin's support of O'Donnell contributed to dashing Republican hopes of regaining control of the U.S. Senate. Palin's influence over the primaries nonetheless further increased speculation that she would seek to be the party's nominee for President in 2012, with political pundits Paul Mirengoff, David Frum, and Jonathan Chait identifying Palin as the front-runner.

Possible 2012 presidential and Senate campaign

Beginning in November 2008, following Palin's high profile in the presidential campaign, there was an active "Draft Palin" movement. On February 6, 2010, when Fox News asked her if she would be running for president in 2012, she replied, "I would be willing to if I believe that it's right for the country." She added, "I won't close the door that perhaps could be open for me in the future."

In November 2010, Palin confirmed that she was considering running for the Presidency, and was "having that discussion with my family." She stated she realised her level of experience could cause problems with winning the nomination, and criticized the "lamestream media" for focusing attention on her personal life.

During March 2011, Palin and her husband toured India at the invitation of Indian newsmagazine ''India Today'', subsequently visiting Israel. During the tour she was quizzed about her future candidacy, she said "I don't think there needs to be a rush to get out there as a declared candidate. It's a life-changing decision". In response to another question, she said "It’s time that a woman is president of the United States of America."

Palin has since denied that she is running for Senate and said that her recent purchase of a home in Scottsdale was not a full-time residence.

Personal life

Palin family members at the announcement of her vice-presidential selection, August 29, 2008. From left to right: Todd, Piper, Willow, Bristol and Trig.|thumb|left

Sarah and Todd Palin have five children: sons Track (born 1989) and Trig Paxson Van (born 2008), and daughters Bristol Sheeran Marie (born 1990), Willow (born 1994), and Piper (born 2001). Palin's youngest child, Trig, was prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome.

Palin has two grandchildren, a boy named Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, who was born to her eldest daughter, Bristol, and her then-fiancee, Levi Johnston, in 2008, and a girl named Kayla Grace Palin, who was born to son Track and his wife, Britta, in 2011. Her husband Todd worked for the British oil company BP as an oil-field production operator, retiring in 2009, and owns a commercial fishing business.

Palin was born into a Roman Catholic family. Later, her family joined the Wasilla Assembly of God, a Pentecostal church, which she attended until 2002. Palin then switched to the Wasilla Bible Church. When in Juneau, she attends the Juneau Christian Center. Palin described herself in an interview as a "Bible-believing Christian."

Political positions

Palin has been a registered Republican since 1982.

Health care

Palin opposed the 2010 health care reform package, saying it would lead to rationing of health care by a bureaucracy, which she described using the term "death panels". This legislation is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as modified by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. Palin characterizes the act as an "unfunded mandate" and supports defunding it, as well as repealing portions of the act.

Social Issues

Palin opposes same-sex marriage, abortion including in cases of rape and incest, and embryonic stem cell research. She supports capital punishment, and parental consent for female minors seeking an abortion.

Education

Palin supports sex education in public schools that encourage abstinence along with contraception. She supports discussion of creationism during lessons on evolution in public schools. Palin believes evolution "should be taught as an accepted principle" and said that her belief in God's role in Earth's creation "is not part of the state policy or a local curriculum in a school district. Science should be taught in science class."

Guns

A Life Member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), Palin interprets the Second Amendment as including the right to handgun possession and opposes bans on semi-automatic assault weapons. She supports gun safety education for youth.

Environment

Palin supports off-shore drilling, and land-based drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. When commenting on the Gulf Coast oil disaster Palin said, "I repeat the slogan 'drill here, drill now. She said, "I want our country to be able to trust the oil industry." Palin asked supporters to read an article by Thomas Sowell which criticized Obama for having BP pay to an escrow fund. Palin has expressed skepticism about the causes of global warming, but agrees that "man's activities certainly can be contributing to the issue" and that action should be taken. She is opposed to cap-and-trade proposals, such as the defunct American Clean Energy and Security Act. Palin has acknowledged that "Simply waiting for low-carbon-emitting renewable capacity to be large enough will mean that it will be too late to meet the mitigation goals..that will be required [for carbon dioxide] under most credible climate-change models."

Foreign policy

Palin is a strong supporter of Israel. Referring to Iran's threat to Israel, Palin said Obama would be reelected if "he played the war card. Say he decided to declare war on Iran or decided really come out and do whatever he could to support Israel, which I would like him to do." On foreign policy, Palin supported the Bush Administration's policies in Iraq, but is concerned that "dependence on foreign energy" may be obstructing efforts to "have an exit plan in place." Palin supports preemptive military action in the face of an imminent threat, and supports U.S. military operations in Pakistan. Palin supports NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia, and affirms that if Russia invaded a NATO member, the United States should meet its treaty obligations. On foreign policy, Palin supported the surge strategy in Iraq, the use of additional ground forces in Afghanistan, and, in general, maintaining a strong defensive posture by increasing the defense budget. She believes Islam and democracy can co-exist. She supports strengthening America's alliance with Japan. She supports the de-nuclearization of North Korea. She wants to work with China to reduce American debt and improve the human rights and political freedom of Chinese citizens.

Public image

Prior to the 2008 Republican National Convention, a Gallup poll found that most voters were unfamiliar with Sarah Palin. During her campaign to become vice president, 39% said Palin was ready to serve as president if needed, 33% said Palin was not, and 29% had no opinion. This was "the lowest vote of confidence in a running mate since the elder George Bush chose then-Indiana senator Dan Quayle to join his ticket in 1988." Following the Convention, her image came under close media scrutiny, particularly with regard to her religious perspective on public life, her socially conservative views, and her perceived lack of experience. Palin's experience in foreign and domestic politics came under criticism among conservatives as well as liberals following her nomination. At the same time, Palin became more popular than John McCain among Republicans.

One month after McCain announced Palin as his running mate, she was viewed both more favorably and unfavorably among voters than her opponent, Delaware Senator Joe Biden. A plurality of the television audience rated Biden's performance higher at the 2008 vice-presidential debate. Media outlets repeated Palin's statement that she "stood up to Big Oil" when she resigned after eleven months as the head of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, due to abuses she witnessed involving other Republican commissioners and their ties to energy companies and energy lobbyists, and again when she raised taxes on oil companies as governor. In turn, others have said that Palin is a "friend of Big Oil" due to her advocacy of oil exploration and development including drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the de-listing of the polar bear as an endangered species. The National Organization for Women did not endorse McCain/Palin, endorsing Barack Obama instead.

Palin was selected as one of America’s "10 Most Fascinating People of 2008" by Barbara Walters for an ABC special on December 4, 2008. In April 2010, she was selected as one of the world's 100 most influential people by ''TIME Magazine''.

In the wake of the January 8, 2011 shooting of Rep. Giffords, Palin faced criticism for her SarahPAC website's inclusion of a graphic that included a crosshair over Giffords's district. Palin responded to the criticism of the graphic, saying that "Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them," controversially equating the accusations of her role in the shooting to a "blood libel". Following her response, an ABC News-Washington Post poll found that 46% of respondents viewed Palin's actions after the shooting unfavorably, while 30% approved and 24% had no opinion.

Bibliography

''Going Rogue: An American Life'' (2009)

''America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag'' (2010)

References

External links

SarahPAC (Sarah Palin Political Action Committee) (Official)

(Official) (Official)

Ongoing news and commentary from the ''Anchorage Daily News''

Favorable Rating: Sarah Palin at ''Pollster''

Sarah Palin rumor control at Snopes.com

Sarah Palin at FactCheck.org

NOW: Meet Sarah Palin video from ''PBS''

Sarah Palin : Sarah Palin News and Photos Search ChicagoTribune.com

Charlie Gibson Interviews GOP Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin from ''ABC News'', September 2008

One-On-One with Sarah Palin transcripts and videos from ''CBS News'' with Katie Couric, September 2008

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:1964 births Category:21st-century women writers Category:Alaska city council members Category:Alaska Republicans Category:American broadcast news analysts Category:American evangelicals Category:American fishers Category:American people of English descent Category:American political pundits Category:American political writers Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American television sports announcers Category:American women mayors Category:American women state governors Category:American women writers Category:American writers of German descent Category:American writers of Irish descent Category:American beauty pageant winners Category:Conservatism in the United States Category:Converts to evangelical Christianity from Roman Catholicism Category:Female United States vice-presidential candidates Category:Fox News Channel people Category:Governors of Alaska Category:Living people Category:Mayors of Wasilla, Alaska Category:National Rifle Association members Category:Palin family Category:People from Sandpoint, Idaho Category:People from Wasilla, Alaska Category:Republican Party state governors of the United States Category:Republican Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Category:State cabinet secretaries of Alaska Category:Tea Party movement Category:United States vice-presidential candidates, 2008 Category:University of Hawaii at Hilo alumni Category:University of Idaho alumni Category:Women in Alaska politics Category:Writers from Alaska Category:Writers from Idaho

ar:سارة بالين az:Sara Peylin bn:সারাহ প্যালিন be:Сара Луіз Пейлін be-x-old:Сара Луіз Пэйлін bcl:Sarah Palin bs:Sarah Palin bg:Сара Пейлин ca:Sarah Palin cs:Sarah Palinová da:Sarah Palin de:Sarah Palin dv:ސާރާ ޕޭލިން et:Sarah Palin es:Sarah Palin eo:Sarah Palin eu:Sarah Palin fa:سارا پیلین fo:Sarah Palin fr:Sarah Palin ga:Sarah Palin gv:Sarah Palin gl:Sarah Palin ko:세라 페일린 hi:सारा पॉलिन hr:Sarah Palin id:Sarah Palin is:Sarah Palin it:Sarah Palin he:שרה פיילין kn:ಸಾರಾ ಪಾಲಿನ್ ka:სარა პეილინი la:Sarah Palin lv:Sāra Peilina lt:Sarah Palin hu:Sarah Palin mr:सॅरा पेलिन arz:ساره بالين nl:Sarah Palin ja:サラ・ペイリン no:Sarah Palin nn:Sarah Palin uz:Sarah Palin nds:Sarah Palin pl:Sarah Palin pt:Sarah Palin ksh:Sarah Palin ro:Sarah Palin ru:Пэйлин, Сара Луиза sq:Sarah Palin simple:Sarah Palin sk:Sarah Palinová sr:Сара Пејлин sh:Sarah Palin fi:Sarah Palin sv:Sarah Palin tl:Sarah Palin ta:சேரா பேலின் th:แซราห์ เพลิน tr:Sarah Palin uk:Сара Пейлін vi:Sarah Palin wuu:些拉 班琳 yi:סארא פעלין zh-yue:佩琳 zh:莎拉·佩林

Name	Wladimir Klitschko
Realname	Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko
Nickname	Dr. Steelhammer
Height
Reach
Weight	Heavyweight
Nationality	Ukrainian
Birth date	March 25, 1976
Birth place	Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
Style	Orthodox
Total	59
Wins	56
Ko	49
Losses	3
Losses by ko	3
Draws	0
No contests	0 }}

}}

Wladimir Klitschko (born 25 March 1976) is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. Klitschko is the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO & ''Ring Magazine'' Heavyweight Champion. His older brother Vitali Klitschko is the current WBC Heavyweight Champion. Klitschko is the longest reigning Heavyweight Champion in history for the IBF, WBO & IBO heavyweight titles, both in measurements of defenses and time & the 7th longest reigning heavyweight champion of all time. As of 2011, ''Boxrec'' rates Klitschko as the number 2 pound-for-pound in the world. ''Ring Magazine'' currently rates Klitschko as the number six pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

Since 2005, Klitschko has been the dominant force in the heavyweight division, defeating a majority of the top heavyweights in the rankings. When Klitschko won the IBF title against Chris Byrd there were four separate heavyweight champions. Since then he has unified the IBF, IBO, WBO & WBA belts and defeated the WBA champion in recess. Following his win over Ruslan Chagaev, Klitschko was awarded the vacant Ring Magazine Heavyweight Title. He works behind a strong left jab and possesses one of the strongest right crosses in boxing. Klitschko is a safety first fighter; however, he tends to methodically break down his opponents over a series of rounds. Emanuel Steward, Klitschko's trainer, has also pointed out that Klitschko's ability to hurt opponents late on in fights (Tony Thompson, Samuel Peter, etc.) is a sign of his power. He has gone on to say that he feels Klitschko is one of the hardest punchers in heavyweight history.

Early life

Klitschko was born in Semipalatinsk (now Semey, Kazakhstan). Though a celebrity in his former adopted home of Germany, he moved with his older brother Vitali to Beverly Hills, California, USA, in 2004. Their father, Vladimir Rodionovich Klitschko (1947–2011), was a Soviet Air Force major general and a military attaché of Ukraine in Germany. He was also one of the commanders in charge of cleaning up the effects of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 and was afterward diagnosed with cancer. Their mother is Nadezhda Ulyanovna.

In the summer of 1996, Klitschko finished Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky Pedagogical Institute (Ukraine) and was accepted in the postgraduate study program of Kiev University. On 18 January 2001 in a conference hall of Kiev University of physical science and sports, Klitschko presented his doctoral dissertation and was awarded a PhD in Sports Science. Klitschko speaks five languages: Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, German and English. At the beginning of his professional career, he began using the German transliteration of his name, ''Wladimir''.

Amateur career

In 1993, Klitschko won the Junior European Championships as a heavyweight. In 1994, he received 2nd place at the Junior World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. In 1995, he won the gold medal at the Military Championships in Ariccia, Italy, defeating Luan Krasniqi, who he had lost to in the third round of the World Championships in Berlin, Germany earlier that year. In 1996, he captured 2nd place as a Super Heavyweight at the European Championships in Vejle, Denmark. He had an amateur record of 134–6.

Known as "The Steel Hammer," Klitschko first achieved world attention at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He defeated Paea Wolfgramm to win the Super-Heavyweight gold medal. He is now announced as "Dr. Steel Hammer," a name more in the vein of his brother, Vitali, who goes by "Dr. Ironfist."

Professional career

Klitschko turned professional with Universum Box-Promotion in Hamburg under the tutelage of Fritz Sdunek.

