Athletics

Highest governing body	IAAF
Characteristics
Mixed gender	Yes
Categorization	Outdoor or indoor
Olympic	Present since inaugural 1896 Olympics
Paralympic	Present since inaugural 1960 Paralympics

Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking. The simplicity of the competitions, and the lack of a need for expensive equipment, makes athletics one of the most commonly competed sports in the world.

Organised athletics are traced back to the Ancient Olympic Games from 776 BC, and most modern events are conducted by the member clubs of the International Association of Athletics Federations. The athletics meeting forms the backbone of the modern Summer Olympics, and other leading international meetings include the IAAF World Championships and World Indoor Championships, and athletes with a physical disability compete at the Summer Paralympics and the IPC Athletics World Championships.

Etymology[link]

The word athletics is derived from the Greek word "athlos" (ἄθλος), meaning "contest" or "task." Initially, the term was used to describe athletic contests in general – i.e. sporting competition based primarily on human physical feats. In the 19th century in Europe, the term athletics acquired a more narrow definition and came to describe sports involving competitive running, walking, jumping and throwing. This definition continues to be the most prominent one in the United Kingdom and most of the areas of the former British Empire. Furthermore, foreign words in many Germanic and Romance languages which are related to the term athletics also have a similar meaning.

In contrast to this, in much of North America athletics is synonymous with athletic sports in general, maintaining a more historic usage of the term. The word "athletics" is rarely used to refer to the sport of athletics in this region.

History[link]

Antiquity and Middle Ages[link]

A copy of the Ancient Greek statue Discobolus, portraying a discus thrower

Athletic contests in running, walking, jumping, and throwing are among the oldest of all sports and their roots are prehistoric.^[1] Athletics events were depicted in the Ancient Egyptian tombs in Saqqara, with illustrations of running at the Heb Sed festival and high jumping appearing in tombs from as early as of 2250 BC.^[2] The Tailteann Games were an ancient Celtic festival in Ireland, founded around 1800 BC, and the thirty-day meeting included running and stone-throwing among its sporting events.^[3] The original and only event at the first Olympics in 776 BC was a stadium-length running event known as the stadion. This later expanded to include throwing and jumping events within the ancient pentathlon. Athletics competitions also took place at other Panhellenic Games, which were founded later around 500 BC.^[4]

The Cotswold Olimpick Games, a sports festival which emerged in 17th century England, also featured athletics in the form of sledgehammer throwing contests.^[5] Annually, from 1796 to 1798, L'Olympiade de la République was held in revolutionary France, and is an early forerunner to the modern summer Olympic Games. The premier event of this competition was a running event, but various ancient Greek disciplines were also on display. The 1796 Olympiade marks the introduction of the metric system into sport.^[6]

Modern era[link]

The Royal Military College, Sandhurst has claimed to be the first to adopt this in 1812 and 1825, but without any supporting evidence. The earliest recorded meeting was organised at Shrewsbury, Shropshire in 1840 by the Royal Shrewsbury School Hunt. There are details of the meeting in a series of letters written 60 years later by C.T. Robinson, who was a pupil there from 1838 to 1841. The Royal Military Academy at Woolwich held an organised competition in 1849, but the first regular series of meetings was held by Exeter College, Oxford from 1850.^[7]

The 100 metres sprint at the 1896 Summer Olympics.

The first modern-style indoor athletics meetings were recorded shortly after in the 1860s, including a meet at Ashburnham Hall in London which featured four running events and a triple jump competition.^[8][9]

The Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) was established in England in 1880 as the first national body for the sport of athletics and began holding its own annual athletics competition – the AAA Championships. The United States also began holding an annual national competition – the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships – first held in 1876 by the New York Athletic Club.^[10] Athletics became codified and standardised via the English AAA and other general sports organisations in the late 19th century, such as the Amateur Athletic Union (founded in the US in 1888) and the Union des sociétés françaises de sports athlétiques (founded in France in 1889).

An athletics competition was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and it has been as one of the foremost competitions at the quadrennial multi-sport event ever since. Originally for men only, the 1928 Olympics saw the introduction of women's events in the athletics programme. Athletics is part of the Paralympic Games since the inaugural Games in 1960. Athletics has a very high profile during major championships, especially the Olympics, but otherwise is less popular.

An international governing body, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), was founded in 1912; it adopted its current name, the International Association of Athletics Federations, in 2001. The IAAF established separate outdoor World Championships in 1983. In modern times, athletes can receive money for racing, putting an end to the so-called "amateurism" that existed before.