He suffered his first setback after 24 bouts without a loss to journeyman Ross Puritty, who entered the bout with a record of 24–13–1. Wladimir Klitschko's coach, Fritz Sdunek, jumped into the ring and stopped the fight.

First world title

On 14 October 2000, in Cologne's Kölnarena (Germany), Klitschko won the WBO Heavyweight Championship from American Chris Byrd. Byrd had previously upset his elder brother Vitali (who pulled out injured during their bout). After five successful defenses of the WBO belt, Klitschko suffered an upset loss to Corrie Sanders. Sanders battered Klitschko for two rounds knocking him out on 8 March 2003, in Hannover, Germany.

Third loss

After winning two minor bouts in Germany and enlisting the services of legendary boxing trainer Emmanuel Steward, Klitschko again fought for the vacated WBO title on 10 April 2004, in Las Vegas, against Lamon Brewster. Klitschko sent Brewster to the canvas in the fourth round; however, things turned around in the fifth when Brewster's punches began backing him up. Not defending himself and leaning into ropes for support, Klitschko took a standing eight count. On unsteady legs, Klitschko went to his knees after the bell and the referee stopped the fight for his safety.

Return to form

Following his loss to Brewster, Klitschko began his journey back towards the top of the heavyweight division. First, he defeated DaVarryl Williamson by technical decision. The fight was stopped due to a Klitschko cut caused by an accidental headbutt. He then knocked out undefeated Eliseo Castillo. Klitschko then signed to fight undefeated power puncher Samuel Peter in an IBF eliminator. The much anticipated bout proved to be hugely entertaining. It went some way towards redeeming Klitschko in the heavyweight division. Though Peter scored three knockdowns (two in round 5, one in round 10) Klitschko withstood the Nigerian's power and went on to dominate for long periods. He even rocked Peter in the final round. The win against Peter showed that Klitschko was capable of defeating power punchers.

IBF Champion

On 22 April 2006, in Mannheim, Germany, Klitschko again defeated Chris Byrd, this time by technical knockout, in a contest for the IBF & IBO Heavyweight Championship. Referee Wayne Kelly stopped the fight in the seventh round after a knockdown—Byrd beat the count, but his face was battered and bloody, and the fight was waved off. Klitschko then defeated mandatory challenger Ray Austin on 10 March 2007, at the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany by a second-round knockout with four consecutive left hooks to Austin's head. Klitschko did not use his right hand once during the fight, doing all his work with his left jab and left hook. Klitschko then avenged one of his previous losses as he defeated Lamon Brewster on 7 July 2007, in Cologne, Germany. Brewster's corner asked the referee to stop the fight at the end of the sixth round. It was later revealed that Klitschko fought most of the fight with a broken middle finger on his left hand.

Klitschko vs Ibragimov Unification

Klitschko defeated WBO Heavyweight Champion Sultan Ibragimov at Madison Square Garden in New York City on 23 February 2008 to unify the IBF, IBO & WBO heavyweight titles. The Klitschko-Ibragimov fight was the first heavyweight unification since Holyfield-Lewis in 1999. The unification clash with Ibragimov proved to be a huge disappointment for fans. Klitschko was very dominant from the first bell. He backed Ibragimov into a corner and proceeded to push down Ibragimov's glove with his left hand so he could not throw a punch. Though Klitschko won every single round the crowd in New York began booing after the second round. The boos and jeers increased as the fight progressed in the same fashion. Ibragimov's corner was almost silent from the sixth round onwards unable to give their man any meaningful advice.

On 12 July 2008, at the Color Line Arena in Hamburg, Klitschko defeated Tony Thompson by eleventh round knockout.

Klitschko was scheduled to defend his titles against Alexander Povetkin later in 2008, but on 25 October, Povetkin withdrew from the fight due to an ankle injury. Instead, Klitschko faced Hasim Rahman on 13 December 2008 and won by TKO. This was the third time Klitschko fought at the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany. He dominated the fight, winning every round while making good use of his left jab. From the first bell the difference in physical strength was profound. Rahman seemed unable to withstand Klitschko's punch power. The referee finally called a stop to the one-sided contest in the 7th round after Rahman failed to respond to a series of good shots.

Klitschko vs. Chagaev

Klitschko was scheduled to face David Haye who pulled out within weeks of the fight complaining of a back injury. Salvaging the 20 June 2009 date and venue, Klitschko instead retained the IBF, WBO, IBO heavyweight titles and also won the vacant Ring Magazine heavyweight title by defeating replacement opponent and Ring #3 ranked Ruslan Chagaev when Chagaev retired after an onslaught of punches towards the end of the ninth round. As Chagaev was WBA champion in recess, the title was not on the line. Klitschko's win over Chagaev was seen as one of his most impressive performances in the ring. He controlled the tempo of the fight from the very beginning and hit Chagaev at will with the jab. He hit Chagaev with several hard right crosses and never allowed him to build momentum. Towards the end of the second round Klitschko caught Chagaev off balance and sent him to the canvas. Chagaev recovered but was dominated thereafter. This win had added significance because even though the WBA title was not on the line, many saw Klitschko as the rightful champion.

Klitschko vs. Chambers

On 9 December 2009, Klitschko's management group, K2 Promotions confirmed that a bout with Eddie Chambers has been agreed to take place in Germany on 20 March 2010. This mandatory title defense, originally scheduled for December 2009 had to be delayed due to a hand injury that Klitschko sustained in training that required surgery.

Klitschko defeated Chambers by knockout five seconds before the end of the final round. He was criticized between rounds by his trainer Emanuel Steward for not fighting aggressively enough despite having won all prior rounds and Chambers only fighting back weakly. Klitschko began punching more often during the final round than he had done before which eventually led to his left hook hitting Chambers to the forehead. The punch made Chambers fall forwards and lost consciousness for an extended period of time. The referee stepped in and called an end to the contest instantly.

Klitschko vs. Peter II

Following the match with Chambers, a unification fight between Klitschko and David Haye, who as of May 2009 held the WBA title, appeared to be in the offing. Klitschko called out the Briton on YouTube in April 2010, stating, "I want to send this message to boxing fans and directly to David Haye. David, you've bitched out on fighting both Klitschko brothers twice already and now's the time to make it happen. On behalf of the boxing fans around the world, I am officially calling you out to fight me. You can't run away from me forever and you need to follow through with this fight if you want to be respected. I'm ready. What're you waiting for?". Haye's trainer Adam Booth has indicated that Haye would be willing to accept the challenge. Both sides began negotiations for a potential fight and the bout was targeted for September. As the negotiations continued to move forward, the unification fight between Klitschko and Haye was expected to take place in Germany rather than England. The IBF set a deadline to end negotiations on 17 May. A few days before the 17 May deadline to make the unification bout, Haye said he was interested in fighting the older Klitschko, Vitali, rather than Vladimir.

The fight did not materialise and Klitschko took on mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin. On 17 May 2010, the 30-day period of negotiation began for Klitschko to defend his championship against Povetkin. Within this period, discussions to make a fight with Haye were still ongoing. At first, the bout between Klitschko and Povetkin was tentatively scheduled to take place in Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany, on 11 September 2010. In July 2010, it was confirmed that the bout would be taking place in Frankfurt. However, Povetkin, under trainer Teddy Atlas, backed out of the $2 million purse fight. Samuel Peter replaced Povetkin for the scheduled fight. Peter fought Klitschko on 11 September 2010, for the Ukrainian's IBF, WBO & IBO heavyweight titles. Klitschko won again, by knocking out Peter in the 10th round. Peter weighed in at 241 pounds, two pounds lighter than their first fight. Klitschko came in at a career heavy of 247 pounds. Both fighters had promised knockouts in the pre-fight build up. Peter started the fight very aggressively and caught Klitschko with a good left hook in the opening minute although Klitschko ended the round well. Peter was caught with three hard right-hands in the second round, one of which seemed to stun him. Peter tried to duck under the Klitschko jab, but was being tied up on the inside. After four rounds the fight became one-sided in Klitschko's favour. Peter's right eye was closing and he was taking heavy punishment. After the ninth round, Peter's trainer Abel Sanchez said he would give him one more round. Emmanuel Steward also implored Klitschko to be more aggressive. Peter swung wildly in the tenth and Klitschko put him down with a concussive combination. Referee Robert Byrd did not start a count and waved the fight off, awarding Klitschko the win by knockout.

Klitschko was set to fight Dereck Chisora on 11 December, but the fight was later called off on 8 December due to Klitschko tearing a muscle in his abdomen.

On 5 January 2011, it was announced that Dereck Chisora would get his fight with Klitschko. This enraged David Haye's trainer Adam Booth who described the move as a "disgrace" on a heated live phone-in with Sky Sports News. Booth alleged Haye had met every single one of Klitschko's demands The fight against Dereck Chisora was rescheduled for 30 April 2011, and was going to take place in SAP Arena, Mannheim. However, on 4 March, it was announced Klitschko pulled out of the fight due to not being fully recovered from a torn abdominal muscle. On 5 March, it was instead announced that the highly anticipated fight against David Haye will take place on 2 July 2011. The fight was contingent on Klitschko's recovery from a torn abdominal muscle injury. The contract was written so that if Klitschko is not fully healed, then Haye would fight his brother, Vitali.

Wladimir Klitschko vs. David Haye

Klitschko fought David Haye in a heavyweight unification fight for the WBA (Super), WBO, IBF, IBO & ''The Ring'' heavyweight titles. The fight took place at the Imtech Arena, Hamburg, Germany on 2 July 2011. Klitschko dominated the fight, statistically outlanding Haye nearly 2 to 1. Klitschko won by unanimous decision.

After Haye

On 6 October 2011 Wladimir Klitschko announced his next fight. It was originally to be on 10 December 2011 against the former cruiserweight champion, French Jean-Marc Mormeck. The fight would have taken place at Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf. It was to be Wladimir's first title defense of the WBA (Super) belt, he won against David Haye. The fight was billed ''Alle Gürtel. Ein Champion.'' (All belts. One Champion). However, on 5 December 2011, the fight was cancelled because Wladimir checked into a hospital to have a kidney stone removed. After the removal operation he suffered from fever and inflammation. Since then, the fight has been rescheduled for 3 March 2012.

Other interests

Klitschko appeared with Lennox Lewis in the motion picture ''Ocean's Eleven''. He is an avid chess player, kite-surfer, golfer, and humanitarian. Both Klitschko brothers have been involved in charitable activities dedicated to supporting the needs of children around the world. Both brothers have formed their own charities that contribute to children in need in Africa and South America. They won humanitarian awards for their "Fight For Peace" and "Sport for Good" projects in 2002 and 2007. In 2002, the Klitschko brothers announced that they had agreed to work specifically for UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), which supports more than 180 projects in 87 countries. Klitschko is also a passionate golfer and was seen playing in the Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland. The tournament was played over three courses in 2008 including St Andrews, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns in Fife and Angus. Klitschko was named curator of the Ukrainian pavilion at the 2009 Venice Biennale. Klitschko starred in the music video for Chris Cornell's song "Part of Me" in 2008, alongside rising dancer Carlos Kerr Jr. and Method Man.

Personal life

Some media reported that Klitschko had been previously dating Yvonne Catterfeld; the relationship was played up in German comedies ''Keinohrhasen'' and ''Zweiohrküken''. After Vladimir's photo session held for ''Vanity Fair'' magazine with Karolína Kurková she also claimed to have a romantic relationship with the boxer. Alena Gerber was once his girlfriend.

In 2009 Klitschko began dating American actress Hayden Panettiere. Panettiere appeared at ringside at some of Klitschko's fights, including at Klitschko's 10th round KO victory over Samuel Peter. The couple broke up in May 2011.