The Comité International Sports des Sourds had been formed by 1922, to govern international deaf sports, including athletics.^[11]

The first organized international competitions for athletes with a physical disability (not deaf) began in 1952, when the first international Stoke Mandeville Games were organized for World War II veterans.^[11][12] This only included athletes in a wheelchair. The first Paralympic Games were held in 1960. Competitions would over time be expanded to include mainly athletes with amputations, cerebral palsy and visual impairment, in addition to wheelchair events.

Sports[link]

The International Association of Athletics Federations, the sport's governing body, defines athletics in five disciplines: track and field, road running, race walking, cross country running, and mountain running.^[13] All forms of athletics are individual sports with the exception of relay races. However, athletes' performances are often tallied together by country at international championships, and in the case of cross country the finishing times of the top athletes from each team or country are combined to declare a team victor.

Track and field[link]

A typical track and field stadium with an oval running track and a grassy inner field

Track and field competitions emerged in the late 19th century and were typically contested between athletes who were representing rival educational institutions, military organisations and sports clubs.^[14] Participating athletes may compete in one or more events, according to their specialities. Men and women compete separately. Track and field comes in both indoor and outdoor formats, with most indoor competitions occurring in winter, while outdoor events are mostly held in summer. The sport is defined by the venue in which the competitions are held – the track and field stadium.

A variety of running events are held on the track which fall into three broad distance categories: sprints, middle-distance, and long-distance track events. Relay races feature teams comprising four runners each, who must pass a baton to their team-mate after a specified distance with the aim of being the first team to finish. Hurdling events and the steeplechase are a variation upon the flat running theme in that athletes must clear obstacles on the track during the race. The field events come in two types – jumping and throwing competitions. In throwing events, athletes are measured by how far they hurl an implement, with the common events being the shot put, discus, javelin, and hammer throw. There are four common jumping events: the long jump and triple jump are contests measuring the horizontal distance an athlete can jump, while the high jump and pole vault are decided on the height achieved. Combined events, which include the decathlon (typically competed by men) and heptathlon (typically competed by women), are competitions where athletes compete in a number of different track and field events, with each performance going toward a final points tally.

The most prestigious track and field contests occur within athletics championships and athletics programmes at multi-sport events. The Olympic athletics competition and World Championships in Athletics, and the Paralympic athletics competition and IPC World Championships in Athletics, are the highest and most prestigious levels of competition in track and field. Track and field events have become the most prominent part of major athletics championships and many famous athletes within the sport of athletics come from this discipline. Discrete track and field competitions are found at national championships-level and also at annual, invitational track and field meetings. Meetings range from elite competitions – such as those in the IAAF Diamond League series – to basic all-comers track meets, inter-sports club meetings and schools events, which form the grassroots of track and field.

• Note: Events in italics are competed at indoor world championships only

Road running[link]

Road running competitions are running events (predominantly long distance) which are mainly conducted on courses of paved or tarmac roads, although major events often finish on the track of a main stadium. In addition to being a common recreational sport, the elite level of the sport – particularly marathon races – are one of the more popular aspects of athletics. Road racing events can be of virtually any distance, but the most common and well known are the marathon, half marathon, 10 km and 5 km. The marathon is the only road running event featured at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics and the Summer Olympics, although there is also an annual IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. The marathon is also the only road running event featured at the IPC Athletics World Championships and the Summer Paralympics. The World Marathon Majors series includes the five most prestigious marathon competitions at the elite level – the Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, and New York City marathons.

Runners in the popular National Marathon race in Washington, D.C.

The sport of road running finds its roots in the activities of footmen: male servants who ran alongside the carriages of aristocrats around the 18th century, and who also ran errands over distances for their masters. Foot racing competitions evolved from wagers between aristocrats, who pitted their footman against that of another aristocrat in order to determine a winner. The sport became professionalised as footmen were hired specifically on their athletic ability and began to devote their lives to training for the gambling events. The amateur sports movement in the late 19th century marginalised competitions based on the professional, gambling model. The 1896 Summer Olympics saw the birth of the modern marathon and the event led to the growth of road running competitions through annual events such as the Boston Marathon (first held in 1897) and the Lake Biwa Marathon and Fukuoka Marathons, which were established in the 1940s. The 1970s running boom in the United States made road running a common pastime and also increased its popularity at the elite level.^[15]

Ekiden contests – which originated in Japan and remain very popular there – are a relay race variation on the marathon, being in contrast to the typically individual sport of road running.