Professional boxing record

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|56 Wins (49 knockouts), 3 Losses, 0 Draws |- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;" | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Res. | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Record | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Opponent | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Type | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Rd., Time | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Date | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Location | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Notes |- align=center | | |align=left| Jean-Marc Mormeck | | | |align=left| Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |56–3 |align=left| David Haye | | | |align=left| Imtech Arena, Altona, Hamburg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |55–3 |align=left| Samuel Peter | | | |align=left| Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt, Hessen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |54–3 |align=left| Eddie Chambers | | | |align=left| Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |53–3 |align=left| Ruslan Chagaev ||| | |align=left| Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Nordrhein-Westfalen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |52–3 |align=left| Hasim Rahman ||| | |align=left| SAP Arena, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |51–3 |align=left| Tony Thompson ||| | |align=left| Color Line Arena, Altona, Hamburg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |50–3 |align=left| Sultan Ibragimov ||| | |align=left| Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |49–3 |align=left| Lamon Brewster ||| | |align=left| Kölnarena, Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |48–3 |align=left| Ray Austin ||| | |align=left| SAP Arena, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |47–3 |align=left| Calvin Brock ||| | |align=left| Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |46–3 |align=left| Chris Byrd ||| | |align=left| SAP Arena, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |45–3 |align=left| Samuel Peter ||| | |align=left| Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |44–3 |align=left| Eliseo Castillo ||| | |align=left| Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |43–3 |align=left| DaVarryl Williamson ||| | |align=left| Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Loss |42–3 |align=left| Lamon Brewster ||| | |align=left| Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |42–2 |align=left| Danell Nicholson ||| | |align=left| Ostseehalle, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |41–2 |align=left| Fabio Eduardo Moli ||| | |align=left| Olympiahalle, Munich, Bayern}} |align=left| |- align=center |Loss |40–2 |align=left| Corrie Sanders ||| | |align=left| Preussag Arena, Hannover, Niedersachsen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |40–1 |align=left| Jameel McCline ||| | |align=left| Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |39–1 |align=left| Ray Mercer ||| | |align=left| Taj Majal Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |38–1 |align=left| Francois Botha ||| | |align=left| Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |37–1 |align=left| Charles Shufford ||| | |align=left| Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |36–1 |align=left| Derrick Jefferson ||| | |align=left| Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle, Munich, Bayern}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |35–1 |align=left| Chris Byrd ||| | |align=left| Kölnarena, Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |34–1 |align=left| Monte Barrett ||| | |align=left| New London Arena, Millwall, London}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |33–1 |align=left| David Bostice ||| | |align=left| Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |32–1 |align=left| Paea Wolfgramm ||| | |align=left| Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, Hamburg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |31–1 |align=left| Lajos Eros ||| | |align=left| Stadionsporthalle, Hannover, Niedersachsen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |30–1 |align=left| Phil Jackson ||| | |align=left| The Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |29–1 |align=left| Axel Schulz ||| | |align=left| Kölnarena, Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |28–1 |align=left| Joseph Chingangu ||| | |align=left| Philips Halle, Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |27–1 |align=left| Tony LaRosa ||| | |align=left| Sport Palace, Budapest, Central Hungary}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |26–1 |align=left| Everett Martin ||| | |align=left| Circus Krone, Munich, Bayern}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |25–1 |align=left| Zoran Vujecic ||| | |align=left| Maritim Hotel, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Loss |24–1 |align=left| Ross Puritty ||| | |align=left| Sports Palace, Kiev, Kiev Oblast}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |24–0 |align=left| Donnell Wingfield ||| | |align=left| Circus Krone, Munich, Bayern}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |23–0 |align=left| Eli Dixon ||| | |align=left| Prinz-Garden Halle, Augsburg, Bayern}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |22–0 |align=left| Steve Pannell ||| | |align=left| Arena Oberhausen, Oberhausen, Nordrhein-Westfalen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |21–0 |align=left| Carlos Monroe ||| | |align=left| Grand Casino Avoyelles, Marksville, Louisiana}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |20–0 |align=left| Najee Shaheed ||| | |align=left| Circus Krone, Munich, Bayern}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |19–0 |align=left| Cody Koch ||| | |align=left| Oberrheinhalle, Offenburg, Baden-Württemberg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |18–0 |align=left| Everett Martin ||| | |align=left| Sporthalle, Wandsbek, Hamburg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |17–0 |align=left| Marcus McIntyre ||| | |align=left| Maritim Hotel, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |16–0 |align=left| Derrick Lampkins ||| | |align=left| Oberrheinhalle, Offenburg, Baden-Württemberg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |15–0 |align=left| Ladislav Husarik ||| | |align=left| Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, Hamburg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |14–0 |align=left| Jerry Halstead ||| | |align=left| Stadthalle, Offenbach, Hessen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |13–0 |align=left| Marcos Gonzalez ||| | |align=left| Stadthalle, Cottbus, Brandenburg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |12–0 |align=left| James Pritchard ||| | |align=left| Tivoli Eissporthalle, Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |11–0 |align=left| Biko Botowamungu ||| | |align=left| Maritim Hotel, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |10–0 |align=left| Gilberto Williamson ||| | |align=left| Berlethalle, Hagen, Nordrhein-Westfalen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |9–0 |align=left| Salvador Maciel ||| | |align=left| Oberrheinhalle, Offenburg, Baden-Württemberg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |8–0 |align=left| Paul Ashley ||| | |align=left| Arena Oberhausen, Oberhausen, Nordrhein-Westfalen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |7–0 |align=left| Mark Wills ||| | |align=left| Ballsporthalle, Frankfurt, Hessen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |6–0 |align=left| Mark Young ||| | |align=left| Eurogress, Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |5–0 |align=left| Carlos Monroe ||| | |align=left| Stadthalle, Cottbus, Brandenburg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |4–0 |align=left| Troy Weida ||| | |align=left| Maritim Hotel, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |3–0 |align=left| Bill Corrigan ||| | |align=left| Zoo-Gesellschaftshaus, Frankfurt, Hessen}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |2–0 |align=left| Exum Speight ||| | |align=left| Nova Arena, Wiener Neustadt, Niederösterreich}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |1–0 |align=left| Fabian Meza ||| | |align=left| Sporthalle, Wandsbek, Hamburg}} |align=left| |- align=center

References

External links

Vladimir Klitschko Fight-by-Fight Career Record

Klitschko movie 2011

|-

{{S-ttl| title = WBO Heavyweight Champion | years = October 14, 2000 – March 8, 2003}}

{{s-ttl | title=IBF Heavyweight Champion | years=April 22, 2006 – ''present''}}

{{s-ttl | title=IBO Heavyweight Champion | years = April 22, 2006 – ''present''}}

{{s-ttl| title=WBO Heavyweight Champion | years=February 23, 2008 – ''present''}} |- {{s-ttl|title=''The Ring'' Heavyweight Champion | years=June 20, 2009 – ''present''}}

{{s-ttl | title=WBA Heavyweight ChampionSuper Title | years=July 2, 2011 – ''present''}}

|- |- |- |- |- |-

Category:1976 births Category:Boxers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Category:Heavyweight boxers Category:Super-heavyweight boxers Category:Living people Category:Olympic boxers of Ukraine Category:Olympic gold medalists for Ukraine Category:Ukrainian boxers Category:World Boxing Organization Champions Category:International Boxing Federation Champions Category:International Boxing Organization Champions Category:Olympic medalists in boxing Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from Ukraine

be:Уладзімір Уладзіміравіч Клічко be-x-old:Уладзімер Клічко bg:Владимир Кличко cs:Vladimir Kličko da:Vladimir Klitsjko de:Wladimir Klitschko et:Volodõmõr Klõtško el:Βλάντιμιρ Κλίτσκο es:Wladimir Klitschko fr:Wladimir Klitschko ga:Wladimir Klitschko hr:Vladimir Kličko it:Volodymyr Klyčko he:ולדימיר קליצ'קו lv:Vladimirs Kļičko hu:Volodimir Volodimirovics Klicsko nl:Wladimir Klitschko ja:ウラジミール・クリチコ no:Vladimir Klitsjko pl:Wołodymyr Kłyczko pt:Wladimir Klitschko ro:Vladimir Kliciko ru:Кличко, Владимир Владимирович fi:Volodymyr Klytško sv:Vladimir Klitsjko th:วลาดีมีร์ คลิทช์โก tg:Владимир Владимирович Кличко tr:Vladimir Kliçko uk:Кличко Володимир Володимирович

position	Defence
played for	Washington Capitals St. Louis BluesNew Jersey Devils
shot	Left
height ft	6
height in	1
weight lb	215
ntl team	Canada
birth date	April 01, 1964
birth place	Kitchener, ON, CAN
draft	5th overall
draft year	1982
draft team	Washington Capitals
career start	1982
career end	2004
halloffame	2007 }}

Ronald Scott Stevens (born April 1, 1964) is a retired professional ice hockey defenceman. Stevens played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Washington Capitals, St. Louis Blues, and the New Jersey Devils. Although offensively capable, Stevens was largely known for his defensive play and his heavy body checking on opponents, and currently has the most career penalty minutes of any player enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame (2785).

Stevens started his career with the Capitals, where he helped the team make the playoffs for the first time. After spending a season with the Blues, he was acquired by the Devils through arbitration. Personifying the team's defence-first mentality, he captained the Devils to four Stanley Cup Finals appearances in nine years, winning three of them. In 2000, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Despite his team success with the Devils, he never won the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenceman. His career came to an end after a slapshot hit his head and caused post-concussion syndrome. He was later inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007, his first year of eligibility. Stevens retired with the most games played by an NHL defenceman (1635 games), later to be passed by Chris Chelios. Stevens was also the quickest player in league history to reach 1,500 games played, playing in his 1,500th game at age 37 years, 346 days. Stevens did not have a negative plus/minus in any of his 22 NHL seasons.

Early life

Stevens was born in Kitchener to Larry and Maria Stevens, the middle child of three brothers. Larry owned a paper products company, and was also a semi-professional Canadian football player. All three Stevens brothers played hockey as children; older brother Geoff would later go on to be a scout for the New Jersey Devils, while Mike, the youngest, enjoyed a brief NHL career with several teams. Growing up near Toronto, he was a fan of the Maple Leafs, and idolized Leafs defenceman Börje Salming. Stevens attended Eastwood Collegiate Institute, where he played middle linebacker. One of his teammates was Markus Koch, who would go on to win a Super Bowl with the Washington Redskins. Hockey was Stevens' true passion, however. He and his brothers often played hockey in the house, ruining the furniture repeatedly. He eventually earned a spot on the Kitchener Junior B team, and passed on the opportunity to tour Czechoslovakia with the Kitchener midget team in order to play there. His play impressed scouts, and he was taken ninth overall by his hometown Kitchener Rangers in the 1981 Ontario Hockey League draft.

The 1981–82 Kitchener Rangers were a team that featured several future NHL players. The defensive corps included Dave Shaw and Al MacInnis, Wendell Young was the team's starting goaltender, and the top scoring line on the team was Jeff Larmer, Brian Bellows, and Grant Martin. Stevens and Shaw were an integral part of the Rangers' defence, playing in every game of the season en route to the team's Memorial Cup victory. In addition, both played in the OHL All-Star Game. Rangers coach Joe Crozier commented on him, saying "He's come a long way this year ... He's strong, tough, handles the puck well and has tremendous hockey sense." Stevens led all rookie defencemen in scoring, and he was named the second best defensive defenceman and second best body-checker in a poll of OHL coaches.

Washington Capitals

Stevens was taken fifth overall in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals. Due to injuries to other players during training camp, Stevens made the team at 18 years old, and never played a game in the minor leagues. He made an immediate impact, scoring on his first shot in his first NHL game. He scored 25 points in his debut season, and made the All-Rookie Team. In addition, he led all rookie defencemen in penalty minutes. He finished third in the voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the league's Rookie of the Year. He was also named the Capitals' Rookie of the Year. Stevens' debut with the Capitals coincided with the team's first playoff appearance, although they were eliminated in the first round by the New York Islanders.

The following year, he would nearly double his point total from the previous year, finishing with 13 goals and 32 assists for 45 points. Only teammate Larry Murphy had more points among defencemen. His 201 penalty minutes would lead the team; he would ultimately lead the Capitals in the category five times during his tenure with the team, and eventually set the team record for most career penalty minutes by a defenceman. However, Stevens' personal success did not translate to the Capitals, who were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Islanders. During this period, Stevens learned from veterans Rod Langway and defensive linemate Brian Engblom on the finer points of playing defence. Head coach Bryan Murray also helped calm the fiery young Stevens, who would learn to fight less and play harder. Stevens spoke fondly of his time with the Capitals years later, saying:

The 1984–85 season would be a breakout year for Stevens. He set a team record for defencemen by scoring 16 power play goals, and tied a team record for goals by a defenceman with 21. His performance was good enough to land him a spot in the All-Star Game. Stevens would lead all Capitals defencemen in scoring for the first time, finishing the year with 21 goals and 44 assists, and earned the team's Fan Favorite Award. His offensive abilities and size made Murray consider moving him to winger. The Capitals finished second in the Patrick Division, but were out of the playoffs early again, this time courtesy of the Islanders. Before the next season, the Capitals acquired Dwight Schofield in the waiver draft. Schofield was known for his abilities as an enforcer, and his goal was to keep other teams' hitters away from Stevens and Langway, who were deemed too valuable to lose to penalties. The plan worked, as Stevens finished with 165 penalty minutes, the lowest in his career to that point. He added 15 goals and 38 assists that season as well. The Capitals continued their playoff woes, however; after defeating the Islanders in the first round, they lost to the New York Rangers in the division finals.

The 1986–87 season saw Stevens return to his old ways, as he spent a career-high 283 minutes in the penalty box. The total set a Capitals record (since broken) for penalty minutes in a season. Despite missing three games with a broken right index finger, an injury he suffered against the Islanders, Stevens would finish the year third on the team in scoring with 61 points; his 51 assists were also good enough for second on the Capitals. The Caps were once again eliminated by the Islanders in the first round of the playoffs.

During the 1987–88 season, Stevens set Capitals records for most assists and most points by a defenceman in a game, with five assists against the Los Angeles Kings on December 6, 1987. Later that season, he would score at least one assist in eight consecutive games, setting another team record for defencemen. He finished the year second on the team in scoring with 12 goals and 60 assists for 72 points, tops among all Capitals blueliners. He ended up finishing second behind Boston Bruins defenceman Ray Bourque in the voting for the Norris Trophy. In addition, he was named as a NHL First Team All-Star. Stevens would suffer a shoulder injury in the first round of the playoffs against the Flyers, a series the Capitals would win. He returned in time for the Capitals' divisional finals against his future team, the New Jersey Devils. Despite tying a team record by posting four assists in Game 6 of the series, the Capitals fell four games to three.

The Capitals would win the Patrick Division in the 1988–89 season, and Stevens' 68 points (including a team-leading 61 assists) led Caps defencemen. He had 225 penalty minutes; this was the last time Stevens would have over 200 minutes in his career. He was named to his second All-Star game, and added an assist as the Wales Conference lost to the Campbell Conference 9-5. The Caps could not translate their regular season success into the playoffs, however, as they lost in the first round to the Flyers. The 1989–90 season saw mixed success for Stevens. Personally he struggled, as he was beset with injuries, including a broken foot that caused him to miss nearly two months. In addition, he was suspended for three games for gouging Chicago Blackhawks player Dave Manson in the eye during a fight. Stevens said he never hit Manson's eye, but that the eye hit Stevens' helmet during the fight. Missing a third of the season led to Stevens' lowest point total since his rookie year; he finished with just 11 goals and 29 assists for 40 points, although it was still second among Capitals defencemen. Despite his lowered stats, the Capitals made their furthest inroads in the playoffs ever. After defeating the Devils in the first round and the Rangers in the second round, the Capitals were in the conference finals for the first time in team history. Unfortunately, they were swept by the Bruins.

Over eight seasons with the Capitals, Stevens finished with 98 goals and 429 points in 601 games. He also set team records (all since broken) for penalty minutes (1,630), games played by a defenceman (601), points by a defenceman (429), goals by a defenceman (98), assists by a defenceman (331), playoff games played (67), playoff points (53), playoff assists (44) and playoff goals by a defenceman (9).

St. Louis Blues

After eight seasons in Washington, Stevens felt it was time to move on. The St. Louis Blues courted him and offered a four-year deal worth $5.145 million. Since he was a restricted free agent, Washington had the option to match the offer sheet; they declined, however, and received two first round picks plus $100,000 in cash, turning into five first-round picks if the Capitals did not have a top-7 draft pick in the 1991 or 1992 entry drafts, as compensation (two of these picks would become Sergei Gonchar and Brendan Witt).

Stevens' signing had far-reaching ramifications on player contracts in the NHL. At the time, the deal made him the highest-paid defenceman in the league. In addition, the deal included a $1.4 million signing bonus. Several defencemen considered superior players to Stevens, including Ray Bourque and Chris Chelios, were earning less money, and Capitals defenceman Kevin Hatcher held out until he received a contract similar to that of Stevens. General managers worried that these players would begin demanding bigger contracts. The players did end up asking for more money, and this escalation was one of the factors in the 1994–95 NHL lockout several seasons later.

After his arrival in St. Louis, Stevens was named captain of the Blues. He scored 5 goals and added 44 assists for 49 points, good enough for fifth on a team led by Brett Hull and Adam Oates. He made the Campbell Conference All-Star Team as well. The Blues were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Minnesota North Stars.

New Jersey Devils

Stevens' time with the Blues would only last one season. In the offseason following the 1990–91 NHL season, the Blues signed Brendan Shanahan from the New Jersey Devils., who, like Stevens the year before, was a restricted free agent, entitling the Devils to compensation. As the Blues still owed first round picks to the Capitals (now five instead of two, as the 1991 pick given up ended up being the 21st pick), other compensation had to be negotiated, and the Blues and Devils could not agree on what the compensation was; the Blues offered goalie Curtis Joseph, forward Rod Brind'Amour, and two draft picks, but the Devils only wanted Stevens. The case went to arbitration, and arbitrator Edward Houston awarded Stevens to the Devils as compensation on September 4, 1991.

1991–1995

Initially, Stevens refused to report to the Devils for training camp, and would not report until September 26, 1991, 22 days after the arbitration ruling. The Devils were already worried after captain Kirk Muller walked out of camp. Stevens and his wife had made plans to settle in St. Louis, and he wanted to end his career with the Blues. In addition, he was concerned about the apparent lack of unity in the organization, citing Muller's walkout as proof. Several Devils players were upset over the feeling that Stevens was being forced upon the team; some players, including Ken Daneyko, wanted more money, while other players wanted general manager Lou Lamoriello to trade Stevens. He would eventually report to the Devils three weeks later.

Stevens finished his first season in New Jersey fifth on the team in scoring, first among defencemen and good enough for a spot on the Second All-Star Team. He earned a spot on the All-Star roster for the second consecutive season, and would miss only one All-Star game for the remainder of his career as a Devil. The Devils would be taken out of the playoffs by their rival, the Rangers, in seven games. In the offseason, Stevens replaced Bruce Driver as team captain, a title he held until his retirement.

Although he would miss part of the following season with a concussion, his 12 goals and 45 assists still led all Devils defencemen in scoring, The Devils were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs again, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in five games. Stevens stepped up his offensive game in 1993–94. He posted 18 goals and 60 assists, good enough for the team lead and a career high in points. He won the NHL Plus-Minus Award, finishing with a +53; only Vladimir Konstantinov has led the league with a higher plus/minus rating since Stevens' win. The Devils made it all the way to the Conference Finals against the Rangers, where they fell in double overtime of Game 7. Stevens finished as a runner-up to Ray Bourque for the Norris Trophy; the four-vote difference was the closest in Norris Trophy voting history.

After the 1993–94 season, Stevens was a potential free agent. Officials from the St. Louis Blues discussed a return to the team with him, and persuaded him to sign an offer sheet worth $17 million over four years on July 4, 1994. Five days later, the Devils matched the offer, and thus Stevens remained in New Jersey. However, the Devils later found out that Stevens had heard from St. Louis management before the free agency period began, which was illegal under NHL policy. After a five-year investigation, the league fined the Blues $1.5 million USD, and awarded the Devils two St. Louis first-round draft picks. Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello felt the punishment was not enough; he wanted five first-round draft picks plus damages. Despite the investigation, there was no evidence that Stevens was aware of any wrongdoing.

After the 1995 season was delayed due to an owners' lockout, the Devils were off to a slow start, winning only 9 of their first 24 games. Despite the reduced schedule, Stevens managed two goals and 20 assists, once again leading defencemen in scoring. The Devils finished fifth in the conference, and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they swept the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings to win the franchise's first championship. Stevens' reputation as a hard hitter was reinforced in Game 2, where he leveled Vyacheslav Kozlov with a body check that temporarily knocked him out of the game. It was later determined that Kozlov suffered a concussion. Stevens then turned to Wings forward Dino Ciccarelli, who was upset about the check, and said "You're next!"

1996–1999

The Devils expected to defend their Stanley Cup title the following season. However, they became the first team in 26 years to miss the playoffs following a championship. Stevens voiced the team's disappointment, saying "After winning the Cup, you expect to definitely be in the playoffs the next year ... Maybe it was just a wakeup call to get back on track."

Stevens started the 1996–97 season with a one game suspension due to a high-sticking penalty against Igor Larionov, which drew blood. The team, however, returned to a solid style of play, and finished the season atop the Atlantic Division, though they would be eliminated in the playoffs once again by the Hudson River rival New York Rangers. Stevens finished second on the team among defencemen in scoring behind Scott Niedermayer.

Stevens' leadership continued into the next season. He signed a contract extension with the Devils, stating at the time that he wanted to finish his career with the team. Stevens was especially important to the Devils' defensive corps, as longtime Devil Ken Daneyko was undergoing rehabilitation for alcoholism. However, he suffered a hip pointer injury against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and missed several games. Stevens once again had a good defensive season, although his lack of scoring kept him out of consideration for the Norris Trophy. The Devils finished as the top seed in the Eastern Conference, but were eliminated in the first round by the Ottawa Senators.

The Devils made several changes prior to the 1998–99 season, including the hiring of Robbie Ftorek as coach to replace Jacques Lemaire. The team continued its focus on defence, as the solid corps of Stevens, Daneyko, and Niedermayer finished with plus-minuses of +29, +27, and +26, respectively. Unfortunately, the team was once again eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, this time by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

2000–2004

The 1999–2000 Devils focused more on offense, which was reinforced by their 251 goals scored, good enough for second in the league. With four players scoring over 50 points, including rookie Scott Gomez's team leading 51 assists, Stevens' 29 points were only good enough for tenth on the team, and third among defencemen behind Niedermayer and Brian Rafalski. Stevens also set an NHL record, becoming the first player to play in 600 games with two teams. After finishing the season in fourth place in the conference, the Devils swept the Florida Panthers and defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games.

The Devils then met their bitter rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, in the Eastern Conference Finals. After getting behind in the series three games to one, the Devils managed to win games five and six, setting the stage for game seven in Philadelphia. During the first period, Flyers star centre Eric Lindros was skating through the neutral zone with his head down, while being engaged by another defender. Stevens came all the way across the ice and leveled him with a hard body check, forcing Lindros out of the game with a concussion. It was only Lindros' second game since returning from a concussion suffered in March against the Boston Bruins. Stevens had previously taken Flyers centre Daymond Langkow out with a concussion after game 2.

The Devils completed the comeback against the Flyers with a 2–1 victory and faced off against the defending Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals. Stevens and Rafalski were tasked with the responsibility of shutting down Dallas' scoring line of Mike Modano, Brett Hull, and Joe Nieuwendyk. Stevens scored the game-winner in the first game of the series, en route to a Devils 7-3 victory; the goal was his third of the playoffs. The Devils went on to win the Finals in six games, after Game Five went to three overtimes and Game Six was decided in double overtime. Stevens earned an assist on Jason Arnott's Cup-winning goal, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy for his leadership role on the team.

During the 2000–01 NHL season, led by Patrik Eliáš' franchise-record of 96 points, and Alexander Mogilny's team-leading 43 goals, the team finished first in the conference. After defeating Carolina, Toronto, and Pittsburgh in the playoffs, the Devils once again made the Finals, this time against the Colorado Avalanche. Despite being up three games to two, however, the Devils could not finish off the Avalanche, and lost the series in seven games. Stevens finished third in the voting for the Norris Trophy.

The next season, Stevens finished with his lowest scoring total in his career, though he did become the youngest player ever to play in 1,500 games. The Devils, however, fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Hurricanes, who went on to lose to Detroit in the Stanley Cup finals.

Stevens and the Devils once again had success in 2002–03, finishing first in the division. In addition, he was named as captain of the Eastern Conference All-Star team for the first time, and finished the season with the fewest penalty minutes over a full season in his career. The Devils played well in the playoffs, knocking off Boston, Tampa Bay, and Ottawa to face the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the Finals. Stevens and the Devils had a minor scare in Game 3 of the semifinals against Tampa Bay when a slapshot from Pavel Kubina hit the side of his head and forced him to leave the game. Although there was uncertainty whether he would return for Game 4, Stevens in fact returned, and did not miss a game throughout the remainder of the playoffs. In Game 2 of the Finals, he set the record for most playoff games by a defenceman, breaking the record by his former coach, Larry Robinson. Stevens added to his list of playoff hits when he knocked down Ducks forward Paul Kariya in Game Six. However, Kariya came back shortly thereafter and led the Ducks to a victory, forcing a seventh game. The Devils kept the Ducks scoreless in Game Seven, 3-0, to win their third Stanley Cup in nine years. Stevens' appearance in Game Seven tied Patrick Roy's record for appearances in Game Sevens, with 13. Despite the play of Stevens, Martin Brodeur, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Jeff Friesen, the Conn Smythe Trophy went to Ducks goaltender Jean-Sébastien Giguère. Some speculated that there were too many worthy Devils candidates for the trophy, resulting in a split vote among sportswriters.

The 2003–04 NHL season would be the last for Stevens. Before ending the season, he surpassed former teammate Larry Murphy as the NHL's all-time leader in games played by a defenceman, when he appeared in his 1,616th game in November. He missed several games in January with the flu, and while he was out, he was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome (which would eventually coerce him into retirement). Despite missing the second half of the season, he was still voted in as a starter for the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Scott Niedermayer filled in as captain in Stevens' absence, but the loss of Stevens, as well as Daneyko, who had retired before the season, was too much of a loss for the Devils' defence, and they fell to the Flyers in the first round of the playoffs. In the offseason, Stevens recovered and continued to work out, and expected to return to the Devils for the 2004–05 NHL season. However, the owners' lockout canceled the entire season, and Stevens retired on September 6, 2005, after 1635 NHL games, fourth at the time (and now sixth) all-time in games played, the leader in games played by a defenceman (since passed by Chris Chelios), and 14th all-time in career penalty minutes.

International play

}}

In addition to his NHL career, Stevens represented Canada in several international ice hockey competitions. He attended summer camp with Team Canada prior to the 1983 World Junior Championships, but because of his commitment to the Capitals, he was unable to join the team. His first experience with the senior team was at the 1983 World Ice Hockey Championships, where he won a bronze medal. The following year he made the Canadian team for the 1984 Canada Cup, but he did not play. During the 1985 World Ice Hockey Championships, he scored a goal and added two assists as Canada finished with a silver medal. He played only two games during the 1987 tournament; Canada finished in fourth place. Two years later he scored two goals as Canada once again won the silver medal. During the tournament, he suffered a serious cut when Borje Salming's skate sliced his face; he would receive 88 stitches for the wound. He finally won international gold with Canada during the 1991 Canada Cup. Five years later, he played in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, the successor to the Canada Cup. Finishing with two assists, Stevens won the silver medal; Canada finished in second place after giving up four goals in the final four minutes of the championship game against the American team.

National Hockey League players were first allowed to participate in the Olympic ice hockey tournament at the 1998 games. Stevens was selected to join Team Canada, but finished without a point for the only time in his international career. Canada would finish fourth after losing their semi-final match-up against the Czech Republic in a shootout. Stevens would be part of Canada's orientation camp for the 2002 Games, but he would not make the final roster.

Legacy

Stevens left a lasting legacy on the NHL. Stevens was the longest reigning captain in Devils history. Later on in his career, he mentored the younger Devils defencemen like Colin White and Brian Rafalski, who was Stevens' defensive linemate. Longtime teammate Scott Niedermayer said Stevens was "not the most vocal guy around", but he would talk to players when it was necessary. Stevens was honored by the Devils by becoming the first player in team history to have his number retired by the team; his #4 was raised to the rafters on February 3, 2006. Additionally, the Kitchener Rangers have retired #3 for Stevens.

Stevens was also remembered as a hard hitter, often leveling players who crossed an open part of the ice with their heads down. Among the victims of Stevens' body checks were Slava Kozlov, Eric Lindros, Paul Kariya, Shane Willis and Ron Francis, the last of whom was inducted with Stevens into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007. Some players have accused Stevens of playing cheap. After his check on Willis, Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Arturs Irbe said Stevens was "trying to kill [Willis] or put him out of the playoffs." Stevens responded: On the other hand, Kozlov did not blame Stevens for his hit, and said he was a clean player. Despite his penchant for hits, Stevens finished his career with only four elbowing penalties in the regular season. He was often credited with changing the momentum of a game not with a goal, but with a hard check, earning him the nickname "Captain Crunch". He was named the fifth most fearsome player in NHL history by the ''Sporting News'' in 2001. NHL defenceman Dion Phaneuf used to be often compared to Stevens, and says he idolizes Stevens' style of play.

Personal life

Stevens met his wife Donna while he was playing junior hockey with Kitchener. The couple have three children; Kaitlin, Ryan and Kara. He is a fan of the outdoors, and spent his summers away from hockey at Lake Catchacoma. He also enjoys duck hunting in his spare time, and is a fan of the Three Stooges. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, he started a program called Scott's Kids for the families of the victims.