Cross country running[link]

Competitors mid-race at a boys high school event in the United States

Cross country running is the most naturalistic of the sports in athletics as competitions take place on open-air courses over surfaces such as grass, woodland trails, and earth. It is both an individual and team sport, as runners are judged on an individual basis and a points scoring method is used for teams. Competitions are typically long distance races of 4 km (2.5 mi) or more which are usually held in autumn and winter. Cross country's most successful athletes often compete in long-distance track and road events as well.

The Crick Run in England in 1838 was the first recorded instance of an organised cross country competition. The sport gained popularity in British, then American schools in the 19th century and culminated in the creation of the first International Cross Country Championships in 1903.^[16] The annual IAAF World Cross Country Championships was inaugurated in 1973 and this remains the highest level of competition for the sport. A number of continental cross country competitions are held, with championships taking place in Asia, Europe, North America and South America. The sport has retained its status at the scholastic level, particularly in the United Kingdom and United States. At the professional level, the foremost competitions come under the banner of the IAAF Cross Country Permit Meetings.

While cross country competitions are no longer held at the Olympics, having featured in the athletics programme from 1912–1924, it has been present as one of the events within the modern pentathlon competition since the 1912 Summer Olympics. One variation on traditional cross country is mountain running, which incorporates significant uphill and/or downhill sections as an additional challenge to the course. Fell running and Orienteering are other competitive sports similar to cross country, although they feature an element of navigation which is absent from the set courses of cross country.

Racewalking[link]

A track-side judge monitoring technique at the 1912 Summer Olympics.

Racewalking is a form of competitive walking which is usually contested on courses on open-air roads, although running tracks are also occasionally used. Racewalking is the only sport in athletics in which judges monitor athletes on their technique. Racewalkers must always have a foot in contact with the ground and their advancing leg must be straightened, not bent at the knee – failure to follow these rules results in disqualification from the race.^[17]

Racewalking finds its roots in the sport of pedestrianism which emerged in the late 18th century in England. Spectators would gamble on the outcome of the walking competitions. The sport took on an endurance aspect and competitions were held over long distances or walkers would have to achieve a certain distance within a specified time frame, such as Centurion contests of walking 100 miles (160 km) within 24 hours.^[17] During this period, racewalking was frequently held on athletics tracks for ease of measurement, and the 1908 Summer Olympics in London saw the introduction of the 3500-metre and 10-mile walks. Racewalking was briefly dropped from the Olympic programme in 1928, but the men's 50 kilometres race walk has been held at every Olympic Games but one since 1932. The men's 20 kilometres race walk was added to the Olympic athletics schedule in 1956 and the women's event was first held in 1992. The most common events in modern competition are over 10 km, 20 km and 50 km on roads, although women's 3 km and men's 5 km are held on indoor tracks.

The highest level racewalking competitions occur at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics and at the Summer Olympics, although the sport also has its own separate major competition – the IAAF World Race Walking Cup – which has been held since 1961. The IAAF World Race Walking Challenge forms the primary seasonal competition – athletes earn points for their performances at ten selected racewalking competitions and the highest scoring walkers are entered into that year's IAAF Race Walking Challenge Final.

Athletes with a disability[link]

Competitor in a wheelchair race at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

Athletes with a physical disability have competed at separate international events since 1952. It is governed by IPC Athletics, and is one of the sports at the Summer Paralympic Games since 1960.^[11][12]

Competiors at elite level competitions, are classified by disability, to arrange athletes with a similar disability in the same event. A classified T12 athlete for example, is a track athlete with a visual impairment.

• F = Field athletes
• T = Track athletes

• 11–13 – Visual impairment. Compete with a sighted guide.
• 20 – Intellectual disability
• 31–38 – Cerebral palsy
• 41–46 – Amputation, and others (including athletes with dwarfism)
• 51–58 – Wheelchair

In wheelchair racing athletes compete in lightweight racing chairs. Most major marathons have wheelchair divisions and the elite racers consistently beat the runners on foot.

Occasionally, athletes with a disability excel to compete with able bodied athletes. Legally blind Marla Runyan ran in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and won a gold medal in the 1500 metres at the 1999 Pan American Games. Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee, has achieved the "A" qualifying standard, making him eligible for the 2012 Olympics. At the 2011 World Championships Pistorius successfully made it to the 400 metres semi-final round and won a silver medal as part of South Africa's 4x400 metres relay team. In Masters athletics it is far more common to make an accommodation for athletes with a disability. Blind Ivy Granstrom set numerous Masters world records while being guided around the track.