Awards and achievements

1983- NHL All-Rookie Team

1988- NHL First All-Star Team

1992- NHL Second All-Star Team

1994- NHL First All-Star Team

1994- Alka-Seltzer Plus/Minus Award

1995- Stanley Cup Champions (New Jersey)

1997- NHL Second All-Star Team

2000- Stanley Cup Champions (New Jersey)

2000- Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP)

2001- NHL Second All-Star Team

2003- Stanley Cup Champions (New Jersey)

Played in thirteen NHL All-Star Games in 1985, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				! colspan="6"		Playoffs
Season (sports)>Season	! Team	! League		! GP		Goal (ice hockey)>G	Assist (ice hockey)>A	Point (ice hockey)>Pts	Plus-minus>+/-	Penalty (ice hockey)>PIM	! GP	! G	! A	! Pts	! +/-	! PIM
	Kitchener Rangers			1		0	0	0	—	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
	Kitchener Rangers	OHL		68		6	36	42	—	158	15	1	10	11	—	21
	Washington Capitals			77		9	16	25	+14	195	4	1	0	1	0	26
	Washington Capitals	NHL		78		13	32	45	+26	201	8	1	8	9	0	21
	Washington Capitals	NHL		80		21	44	65	+19	221	5	0	1	1	-4	11
	Washington Capitals	NHL		73		15	38	53	0	165	9	3	8	11	0	12
	Washington Capitals	NHL		77		10	51	61	+13	283	7	0	5	5	0	19
	Washington Capitals	NHL		80		12	60	72	+14	184	13	1	11	12	0	46
	Washington Capitals	NHL		80		7	61	68	+1	225	6	1	4	5	-2	11
	Washington Capitals	NHL		56		11	29	40	+1	154	15	2	7	9	-1	25
	St. Louis Blues	NHL		78		5	44	49	+23	150	13	0	3	3	+8	36
	New Jersey Devils	NHL		68		17	42	59	+24	124	7	2	1	3	-5	29
	New Jersey Devils	NHL		81		12	45	57	+14	120	5	2	2	4	-2	10
	New Jersey Devils	NHL		83		18	60	78	+53	112	20	2	9	11	-1	42
	New Jersey Devils	NHL		48		2	20	22	+4	56	20	1	7	8	+10	24
	New Jersey Devils	NHL		82		5	23	28	+7	100	—	—	—	—	—	—
	New Jersey Devils	NHL		79		5	19	24	+26	70	10	0	4	4	-2	2
	New Jersey Devils	NHL		80		4	22	26	+19	80	6	1	0	1	+4	8
	New Jersey Devils	NHL		75		5	22	27	+29	64	7	2	1	3	-2	10
	New Jersey Devils	NHL		78		8	21	29	+30	103	23	3	8	11	+9	6
	New Jersey Devils	NHL		81		9	22	31	+40	71	25	1	7	8	+3	37
	New Jersey Devils	NHL		82		1	16	17	+15	44	6	0	0	0	+5	4
	New Jersey Devils	NHL		81		4	16	20	+18	41	24	3	6	9	+14	14
	New Jersey Devils	NHL		38		3	9	12	+3	22	—	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				! 1635		! 196	! 712	! 908	! +393	! 2785	! 233	! 26	! 92	! 118	! +34	! 378

International play

! Year	! Team	! Event	! GP	! G	! A	! Pts	! PIM	! Team result
			10	0	2	2	8	Bronze medal
	Canada	World Championship	8	1	2	3	6	Silver medal
	Canada	World Championship	2	0	1	1	2	Fourth place
	Canada	World Championship	7	2	1	3	2	Silver medal
	Canada		8	1	0	1	4	Gold medal
	Canada		8	0	2	2	4	Silver medal
	Canada	Olympic Games	6	0	0	0	2	Fourth place
Totals			! 49	! 4	! 8	! 12	! 28	!

All-Star Games

! Year	! Location		! G	! A	! P	! PIM
			0	0	0	0
			0	1	1	0
			0	0	0	0
			1	0	1	0
			0	2	2	0
			1	1	2	0
			0	0	0	0
			0	2	2	0
			0	0	0	0
			0	0	0	0
			0	0	0	0
			0	2	2	0
			0	0	0	0
All-Star totals			! 2	! 8	! 10	! 0

See also

List of family relations in the National Hockey League

List of NHL players with 1000 games played

List of NHL players with 2000 career penalty minutes

References

External links

Category:1964 births Category:Canadian ice hockey defencemen Category:Conn Smythe Trophy winners Category:Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Category:Ice hockey people from Ontario Category:Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics Category:Kitchener Rangers alumni Category:Living people Category:National Hockey League All-Stars Category:National Hockey League first round draft picks Category:National Hockey League players with retired numbers Category:New Jersey Devils coaches Category:New Jersey Devils players Category:Olympic ice hockey players of Canada Category:People from Kitchener, Ontario Category:St. Louis Blues players Category:Stanley Cup champions Category:Washington Capitals draft picks Category:Washington Capitals players

cs:Scott Stevens de:Scott Stevens fr:Scott Stevens it:Scott Stevens ru:Стивенс, Скотт sk:Scott Stevens fi:Scott Stevens sv:Scott Stevens

Name	Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Realname	Floyd Joy Mayweather, Jr.
Nickname	Pretty BoyMoney
Weight	Super FeatherweightLightweightLight WelterweightWelterweightSuper Welterweight
Height
Reach
Nationality	American
Birth date	February 24, 1977
Birth place	Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
Home
Style	Orthodox
Total	42
Wins	42
Ko	26
Losses	0
Draws	0 Official Site}}

Floyd Joy Mayweather, Jr. (born Floyd Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American professional boxer. He is a five-division world champion, where he has won seven world titles, as well as the lineal championship in three different weight classes. He is a two-time ''The Ring'' "Fighter of the Year" winning the award in 1998 and 2007, and also won the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) "Fighter of the Year" award in 2007. He is undefeated as a professional boxer.

Currently, Mayweather is the WBC welterweight champion. He is also rated as the best pound for pound boxer in the world by most sporting news and boxing websites, including Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Fox Sports, Yahoo! Sports and About.com. On 21 December 2011, Mayweather was sentenced to serve 90 days in jail for battery.

Early life

Mayweather was born in Grand Rapids, Mich., into a family of boxers. His father Floyd Mayweather Sr. was a former welterweight contender who fought Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Leonard and his uncles Jeff Mayweather and Roger Mayweather were all professional boxers, with Roger – Floyd’s current trainer – winning two world championships. Mayweather was born with his mother's last name, but his last name would change to Mayweather shortly thereafter. Mayweather's father, Floyd Sr., had a side job - selling drugs . According to Mayweather Jr., his father was often a harsh disciplinarian . Mayweather says that when he was a baby, his father used him as a shield to keep his brother-in-law from shooting him. "It depends on which side of the family you talk to," Mayweather Jr. says. "My father said he was holding me and he said, 'If you're going to shoot me, you're going to shoot the baby, too.' But my mother said he used me as a shield to keep from getting shot. "Either way, I'm just happy I didn't get shot and I'm still here."

Boxing has been a part of Mayweather's life since his childhood. He never seriously considered any other profession. "I think my grandmother saw my potential first," Mayweather said, smiling. "When I was young, I told her, 'I think I should get a job.' She said, 'No, just keep boxing.' ""When I was about 8 or 9, I lived in New Jersey with my mother and we were seven deep in one bedroom and sometimes we didn't have electricity", Mayweather says. "When people see what I have now, they have no idea of where I came from and how I didn't have anything growing up."

It was not uncommon for young Floyd to come home from school and find used heroin needles in his front yard . His mother was also addicted to drugs and he had an aunt who died from AIDS because of her drug use. "People don't know the hell I've been through," he says.

The most time that his father spent with him was taking him to the gym to train and work on his boxing, according to Mayweather. "I don't remember him ever taking me anywhere or doing anything that a father would do with a son, going to the park or to the movies or to get ice cream", he says. "I always thought that he liked his daughter (Floyd's older stepsister) better than he liked me because she never got whippings and I got whippings all the time."

Floyd Sr. says Mayweather is not telling the truth about their early relationship. "Even though his daddy did sell drugs, I didn't deprive my son," Floyd Sr. says. "The drugs I sold he was a part of it. He had plenty of food. He had the best clothes and I gave him money. He didn't want for anything. Anybody in Grand Rapids can tell you that I took care of my kids."

Floyd Sr. says he did all of his hustling at night and spent his days with his son, taking him to the gym and training him to be a boxer. "If it wasn't for me he wouldn't be where he is today," Floyd Sr. says.

"I basically raised myself," Mayweather says. "My grandmother did what she could. When she got mad at me I'd go to my mom's house. My life was ups and downs." Floyd Sr. says he knows how much pain his incarceration caused his son, but insists he did the best he could. "I sent him to live with his grandmother," he says. "It wasn't like I left him with strangers."

Boxing became Mayweather's outlet - a way to deal with the absence of his father . As his father served his time, Mayweather, with speed and an uncanny ring sense, put all his energies into boxing. He even dropped out of high school. "I knew that I was going to have to try to take care of my mom and I made the decision that school wasn't that important at the time and I was going to have to box to earn a living," Mayweather says. and won national Golden Gloves championships in 1993 (at 106 lb), 1994 (at 114 lb), and 1996 (at 125 lb). He was given the nickname "Pretty Boy" by his amateur teammates because he had relatively few scars, 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 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 semi-finals of the featherweight (57 kg) division.

In the opening round, Mayweather led 10–1 on points over Bakhtiyar Tileganov of Kazakhstan before he won in Round 2 by referee stoppage. In the second round, Mayweather outpointed Artur Gevorgyan of Armenia 16–3. In the quarterfinals, the 19-year-old Mayweather, narrowly defeated the 22-year-old, Lorenzo Aragon of Cuba in an all-action bout to win 12–11, becoming the first U.S boxer to defeat a Cuban in 20 years. The last time this had occurred was at 1976 Summer Olympics when the U.S Olympic boxing team captured five gold medals, among its recipients was boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard. In his semifinal bout against the eventual silver medalist, Serafim Todorov of Bulgaria, Mayweather lost by a controversial decision similarly to the Roy Jones Jr.'s decision. Referee, Hamad Hafaz Shouman of Egypt, mistakenly raised Mayweather's hand, thinking he had won, as the decision was announced giving the bout to the Bulgarian.

The U.S team filed a protest over the Mayweather bout, claiming the judges were intimated by Bulgaria's Emil Jetchev, head of the boxing officials, into favoring Bulgarian Serafim Todorov by a 10-9 decision in the 125-pound semifinal bout. Three of Jetchev's countrymen were in gold medal bouts. Judge Bill Waeckerle, one of the four U.S judges working the games for the International Amateur Boxing Federation, quit both as an Olympic judge and as a federation judge after Mayweather lost a decision loudly booed by the crowd at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

"I refuse to be part of an organisation that continues to conduct its officiating in this manner," Waeckerle wrote in a letter of resignation to federation President Anwar Chowdhry.

In the official protest, U.S team manager Gerald Smith said Mayweather landed punches that were not counted, while Todorov was given points without landing a punch. "The judging was totally incompetent," Waeckerle said. The judges failed to impose a mandatory two-point deduction against Todorov after he was warned five times by the referee for slapping.

"Everybody knows Floyd Mayweather is the gold-medal favorite at 57 kilograms," Mayweather said afterward. "In America, it's known as 125 pounds. You know and I know I wasn't getting hit. They say he's the world champion. Now you all know who the real world champion is."

Qualification as a Featherweight for the United States Olympic Team.

Defeated William Jenkins RSC/TKO-3

Defeated James Baker RSCH/TKO-1

Lost to Augie Sanchez PTS (11-12)

Defeated Carlos Navarro PTS (31-11)

Defeated Augie Sanchez PTS (12-8) at the Box-offs

Defeated Augie Sanchez PTS (20-10) at the Box-offs

Olympic Results

Defeated Bakhtiyar Tileganov (Kazakhstan) RSCI/TKO-2

Defeated Artur Gevorgyan (Armenia) PTS (16-3)

Defeated Lorenzo Aragon (Cuba) PTS (12-11)

Lost to Serafim Todorov (Bulgaria) PTS (9-10)

''Controversial decision was officially protested (unsuccessfully) by the U.S. team.''

Professional career

Super Featherweight

Mayweather fought his first professional bout on October 11, 1996 against fellow newcomer Roberto Apodaca who was knocked out in round two. 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 won most of his fights by knockout or TKO.

Early in his pro-career, Mayweather received praise from all corners of the boxing world and was touted as a prodigal pugilist.

During Floyd Mayweather vs. Tony Duran, the ESPN commentator remarked, "(IBHOF & WBHF trainer) Emmanuel Steward was quoted as saying, there have been very few who have been more talented than this kid (Mayweather), he will probably win two or three world championships, I think he will go on to be the best ever."

The IBHOF trainer and commentator, Gil Clancy, commented before Floyd Mayweather engaged in his 9th professional fight against Jesus Chavez, boldly declaring, "I thought that Floyd Mayweather was the outstanding pro prospect in the entire Olympic games."

In 1998, within two years of entering into professional boxing, Mayweather decisively won his first world title, the WBC super featherweight (130 lb) championship, with an eighth-round technical knockout of ''The Ring'' #1 ranked Super featherweight in the world, Genaro Hernández, after the corner of the outclassed opponent stopped the fight. Hernández had never been defeated at that weight class, until then. Hernández remarked post-fight: "He defeated me, he is quick, smart and I always knew he had the speed. I give him respect. He is a true champ."

With Mayweather's win, he became the Lineal Champion of the division as Genaro Hernández had previously beaten Azumah Nelson, whose dominance of the super featherweight division had prompted all boxing publications to give him, the vacant Lineal Championship. ''The Ring'' stopped awarding belts to world champions in the 1990s, but began again in 2002, Azumah Nelson had won his Lineal status in the 1990s, therefore ''The Ring's'' vacant title was not awarded to him, Hernández or Mayweather, although it was not needed as Mayweather was ''The Ring'' #1 ranked super featherweight.

Furthermore, Mayweather became the first 1996 U.S Olympian to win a world title. Following his victory, Floyd Mayweather's promoter Bob Arum had the following to say: "We believe in our heart of hearts that Floyd Mayweather is the successor in a line that starts with Ray Robinson, goes to Muhammad Ali, then Sugar Ray Leonard", Bob Arum trumpets. "We believe that he epitomizes that style of fighting."

After capturing the title, Mayweather defended it against top contender Angel Manfredy in dominating fashion with a TKO victory in round two, giving Manfredy his first defeat in four years.

By the end of 1998, Mayweather was ranked by the ''The Ring'' as the #8 pound-for-pound best boxer in the world and became one of the youngest recipients of ''The Ring'' "Fighter of the Year" award, aged only 21, the same age Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali had won their first awards.

In 1999, Mayweather continued his domination over the super featherweight division by defending his title three more times. Mayweather's second defense of his title, was against the Argentine Carlos Rios, winning by unanimous decision. Mayweather, fighting past the eighth round for only the third time in his career, won on the judges' cards 120-110, 119-108, 120-109. Mayweather's third title defense was against Justin Juuko, winning by ninth round knockout. Juuko could not beat the count of 10 by referee Mitch Halpern and the fight was scored a knockout for Mayweather at 1 minute 20 seconds of the round.Mayweather's final title defense of 1999, was against Carlos Gerena with Mayweather winning by seventh round referee technical decision (RTD). Mayweather said post-fight, "I want to show the world that along with Oscar De La Hoya and Roy Jones, Jr., I'm the best fighter in the world." This dominance did not go unnoticed in the boxing world and by the end of the year, the 22-year-old Mayweather was ranked ''The Ring'' #2 pound-for-pound best boxer in the world, behind boxing great Roy Jones, Jr..

Before he made the fifth successful defense of his title, 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 grew and Mayweather, Jr. fired Mayweather, Sr. as his trainer as well. 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. The younger Mayweather, in his fifth title defense, won a near shutout over 'Goyo' Vargas in Las Vegas. In the 10th round, Mayweather overheard HBO announcer Jim Lampley say that the champ had switched to a southpaw stance for the second time in the bout Mayweather leaned ringside and said, "It was the third time." Even after a six-month layoff, Mayweather was elusive. In the sixth round Mayweather dropped Vargas with a hook to the ribs. Mayweather cruised to a comfortable unanimous decision.

Roger Mayweather returned to his role as Mayweather, Jr.'s trainer in his next bout—a non-title Lightweight fight against Emanuel Burton. Mayweather would go on to win by technical knockout in round nine.

In one of the more defining and memorable fights of Mayweather's career, Mayweather fought the hard-hitting, former IBF super featherweight champion Diego Corrales (33-0 27 KO's). Coming in to the bout, both Mayweather and Corrales were undefeated and neither fighter had touched the canvas. Mayweather was at the time, ''The Ring'' #2 ranked Super featherweight in the world and ''The Ring'' #7 pound-for-pound while Corrales was ''The Ring'' #1 ranked super featherweight in the world and ''The Ring'' #5 pound-for-pound. Before the fight was announced, Mayweather had stated he wanted to fight Corrales, who was facing jail time for allegedly beating up his pregnant wife."I want Diego because I'm doing it for all the battered women across America", Mayweather said. "Just like he beat that woman, I'm going to beat him." While both fighters were the same age, 23, Corrales had multiple physical advantages over Mayweather such two inches in height, an inch in reach and despite coming in to the official weight-in both at the 130 Lbs super featherweight limit, Carroles came to the ring, weighting unofficially 146 Lbs to Mayweather's 136½ Lbs; thereby making Carroles 9½ Lbs heavier.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. At the time of the stoppage, Mayweather was way ahead on the scorecards, leading by the official tallies of 89–79, 90–79, and 90–78.Throughout the Corrales fight, HBO commentators and analysts made notable comments of Mayweather, with Larry Merchant stating, "Mayweather fights in a tradition of boxing and quick handedness that goes back in Michigan, all the way to fighters like Sugar Ray Robinson."Harold Lederman commented, saying, "Jim (Lampley), I gotta tell ya, I'm terribly impressed, I don't think I've seen an exhibition of boxing like this since Willie Pep, this kid is unbelievable, great legs, great speed, unbelievable ring-generalship. I mean he's got tremendous presence in that ring, Floyd Mayweather knows where he is, every minute of this fight..."

Corrales landed 60 of 205 punches and landed no more than nine punches in a single round. Mayweather landed 220 of 414 punches. Corrales was unable to land any clean shots as he stalked Mayweather through the early rounds. He landed an average of six punches a round, according to Compubox stats - the only time that a fighter has landed in single digits in the 20 years CompuBox has been tracking punch stats.

After the fight, Mayweather remarked, "I would like to fight Prince Naseem (Hamed), hopefully we can meet at 128 (Lbs) or he can come up-to 130 (Lbs), we can fight or I can fight the winner of Casamayor..." "Prince Naseem isn't going to fight you," intervened HBO commentator Larry Merchant, "after he saw this, it aint gonna happen." "I really want to fight Prince Naseem..." Mayweather continued, "but hopefully I can face the winner of Casamayor (vs) Freites." Although, both fights did not materialise, Mayweather's victim, Diego Corrales, would go on to hand Freites (the winner of the Casamayor vs. Freites fight), his first professional defeat. Corrales would also go onto defeat Casamayor in a rematch of their first bout.

Afterward Arum was ecstatic about his new star. "Better than Sugar Ray Leonard", he gushed. "And did you see him at those press conferences...?"

The fight was met with tremendous acclamation throughout the boxing world and sports in general. 'Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s speed was dazzling. His power was unexpected.' -CBS, '... a near flawless performance...' -BBC, 'Floyd Mayweather Jr., displaying blazing speed and punishing power...' -New York Daily News, '... a fistic masterpiece.' -Sports Illustrated.

On October 10, 2001, legendary boxing trainer Eddie Futch, died aged 90. Tim Smith of the New York Daily News, recollected an encounter with the famed trainer in an article- 'One of the last times I saw Futch was before the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Diego Corrales Junior lightweight title bout in Vegas. Futch was talking about how much he admired Mayweather's style, how Mayweather was such a beautiful boxer, able to slip along the ropes and avoid punches. Corrales said he was going to neutralize Mayweather's hand speed by hitting Mayweather on the arms.

"I guess he thinks he's going to stand there and let him hit him on the arms all night," said Futch, who correctly predicted that Mayweather would completely dismantle Corrales in a defensive masterpiece. Futch had a way of cutting to the heart of a matter. I don't know anyone in boxing who won't miss him. I don't know anyone in boxing that can take his place.'

On May 26, 2001, Floyd Mayweather, fighting in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, pounded out a 12-round unanimous decision over future IBF super featherweight title holder Carlos Hernández to retain his WBC super featherweight title. Calling it "one of the toughest nights of my career," the 130-pound champion overcame injuries in both hands to improve his record to 26-0. "He is a very, very tough fighter," Mayweather said of the challenger, whose record fell to 33-3-1. "I'm disappointed in my performance." Mayweather, 24, suffered the first knockdown of his career when he hit Hernández with a left hook in round six, which caused him sufficient pain that he dropped his injured left hand to the canvas. He wasn't hit, but was given a standing eight-count by the referee.

Mayweather's last fight in the super featherweight division was against future super featherweight and lightweight title holder Jesús Chávez. Jesús Chávez was the WBC's top-ranked contender and came into the fight with a 31-fight winning streak. This 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. Jesús Chávez stated after the fight, "He's (Mayweather) the champ! And now I become his number one fan."

Mayweather commented after the fight, "Although it will take some time to make the match, I want to fight Kostya Tszyu." Tszyu, an Australian-based Russian, by then had established himself as the best Light welterweight in the world. Mayweather did not get a chance at fighting Tszyu, but he would go on to fight Ricky Hatton, the man who defeated Tszui and won ''The Ring'' light welterweight title.

By the end of 2001, Mayweather was still ranked ''The Ring'' #1 super featherweight in the world and was ''The Ring'' #5 pound-for-pound best boxer in the world.

Lightweight

In his first fight as a lightweight, Floyd Mayweather Jr. took on WBC champion & ''The Ring'' #1 ranked Lightweight, José Luis Castillo. Despite both fighters weighting officially within the 135 Lb Lightweight limit, Mayweather came to the ring weighting unofficially 138½ Lbs to Castillo's 147½ Lbs; giving Castillo a 9 Lb weight advantage over Mayweather. He defeated Castillo and won the WBC and vacant ''The Ring'' lightweight titles with a 12-round unanimous decision at the MGM Grand Garden Arena before a crowd of 6,920. With Mayweather's win, he became the first ''The Ring'' lightweight champion since Pernell Whitaker. Judges Jerry Roth and John Keane scored it 115-111, and judge Anek Hongtongkam scored it 116-111, a decision that was loudly booed by the pro-Castillo crowd. The Associated Press had Mayweather winning 115-111. Also, the New York Daily News scorecard had Mayweather winning, 116-112.

Castillo (45-5-1, 41 KOs) could not touch the speedy Mayweather in the first round, with Castillo throwing twenty-seven punches and landed only three. Although, after round one, Larry Merchant pointed-out, "Mayweather made a comment in the corner about his left shoulder. We'll see if somethings wrong with it, he seems to be rotating it, trying to keep it loose." George Foreman noticed likewise, adding, "Massage my left shoulder, he (Mayweather) said, that's not a good sign."

Within the first minute, of the second round, Castillo went down on a shot by Mayweather which was ruled by the referee as a slip. Later in the fight, Harold Lederman alluded to it, saying "... By the way, that knockdown in the second round (is) extremely questionable, I thought Floyd did throw a left hook and this guy (Castillo) went down at the end of the hook but what you going to do, it's a judgement call by the referee, so it doesn't go as a 10-8 round..." Drakulich took a point away from Castillo for hitting on the break in the eighth round after several warnings through-out the fight. With Castillo continuously hitting on the break, this led undoubtedly to a large accumulation of his power-punches landing. Commentator, George Foreman agreed with the decision, saying, "That's what you want a referee to do," although his counterpart, Larry Merchant has an alternative view, "I think this referee has been altogether too involved in the fight. Too officious." Drakulich struck again in the ninth round, this time taking a point away from Mayweather for using his elbows. Mayweather won the fight by using his jab effectively and by staying away from Castillo (45-5-1) much of the fight. Also Mayweather, who injured his left shoulder on the last day of training, changed to a southpaw stance on several occasions to throw more right hands.

At the end of the fight, Harold Lederman had Castillo winning 115-111. ESPN's Max Kellerman disputed Lederman's dubious scoring, writing in his boxing column, the following: "Harold Lederman, the (HBO) unofficial ringside television judge, gave the third round to Castillo, which I think demonstrates that Mayweather suffers from the same scoring syndrome that afflicted Pernell Whitaker. Mayweather is so seldom hit cleanly in his face, that when a clean shot is landed against him it registers all out of proportion in the observer's mind. Meanwhile, the three clean shots Mayweather just landed against his opponent do not make the same kind of impression."

Compubox statistics indicated that Castillo landed more overall punches and significantly more power shots over the course of the fight, however these statistics did not accurately reflect the judging as rounds are scored in isolation. Also, Mayweather out-scored Castillo with jabs thrown and landed. Lederman's scoring for this fight can be seen as inconsistent, for instance, in both of the Bernard Hopkins vs. Jermain Taylor fights, Lederman had Taylor winning, 115-113, despite Hopkins landing more overall punches and significantly more power shots over the course of both fights. Jermain Taylor did throw and land more jabs.

In the post-fight interview, Mayweather said, "My last training day, I hurt my rotator cuff in my left shoulder, so I couldn’t use my jab the way I want to. My left wasn’t as strong as I wanted it to be, but I didn’t want to have no excuses, you know, like other champions, you know, when they get hurt they won’t even show up to the fight. I get hurt I keep fighting, you know, I want to bring the fans a victory."

Due to the supposed closeness of their first bout, Mayweather accepted an immediate rematch with Castillo that took place on December 7, 2002. Before the rematch, Mayweather again reiterated that he had torn his left rotator cuff two days before the first fight and could not throw a jab or a left hook. He had surgery following the controversial decision over Castillo and he said his shoulder had completely healed now.

The smaller Mayweather was again outweighed by Castillo on the night of the fight, as Castillo weighed 147 Lbs to Mayweather's 138. In the rematch, Mayweather used his quick footwork, combinations and his jab specialty to coast to another unanimous decision victory, this time with no controversy and proving certainly that he had fought the first fight with Castillo, injured. There were no knockdowns and no notable exchanges in the fight, with Mayweather winning 115-113 on two scorecards and 116-113 on a third. The Associated Press had Mayweather winning 116-112. Also, HBO unofficial scorer Harold Lederman and fellow analyst Larry Merchant both had scored it 115-113 for Mayweather.

On April 19, 2003, Floyd Mayweather Jr. successfully defended his WBC Lightweight title with a lively unanimous decision over Dominican Victoriano Sosa. Mayweather (30-0) fought another tactically sound 12-round bout against an aggressive challenge from Sosa (35-3-2).

Mayweather's next fight (on November 1, 2003) was in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He fought against the WBC's #1 ranked contender, Phillip Ndou, whose record was 31–1 with 30 KOs.

During the days leading up-to the fight, Nelson Mandela had invited Ndou to his office for a pre-fight pep talk before his departure for the States, advising him to "keep Mayweather on the outside with the jab, work the body and the head will become available." The President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, also dropped a note saying he had "full confidence" Ndou would put up a performance to make all South Africans proud and that he would return home with the coveted WBC belt. When told of his opponent's high level support, Mayweather responded by saying: "Nelson Mandela's a great man, he's big in America, but Mandela can't get in there and fight for him."

Mayweather dominated N'dou before flooring him with a series of right hands in the seventh. N'dou got up on shaky legs, forcing a stoppage at 1:50. In the fifth, Mayweather connected on a series of straight rights and lefts, and when Ndou would not go down, Mayweather gave a little smile and then continued the barrage. At times, Mayweather, clad in black trunks outlined with fur, toyed with Ndou.

By the end of 2003, Mayweather was still ''The Ring'' Lightweight Champion and was ''The Ring'' #5 pound-for-pound best boxer in the world.

Super Lightweight

Mayweather, 27, made his 140-pound debut as he clinically dissected former titlist DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley, knocking him down twice officially in rounds 8 & 10, scoring a lopsided decision, 119-108 (twice) and 119-107. The fight was billed as a WBC elimination bout, with the winner earning a shot at 140-pound champ Arturo Gatti.