Venues[link]

Professional athletics almost exclusively takes place in one of three types of venue: stadiums, set courses on grass or woodland, and road-based courses. Such venues ensure that events take place in a relatively standardised manner, as well as improving the safety of athletes and enjoyment for spectators. At a more basic level, many forms of athletics demand very little in terms of venue requirements; almost any open space or area of field can provide a suitable venue for basic running, jumping and throwing competitions.

Track and field stadia[link]

A typical layout of an outdoor track and field stadium

A standard outdoor track is in the shape of a stadium, 400 metres in length, and has at least eight lanes 1.22 m in width. Older track facilities may have nonstandard track lengths, such as 440 yards (402.3 m) (common in the United States). Historically, tracks were covered by a dirt running surface. Modern All-weather running tracks are covered by a synthetic weather-resistant running surface, which typically consists of rubber (either black SBR or colored EPDM granules), bound by polyurethane or latex resins. Older tracks may be cinder-covered.

A standard indoor track is designed similarly to an outdoor track, but is only 200 metres in length and has between four and eight lanes, each with width between 0.90 m and 1.10 m.^[18] Often, the bends of an indoor track will be banked to compensate for the small turning radius. However, because of space limitations, indoor tracks may have other nonstandard lengths, such as 160-yard (146.3 m) indoor track at Madison Square Garden used for the Millrose Games. Because of space limitations, meetings held at indoor facilities do not hold many of athletics events typically contested outdoors.

Cross country courses[link]

A cross country race taking place at a snowy park in the United States.

There is no standardised form of cross country course and each venue is significantly defined by the environment it contains – some may be relatively flat and featureless, while others may be more challenging with natural obstacles, tight turns, and undulating ground. While a small number of purpose-built courses exist, the vast majority of cross country running courses are created by cordoning a specific area within any open natural land, typically a park, woodland or greenspace near a settlement.^[19]

At the elite and professional level, courses must be looped and each lap must be between 1750 m and 2000 m in length. Severe obstacles such as deep ditches, high barriers and thick undergrowth not normally present; the course should be able to be completed whilst remaining on foot throughout. In order to maintain the sport's distinction from road running, the usage of unnatural or macadamised surfaces is generally kept to a minimum or avoided entirely.^[19]

Due to the fact that the majority of races take place on areas of grass, soil, mud or earth, weather conditions can significantly affect the difficulty of cross country courses, as snow and rain reduces traction and can create areas of standing water.

Road courses[link]

A typical road running course on the inner-city roads of Toronto

The surface of road races is highly important and the IAAF dictate that the courses must be along man-made roads, bicycle paths or footpaths. Courses set along major roads of cities are typical of road running events, and traffic is usually cordoned off from the area during the competition. While soft ground, such as grass, is generally avoided, races may start and finish on soft ground or within a track and field stadium. Road racing courses come in two primary types: looped and point-to-point. Courses may be measured and designed to cover a standardised distance, such as 10 km (6.2 mi), or they may simply follow a set route between two landmarks.^[20]

Road running courses over 5 km usually offer drinks or refreshment stations for runners at designated points alongside the course and medical professionals are present at the courses of major races due to the health risks involved with long-distance running.^[20]

Elite road walks are conducted on closed loop courses (usually loops of 2,000 or 2,500 meters). Refreshment stations are also present over long distance walking competitions, with drinks being available on every lap for races longer than 10 km.^[21]

Organizations[link]

Since its foundation in 1912, the international governing body for athletics has been the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It was initially known as the International Amateur Athletics Federation but changed later its name to reflect that the sport had moved away from amateurism towards professionalism in the late 1970s. The IAAF has 213 member nations and territories, which are divided into six continental areas (or area associations).^[22] The six association areas are for Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, North America and South America. The sports within athletics do not have their own independent governing bodies at either international or continental level and, instead, all fall under the athletics authorities.^[23]

Map of the six continental federations of the IAAF

•       AAA – Asian Athletics Association

•       CAA – Confederation of African Athletics

•       CONSUDATLE – South American Athletics Confederation

•       NACACAA – North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association

•       EAA – European Athletics Association

•       OAA – Oceania Athletics Association

National level athletics organisations are responsible for the regulation of the sport within their respective countries and most major competitions have some form of permit or approval from their national body.