"Mayweather can flat-out fight," Corley's trainer Don Turner said. "He's like magic. He makes you move into the punches." Mayweather would, after this fight, shortly ascend to #1 on the USA TODAY's pound-for-pound rankings with Middleweight Champion Bernard Hopkins at #2.

On January 22, 2005, Mayweather fought against Henry Bruseles in another WBC Junior welterweight 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.

The pay-per-view fight between Mayweather and ''The Ring'' #1 ranked contender, Arturo Gatti, occurred on June 25, 2005 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where the fans heavily supported Gatti. 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." Near the end of round 1, Mayweather pushed Gatti's head down in close, Gatti broke and left himself vulnerable while Mayweather continued to land punches. Gatti turned to the referee to complain and Mayweather capitalised, sending Gatti to the canvas with more shots for what was scored 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 one-sided dominance over Gatti solidified his position as one of the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Compubox had Mayweather outlanding Gatti by a total of 168 to 41, Gatti had landed only 10 power-punches (anything other that a jab).

Mayweather's fight with Gatti would be his last in the Light welterweight division, Mayweather would leave as ''The Ring'' #1 ranked contender, with Ricky Hatton as ''The Ring'' Light welterweight Champion.

Welterweight

After his fight with Gatti, Mayweather moved up to the Welterweight division. On November 19, 2005, Mayweather fought a non-title bout at 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 welterweight title by unanimous decision. Beforehand, the fight had been jeopardized after Judah lost the WBA, WBC and ''The Ring'' welterweight titles 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. Mayweather won by the official scores of 116–112, 117–111, and 119–109. Compubox statistics showed Mayweather as landing 188 punches to 82 for Judah.

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 entailed that Roger could train Mayweather, Jr. in the gym but could not 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.

After his fight against Judah, it was reported that Mayweather rejected an offer of US$8 million to fight Antonio Margarito, citing his split with promoter Bob Arum as the reason. Oscar De la Hoya, however, postponed his decision until 2007, leaving Mayweather to choose his next opponent. 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.

The bout took place on November 4, 2006. Despite having not lost in over 8 years, Baldomir was seen as a heavy underdog in the fight. 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 at the time.

During the fight, Baldomir chased Mayweather, unable to land any meaningful shots but tried to remain the busier fighter, while Mayweather picked away with sharp jabs and hooks and cut Baldomir over his left eye in the first round. This pattern continued throughout the fight. The defensive-minded Mayweather 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. After the fight Mayweather called out for a fight with Oscar De la Hoya.

With Mayweather's win, he became the first fighter since Roberto Durán to have captured ''The Ring'' title in both the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions. Mayweather also captured his third Lineal Championship in as many weight-classes (Super featherweight, Lightweight and Welterweight), following in the footsteps of such fighters as Henry Armstrong and Sugar Ray Leonard.

Super Welterweight

The World Awaits

Mayweather's next match was the long-anticipated superfight against six-division champion and current WBC Super Welterweight titleholder Oscar De La Hoya on May 5, 2007. De La Hoya's belt was on the line, which required Mayweather to move up in weight from 147 pounds to 154. However, Mayweather was outweighed by more than 10 pounds on the night of the fight, coming in at only 150 pounds. Despite De La Hoya's insistence that money was not a factor, the Mayweather-De La Hoya bout set the record for most PPV buys for a boxing match with 2.7 million households, shattering the record of 1.95 million for Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson II. Around $120 million in revenue was generated by the PPV, which set another record. With the percentages factored in, Oscar De La Hoya earned $58 million for the bout, the highest purse ever for a fighter. The previous record was $35 million, held by Tyson and Holyfield. Floyd Mayweather earned about $25 million for the fight.

At one time, Floyd Mayweather, Sr., Mayweather, Jr.'s father, was in talks to train Oscar De La Hoya and be in his corner during the fight but he decided to train with Freddie Roach. Mayweather won the fight by split decision in 12 rounds, capturing the World Boxing Council (WBC) title. However, many analysts and ringside observers felt Mayweather should have won the clear unanimous decision. In the early rounds, De La Hoya had some success cutting off the ring, attempting to pound Mayweather on the inside. Despite being very active on the inside, many of De La Hoya's punches were ineffective and landed on Mayweathers arms or shoulders. By the middle of the fight, it was seen as an even bout by the announcers. However, Mayweather turned the tide in the middle and late rounds, often hitting De La Hoya at will. Official scorecards read 116-112, 115-113 (Mayweather), and 115-113 (De La Hoya). Compubox had Mayweather out landing De La Hoya 207 to 122 in total punches and 134 to 82 in power punches, as well as having better accuracy in the entire fight. After the bout, Mayweather contemplated retirement, saying he had nothing left to prove in the boxing world.

Return to Welterweight

Undefeated

After his fight with De La Hoya, Mayweather decided to relinquish his WBC junior middleweight championship and kept his WBC welterweight championship. On July 28, 2007, it was announced that Mayweather would come out of his short retirement to fight ''The Ring'' Light welterweight Champion, Ricky Hatton which was promoted by Oscar De La Hoya's promotion company Golden Boy Promotions and Floyd Mayweather's "Mayweather Promotions." The bout was labelled "Undefeated" and took place on December 8, 2007, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, in a fight which was the biggest welterweight showdown of two undefeated fighters since Oscar De La Hoya and Félix Trinidad met in their 1999 superfight. In the build up to their fight, Mayweather claimed that he was the greatest boxer ever, saying: "I respect what Robinson and Ali did for the sport. But I am the greatest, and this is my time.

Mayweather controlled the fight from the start and knocked Hatton out in the 10th round to retain the welterweight championship. Hatton suffered a cut over his right eye in round three from the punches of Mayweather, and it seemed that it was at this point that his pace and movement began to slow. In round six Hatton lost a point for punching the back of Floyd's head as he was caught draped on the ropes. In the 10th round Hatton was caught with a check left hook thrown from Mayweather's hip, and as a result he fell forward head first into the turnbuckle and hit the deck. Hatton managed to make it to his feet, but was clearly dazed. Two more big lefts in a flurry put Ricky down again and Cortez stopped it at 1:35 of round 10. Official scorecards read 88-82, 89-81, and 89-81, at the time of stoppage, all in favor of Mayweather.

After the fight, Mayweather said that Hatton was one of the toughest fighters he had ever fought, that he just kept coming and coming, and that he wants to promote fights, with Hatton being his first client. Mayweather announced his retirement from boxing to concentrate on his promotional company.

Comeback

Number One/Numero Uno

On May 2, 2009, it was confirmed that Mayweather was coming out of a 21-month retirement to fight ''The Ring'' Lightweight Champion & ''The Ring'' #2 pound-for-pound best boxer in the world, Juan Manuel Márquez at a catchweight of 144 lb on July 18 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on HBO PPV. At the time, Marquez was the number 2 rated pound for pound boxer in the world. The fight was postponed due to a rib injury Mayweather received during training. HBO's reality series 24/7 was also postponed to start on August 29. The fight took place on September 19, 2009 in conjunction with Mexican Independence Day, traditionally a big boxing weekend. During the official weigh in for their 144 lb bout, Mayweather failed to meet the required limit by weighing in at 146 lb, two pounds heavier than Marquez. He was subsequently fined as a result. However, it was later revealed that the contract was changed so that Mayweather could make weight within the welterweight limit of 140–147 lb as long as Marquez received a large guaranteed sum of money. Mayweather won a unanimous decision after 12 rounds in one of the most statistically lop sided fights between two world class opponents. Scorecards read 120-107, 119-108, and 118-109, all in favor of Mayweather. Marquez only managed to land 12% of his total 583 punches while Mayweather landed 59% of 490 total punches. This fight marks only the fifth time in boxing history that a non-heavyweight fight sold more than 1 million pay-per-views, with the official HBO numbers coming in at over 1 million buys equalling a total of approximately $52 million. Four of those fights all featured Oscar De La Hoya as the main event, making this fight the one of two events where a non-heavyweight fight sold over 1 million PPVs without Oscar De La Hoya. The other fight was Manny Pacquiao versus Miguel Cotto which sold 1.25 million PPVs.

Who R U Picking?

Negotiations for a proposed matchup between Mayweather and ''The Ring'' #3 pound-for-pound best boxer in the world, Shane Mosley immediately began after Andre Berto pulled out of his scheduled January 30 unification bout with the latter, due to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Both sides eventually agreed to fight on May 1, 2010 for Mosley's WBA "Super" welterweight title. It was later revealed that Floyd Mayweather refused to pay sanctioning fees required by WBA, Mayweather said "all belts do is collect dust". However, the belt was only on the line for Mosley to defend against Mayweather. Both Mayweather and Mosley agreed to Olympic-style testing for this bout. Mosley started the fight well, landing two solid right hands in Round 2 which caused Mayweather's knees to buckle. Mayweather recovered well, and went on to dominate the remainder of the fight, soundly outboxing Mosley and showing more aggression than in his recent fights. Mayweather eventually won a unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the fight 119–109, 119–109, and 118–110. In round 4, Compubox picked up Mosley throwing seven power punches without landing any, making Mayweather the second boxer after Roy Jones Jr. to go an entire round without being hit by a power punch. After the fight, the president of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya, stated that he believes Mayweather is the best in the game right now.

The fight was the second highest selling non heavyweight pay-per-view bout in the history of boxing, with 1.4 million buys. HBO officially released that the fight generated $78.3 million in revenue. After the fight Mayweather expressed interest in moving up in weight to capture a world title in six different weight classes and to challenge newly crowned middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.

Negotiations with Manny Pacquiao

Seven-division world champion Manny Pacquiao had reportedly agreed to fight Mayweather on March 13, 2010 for a split of $50 million which the promoters of both camp already agreed. However, the fight was called off due to disagreements about Olympic style drug tests. Floyd Mayweather's camp wanted blood tests by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which will conduct the tests anytime from training up to the fight date. However the Pacquiao camp refused to provide these samples, only willing to allow blood to be taken from Pacquiao if the test were scheduled. On the other hand, Pacquiao's coach, Freddie Roach, has commented that he would allow a blood sample to be taken from Pacquiao if there was a cut-off date for the blood testing or at least one week before the fight. In an attempt to resolve their differences, the two camps went through a process of mediation before a retired judge. After the mediation process Mayweather agreed to a 14-day no blood testing window. However, Pacquiao refused and instead only agreed to a 24-day no blood testing window. Consequently, on January 7, 2010, Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum declared that the fight was officially off and that he has offered the chance to fight Pacquiao instead to Joshua Clottey, while Mayweather accepted the offer to fight Shane Mosley.

It was also reported that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer and Top Rank Chief Bob Arum were trying to work out the failed negotiation for a fight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather has asked Pacquiao to undergo random blood and urine testing up until the fight day. Pacquiao finally then agreed to give blood up until 14 days before the fight, which is closer to the fight day than the 18-day cut-off in Mayweather's previous bout against Mosley. Pacquiao said that giving blood too close to the fight day will weaken him, and also stating that he has a fear of needles, despite having tattoo's on his body. On June 12, 2010, the President of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya, stated during an interview with a Spanish network that the deal for the fight was very close and the negotiation process has been very difficult. On June 30, 2010, Arum announced that the management of both sides had agreed to terms, that all points had been settled (including Pacquiao agreeing to submit to both blood and urine testing) and only the signature of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. was needed to seal the deal that could have earned both fighters at least $40 million each. Arum also announced that Pacquiao accepted the terms of the random drug testing, blood and urine, leading up to the fight. Mayweather was then given a two-week deadline for the fight contract to be signed.

On July 15, 2010, Mayweather was given until Friday midnight to sign the fight. The next day the Top Rank website embedded a countdown clock on their website with the heading "Money" Time: Mayweather's Decision. On July 17, 2010, Arum announced that there was no word from Mayweather's camp and the deal for a November 13, 2010 fight with Mayweather was not reached.

On July 19, 2010, after waiting for Mayweather's response, Leonard Ellerbe, one of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s closest advisers, denied that negotiations for a super fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao had ever taken place. Ellerbe stated that Bob Arum was not telling the truth, and that Pacquiao never once agreed to testing up until the fight. Bob Arum later criticized Oscar De La Hoya and his Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer for denying that negotiations took place, when De La Hoya himself had previously stated that they were "very, very close in finalizing the contracts". Arum revealed that HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg acted as the mediator between Mayweather’s handlers and those of Pacquiao’s from Top Rank Promotions. On July 26, 2010, Ross Greenburg said in a statement that he has been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2, 2010, carefully trying to put the fight together and he did in fact act as a go-between in negotiations with the two sides, but they were unable to come to an agreement at all, contradicting what Arum and Top Rank had previously said. Floyd Mayweather Jr., after the second negotiation had been officially declared off, told the Associated Press that he had fought sixty days ago, and that he was in no rush to fight Pacquiao and was not really thinking about boxing at the moment. Almost a year later, on July 8, 2011, Manny Pacquiao's top adviser Michael Koncz confirmed that Pacquiao had in fact never agreed to testing up until fight day, which contradicted what Bob Arum and the Pacquiao camp had been saying for well over a year.

Return to the Ring

Star Power On June 7, 2011, Mayweather announced via Twitter that he was set to fight WBC Welterweight Champion & ''The Ring'' #2 ranked Welterweight, Victor Ortiz on September 17, 2011. Ortiz was Mayweather's first challenger in 16 months.

The fight took place at MGM Grand Garden Arena. From round one, Mayweather used his speed, skills and accurate right hand to tag Ortiz repeatedly. Mayweather seemed in control through the first three rounds (judges scores: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 for Mayweather), but in the fourth round, Ortiz found some success, landing a few shots and stinging Mayweather before bulling him into the corner. Then Ortiz rammed Mayweather in the face with an intentional headbutt, opening a cut on the inside and outside of Mayweather's mouth. Referee, Joe Cortez, immediately called timeout and docked Ortiz a point for the blatant foul. Ortiz, seemingly acknowledging his wrongdoing, hugged Mayweather in the corner and even appeared to kiss him.