Competitions[link]

Athletics competitions can be broadly divided into three types: international championships, national championships, and annual meetings and races. Athletics at international championships, or Games, represent the pinnacle of competition within the sport, and they are contested between athletes representing their country or region. The organisation of these competitions is usually overseen by either a world, continental, or regional athletics governing body. Athletes gain entry into these competitions by earning selection from their national athletics governing body, which is generally done by assessing athletes via their past achievements or performances at a national selection event. National championships are annual competitions endorsed by a national governing body which serve the purpose of deciding the country's best athlete in each event. Annual one-day meetings and races form the most basic level of competition and are the most common format of athletics contests. These events are often invitational and are organised by sports organisations, sports promoters, or other institutions.

Competitions typically feature only one of the sports within athletics. However, major outdoor international athletics championships and athletics competitions held as part of multi-sport events usually feature a combination of track and field, road running and racewalking events

International championships[link]

Olympic Games[link]

The athletics competition underway at the main stadium of the 2008 Summer Olympics

The modern Summer Olympics was the first event at which a global athletics competition took place. All the four major sports within athletics have featured in the Olympic athletics programme since its inception in 1896, although cross country has since been dropped. The Olympic competition is the most prestigious athletics contest and, in addition to this, many athletics events are also among the most prominent competitions at the Summer Olympics as a whole. A total of 47 athletics events are held at the Olympics, 24 for men and 23 for women. The events within the men's and women's programmes are either identical or have a similar equivalent, with the sole exception being that men contest the 50 km race walk.

Paralympic Games[link]

The Summer Paralympics include athletes with a physical disability. Track and field, and road events have featured in the Paralympic athletics programme since its inception in 1960. The Paralympic competition is the most prestigious athletics contest where athletes with a physical disability compete.

Athletics at the Paralympic Games also include wheelchair racing where athletes compete in lightweight racing chairs. Athletes with a visual impairment compete with a sighted guide. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, for the first time at an international athletics event, the guides will receive medals,^[24] such as the pilots in cycling, and the guides at the Paralympic Winter Games have done for a while.

World Championships[link]

The IAAF World Championships in Athletics is the primary global athletics championships held by IAAF. The biennial competition was first held in 1983 and now features an event programme which is identical to the Olympics. Thus, road running, racewalking and track and field are the sports which feature at the competition. Cross country running has its own discrete global championships – the IAAF World Cross Country Championships – which has been held annually since 1973. The IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics is a biennial athletics championships which features solely indoor track and field events. The foremost separate road running event is the annual IAAF World Half Marathon Championships (formerly World Road Running Championships). While not having official world championship status, the biennial IAAF World Race Walking Cup fulfils a similar role for the sport of racewalking. Outdoor track and field is the only sport in athletics that does not have a its own distinct global championship which is separate from other types of athletics, although the IAAF Continental Cup (a quadrennial competition between continental teams) is composed entirely of outdoor track and field events.

Other world championships include the IAAF World Junior and World Youth Championships in Athletics, which are for athletes under-19 and under-17, respectively. World Masters Athletics conducts the World Masters Athletics Championships for athletes in 5 year age divisions over the age of 35. The now defunct IAAF World Road Relay Championships served as the global event for ekiden marathon relay races.

Elite athletes with a physical disability compete at the IPC Athletics World Championships.

Commonwealth Games[link]

Athletics is one of the sports at the quadrennial Commonwealth Games competition. It has been a Commonwealth Games sport since the inaugural edition of the event's precursor, the 1930 British Empire Games. It is a core sport and must be included in the sporting programme of each edition of the Games.

Universiade[link]

Athletics is one of the sports at the biennial summer Universiade competition. It has been one of the event's competed sports since the inaugural edition.

Culture and media[link]

Ancient Greek pottery showing the javelin and the discus throw

Athletics, and its athletes in particular, has been artistically depicted since ancient times – one of the surviving instances include runners and high jumpers in the motifs of Ancient Egyptian tombs dating from 2250 BC. Athletics was much respected in Ancient Greece and the events within the ancient pentathlon provided inspiration for large statues such as the Discobolus and Discophoros, and for motifs on countless vase and pottery works. Aristotle discussed the significance of the pentathlon in his treatise Rhetoric and reflected on the athlete aesthetic of the period: "a body capable of enduring all efforts, either of the racecourse or of bodily strength...This is why the athletes in the pentathlon are most beautiful".^[25]

Films about athletics are overwhelmingly focused on running events: the 1962 film The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (based on the book of the same name) explores cross country running as a means of escape. Chariots of Fire, perhaps one of the most well-known athletics films, is a fictionalised account of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams's chase for sprint gold medals at the 1924 Olympics. Track and field has been the subject of American films such as Personal Best (1981) and Across the Tracks (1991). Biopics are found within the genre, including Prefontaine (regarding Steve Prefontaine) and Jim Thorpe – All-American (1951) featuring Burt Lancaster as Thorpe. Documentaries are also common with examples such as 2007 film Spirit of the Marathon, which follows runners' preparations for the 2005 Chicago Marathon.