Cortez motioned the fighters back together to resume the fight, albeit unauthoritatively and without putting them in a neutral corner. Both fighters touched gloves and Ortiz gave Mayweather another hug. At this point, it was noted that Cortez, the referee, was not looking at the fighters. As Ortiz let go, Mayweather took advantage of Ortiz not having his hands up and unloaded a left hook that wobbled Ortiz. Ortiz then looked at the referee and Mayweather connected with a flush right hand to Ortiz's face. Ortiz dropped and was unable to beat Cortez's count as the crowd of 14,687 jeered Mayweather. Although Mayweather's controversial victory was generally accepted as legal, it was also labelled as a sucker punch and unsportsmanlike.

After the fight, Ortiz claimed that he was merely obeying the referee's instructions when he was 'blindsided' by Mayweather, while Mayweather defended his actions by saying that "in the ring, you have to protect yourself at all times".

Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz generated buys from 1.25 million homes with a value of $78,440,000 in pay-per-view revenue. These numbers make the event the second highest grossing non-heavyweight pay-per-view event of all time. Mayweather has appeared in the three biggest non-heavyweight pay-per-view events in the sport’s history, including Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya ($136,853,700), Mayweather vs. Ortiz ($78,440,000 million) and Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley ($78,330,000 million).

Mayweather also became the first man to fight three consecutive times on pay-per-view and break 1 million domestic buys each time.

Return to Super Welterweight

Floyd Mayweather's adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, announced on November 2, 2011, that Mayweather will return to the ring on May 5, 2012, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

After negotiations with Manny Pacquiao failed again, on February 1, 2012, it was confirmed that Mayweather would be moving up in weight to fight WBA (Super) Light Middleweight Champion & ''The Ring'' #1 ranked Light Middleweight, Miguel Cotto.

Professional boxing record

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|42 Wins (26 knockouts, 16 decisions), 0 Losses, 0 Draws |- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;" | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Res. | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Record | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Opponent | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Type | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Rd., Time | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Date | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Location | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Notes |- align=center | || ||align=left| Miguel Cotto | || ? || |align=left| |align=left| |- align=center |Win |42–0 ||align=left| Victor Ortiz | | | |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|41–0||align=left| Shane Mosley | | | |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|40–0||align=left| Juan Manuel Márquez | | | |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|39–0||align=left| Ricky Hatton | | | |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|38–0||align=left| Oscar De La Hoya | | | |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|37–0||align=left| Carlos Baldomir | | | |align=left| Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|36–0||align=left| Zab Judah | | | |align=left| Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|35–0||align=left| Sharmba Mitchell | | | |align=left| Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|34–0||align=left| Arturo Gatti | | | |align=left| Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|33–0||align=left| Henry Bruseles | | | |align=left| American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|32–0||align=left| DeMarcus Corley | | | |align=left| Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|31–0||align=left| Phillip N'dou | | | |align=left| Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|30–0||align=left| Victoriano Sosa | | | |align=left| Selland Arena, Fresno, California}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|29–0||align=left| José Luis Castillo | | | |align=left| Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|28–0||align=left| José Luis Castillo | | | |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|27–0||align=left| Jesús Chávez | | | |align=left| Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|26–0||align=left| Carlos Hernández | | | |align=left| Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|25–0||align=left| Diego Corrales | | | |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|24–0||align=left| Emanuel Augustus | | | |align=left| Cobo Center, Detroit, Michigan}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|23–0||align=left| Gregorio Vargas | | | |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|22–0||align=left| Carlos Gerena | | | |align=left| Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|21–0||align=left| Justin Juuko | | | |align=left| Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|20–0||align=left| Carlos Rios | | | |align=left| Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|19–0||align=left| Angel Manfredy | | | |align=left| Miccosukee Indian Reservation, Miami, Florida}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|18–0||align=left| Genaro Hernández | | | |align=left| Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|17–0||align=left| Tony Pep | | | |align=left| Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|16–0||align=left| Gustavo Cuello | | | |align=left| Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|15–0||align=left| Miguel Melo | | | |align=left| Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|14–0||align=left| Sam Girard | | | |align=left| Bally's Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|13–0||align=left| Hector Arroyo | | | |align=left| Grand Casino Biloxi, Biloxi, Mississippi}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|12–0||align=left| Angelo Nuñez | | | |align=left| Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|11–0||align=left| Felipe Garcia | | | |align=left| Qwest Arena, Boise, Idaho}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|10–0||align=left| Louie Leija | | | |align=left| El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|9–0||align=left| Jesús Chávez | | | |align=left| Grand Casino Biloxi, Biloxi, Mississippi}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|8–0||align=left| Larry O'Shields | | | |align=left| Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|7–0||align=left| Tony Duran | | | |align=left| Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|6–0||align=left| Bobby Giepert | | | |align=left| Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|5–0||align=left| Kino Rodriguez | | | |align=left| DeltaPlex Arena, Walker, Michigan}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|4–0||align=left| Edgar Ayala | | | |align=left| Swiss Park Hall, Chula Vista, California}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|3–0||align=left| Jerry Cooper | | | |align=left| Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|2–0||align=left| Reggie Sanders | | | |align=left| Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|1–0|| align=left| Roberto Apodaca | ||| |align=left| Texas Station, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left|

Titles in boxing

WBC Super Featherweight Champion (130 lbs)

WBC Lightweight Champion (135 lbs)

WBC Light Welterweight Champion (140 lbs)

IBF Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

WBC Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

WBC Super Welterweight Champion (154 lbs)

WBC Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

WBC Emeritus Super Welterweight Champion (154 lbs)

''The Ring'' Lightweight Champion (135 lbs)

''The Ring'' Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

World Wrestling Entertainment

Mayweather appeared at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s No Way Out pay-per-view on February 17, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was involved in a storyline physical altercation with The Big Show, after Mayweather jumped a security barricade and attacked him with a punching combination, in an attempt to help Rey Mysterio, whom Show threatened to chokeslam. Originally, Mayweather took on a babyface role in the storylines, though met with some reluctance from the fans. The attack resulted in Big Show receiving an actual broken nose, reportedly not part of the storyline. The following night on ''Raw'', Big Show challenged Mayweather to a one on one No Disqualification match at WrestleMania XXIV, which Mayweather accepted. At WrestleMania, Mayweather defeated Big Show by knockout using brass knuckles to maintain his unbeaten record. Mayweather claimed that he was paid $20,000,000 USD for the fight, but WWE's financial statements do not show the number.

Mayweather was the guest host for WWE Raw in Las Vegas on August 24, 2009. He interfered with a tag team match that resulted in a loss for the Big Show (now heel again) and his partner Chris Jericho as Mayweather gave Montel Vontavious Porter brass knuckles to use to knock Jericho out, giving Porter and his new tag team partner Mark Henry the win and a shot at the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles at WWE Breaking Point against Big Show and Jericho. He then celebrated with Henry and Porter, thus turning face. Later on in the night he was involved in a backstage segment with Mr. McMahon, D-Generation X, and Carlito where he helped Mr. McMahon get ready for his 6 Man Tag Team Match against Legacy along with DX. During the segment, McMahon knocked out Carlito.

Dancing with the Stars

Mayweather appeared on the fifth season of Dancing with the Stars. His partner was the famous Ukrainian American born professional ballroom dancer Karina Smirnoff. On October 16, 2007, Karina and Floyd were the fourth couple to be eliminated from the competition and came in 9th place.

Domestic violence cases

In 2002, Mayweather was charged with two counts of domestic violence and one count of misdemeanor battery. He received a 6 month suspended sentence, 2 days of house arrest and was ordered to perform 48 hours of community service. In 2004, he was given a one year suspended jail sentence, ordered to undergo counseling for "impulse control" and pay a $1000 fine or perform 100 hours of community service after being convicted of two counts of misdemeanor battery against two women. In 2005, Mayweather pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge after kicking a bouncer and received a 90 day suspended jail sentence.

On September 9, 2010, it was reported that Mayweather was being sought by police for questioning after his former girlfriend, Josie Harris, filed a domestic battery report against him. Harris has accused Mayweather of battery in the past, but those charges were later dropped in July 2005 after Harris testified that she had lied and that Mayweather had not, in fact, assaulted her. Mayweather was taken into custody on September 10, 2010, but was released after posting $3000 bail. Initially, Mayweather was charged with felony theft stemming from the disappearance of Harris's iPhone, but on September 16, 2010, two felony coercion charges and one felony robbery charge were added to the case, along with one misdemeanor domestic battery charge and three misdemeanor harassment charges.

On December 21, 2011, a judge sentenced Mayweather to serve 90 days in the county jail for battery upon his ex-girlfriend in September 2010. Mayweather reached a deal with prosecutors in which he pled guilty to misdemeanor battery in exchange for prosecutors dropping the felony battery charge. Mayweather also pled no contest to two counts of misdemeanor harrasment which stemmed from Mayweather threatening to beat his kids. In addition to the sentence of 90 days in the county jail, Mayweather was ordered to complete 100 hours community service, a 12-month domestic violence program, and pay a fine of $2,500.

Honours, awards and recognitions

1993 Michigan State Golden Gloves Champion, 106 Lbs 1993 National Golden Gloves Champion, 106 Lbs 1994 Michigan State Golden Gloves Champion, 112 Lbs 1994 National Golden Gloves Champion, 112 Lbs; Outstanding Boxer Award 1995 National PAL Champion, 125 Lbs; Outstanding Boxer Award

1995 U.S. National Amateur Featherweight Champion, 125 Lbs

1995 Competed at Featherweight at the World Amateur Boxing Championships 1996 Michigan State Golden Gloves Champion, 125 Lbs 1996 National Golden Gloves Champion, 125 Lbs

1996 Qualified as a Featherweight for the United States Olympic Team

1996 Atlanta Olympics Featherweight Bronze medalist

1998 and 2007 International Boxing Award Fighter of the Year

1998 and 2007 ''The Ring'' Magazine Fighter of the Year

2000–09 Yahoo! Sports, Best of the Decade 2002 World Boxing Hall of Fame Fighter of the Year 2005 and 2007 World Boxing Council Boxer of the Year

2005-08 ''The Ring'' 'number one' pound for pound

2007 Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year

2007 ESPN Fighter of the Year 2007 Forbes Magazine, Ranked "Number 14" Richest Celebrity Paydays 2007 New York Daily News Fighter of the Year 2007 World Boxing Council Event of the Year (The World Awaits) 2007 World Boxing Council Knockout of the Year (against Ricky Hatton)

2007, 2008 and 2010 Best Fighter ESPY Award

2007, 2008 and 2010 ''The Ring'' Magazine Event of the Year 2008 Sports Illustrated, The 50 Highest-Earning American Athletes (ranked 4th) 2008 Yahoo Sports, Ranked "Number 6" Most Powerful People in Boxing

2009 ''The Ring'' Magazine Comeback of the Year

2009-10 BoxRec, BBC Sport and Yahoo! Sports 'number one' pound for pound 2010 Yahoo! Sports Boxing's Most Influential (ranked 70th) 2010 Forbes Magazine Celebrity 100 (ranked 31st) 2010 Forbes Magazine, The World's 50 Top-Earning Athletes (ranked 2nd) 2010 Sports Illustrated, The 50 Highest-Earning American Athletes (ranked 3rd)

See also

List of Current World Boxing Champions

List of ''The Ring'' World Champions

List of WBC World Champions

List of IBF World Champions

List of Super Featherweight Boxing Champions

List of Lightweight Boxing Champions

List of Light Welterweight Boxing Champions

List of Welterweight Boxing Champions

List of Super Welterweight Boxing Champions

List of Boxing Triple Champions

List of Boxing Quadruple Champions

List of Boxing Quintuple Champions

Notes

External links

Official website

Estrangement of Mayweather, Jr. and Sr. by Jon Saraceno, June 26, 2005, ''USA Today''.

Olympic article on Mayweather, Jr. by Andy Johnston, July 6, 1996, ''Augusta Chronicle''.

A new chapter begins for Floyd Mayweather by Jeff Mayweather, November 1, 2005, ''BraggingRightsCorner.com''.

Can Mayweather become the new De La Hoya? by Brent Matteo Alderson, May 1, 2006, ''BoxingScene.com''.

|- |- |- |- |- |- |- {{s-ttl | title=WBC World Lightweight Champion| years=April 20, 2002 – May 22, 2004Vacated}} |- {{s-ttl | title=''The Ring'' World Lightweight Champion | years=April 20, 2002 – May 22, 2004Vacated}} |- {{s-ttl | title=WBC World Super Lightweight Champion | years=June 25, 2005 – March 23, 2006Vacated}} |- {{s-ttl | title=IBF World Welterweight Champion | years=April 8, 2006 – June 20, 2006Vacated}} |- {{s-ttl | title=WBC World Welterweight Champion | years=November 4, 2006 – June 7, 2008Retired}} |- {{s-ttl | title=''The Ring'' World Welterweight Champion | years=November 4, 2006 – June 7, 2008Retired}} |- {{s-ttl | title=WBC World Super Welterweight Champion| years=May 6, 2007 – July 4, 2007Status Changed: ''Emeritus champion''}} |- {{s-ttl | title=WBC World Welterweight Champion| years=September 17, 2011 – ''present''}} -

Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:African American boxers Category:American people convicted of assault Category:Boxers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Category:Boxers from Michigan Category:International Boxing Federation Champions Category:Light-welterweight boxers Category:Lightweight boxers Category:Olympic boxers of the United States Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States Category:Olympic medalists in boxing Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Grand Rapids, Michigan Category:Super-featherweight boxers Category:Welterweight boxers Category:World Boxing Council Champions

ar:فلويد مايويذر جونيور da:Floyd Mayweather Jr. de:Floyd Mayweather junior es:Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fr:Floyd Mayweather Jr. it:Floyd Mayweather Jr. lv:Floids Meivezers ja:フロイド・メイウェザー・ジュニア pl:Floyd Mayweather Jr. pt:Floyd Mayweather, Jr. ru:Мэйуэзер, Флойд fi:Floyd Mayweather Jr. sv:Floyd Mayweather Jr. th:ฟลอยด์ เมย์เวทเธอร์ จูเนียร์ zh-yue:Floyd Mayweather, Jr zh:弗洛伊德·梅威瑟