Books on the subject are predominantly non-fiction, and tend towards the forms of training manuals and historical accounts of athletics. The story of the four-minute mile has been a particularly popular subject, spawning books such as The Perfect Mile and 3:59.4: The Quest to Break the Four Minute Mile.

Athletics journalism has spawned a number of dedicated periodicals including Athletics Weekly and Race Walking Record, both of which were first published in England in the early 1940s, and Track & Field News which was first published in the United States in 1948. Runner's World has been in print since 1966 and the Track & Field Magazine of Japan (Rikujyo Kyogi Magazine) is another long-running publication.

Athletics events have been selected as a main motif in numerous collectors' coins. One of the recent samples is the €10 Greek Running commemorative coin, minted in 2003 to commemorate the 2004 Summer Olympics. In the obverse of the coin, a modern athlete figure appears in the foreground, shown in the starting position, while in the background two ancient runners are carved in a manner that gives the appearance of a coin that is "worn" by time. This scene originally appeared on a black-figure vase of the 6th century BC.

See also[link]

Athletics portal

• List of Olympic medalists in athletics (men), (women)
• World, US, UK, Canadian and European records
• World records (athletes with a disability)
• Association of Track and Field Statisticians
• Masters Track & Field (athletics)
• Running in Ancient Greece

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Athletics

• International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) website
• Track and Field News website
• European Athletics website
• GBR Athletics – historical competition data
• Masters World Rankings

v t e International athletics events IAAF · World records · Hall of Fame World Olympics · Paralympics · World Championships in Athletics · IPC Athletics World Championships · World Indoor Championships · World Junior Championships · World Youth Championships · World Masters Championships · Continental Cup World Cross Country Championships · World Half Marathon Championships · World Race Walking Cup Continental Asia AAA – Asian Championships: Outdoor • Indoor • Cross Country Africa CAA – African Championships: Outdoor • Cross Country • Combined Events North America NACAC – NACAC Championships: Outdoor • Cross Country • Combined Events • CAC Championships South America CONSUDATLE – South American Championships: Outdoor • Cross Country Oceania OAA – Oceania Championships Europe EAA – European Championships: Outdoor • Indoor • Team • Cross Country Seasonal World Marathon Majors · IAAF Diamond League · IAAF World Challenge · Combined Events Challenge · Race Walking Challenge · Hammer Throw Challenge Games All-Africa Games · Asian Games · Bolivarian Games · Central American Games · Central American and Caribbean Games · Commonwealth Games · Francophonie Games · Ibero-American Championships · Lusophony Games · Mediterranean Games · Military World Games · Pan American Games · South American Games · South Asian Games · Universiade

v t e Records in athletics World records in athletics · Junior world records · World youth bests · Masters world records · IPC world records Event records World events: Olympic records · World Championships: Outdoor · Indoor · Universiade · Military World Games · World Junior Championships · World Youth Championships Area Championships: African Championships · Asian Championships: Outdoor · Indoor · Asian Junior Championships · European Championships: Outdoor · Indoor · European Team Championships · European U23 Championships · European Junior Championships · Oceania Championships · NACAC Championships · NACAC Under-23 Championships · CAC Championships · CAC Junior/Youth Championships  · CAC Age Group Championships  · South American Championships · South American Under-23 Championships  · South American Junior Championships  · South American Youth Championships  · Pan American Junior Championships Area Games: All-Africa Games · Asian Games: Outdoor · Indoor · Central Asian Games · East Asian Games · West Asian Games · South Asian Games · Southeast Asian Games · CARIFTA Games · Central American and Caribbean Games · Pan American Games Area records Africa · Asia · Europe · North, Central American and Caribbean · Oceania · South America  · North, Central American and Caribbean Junior Continental and Community records Central American and Caribbean · North American · Panamerican · Commonwealth · Baltic · OECS Community Championships: Ibero-American Championships Community Games Commonwealth Games · Jeux de la Francophonie · Mediterranean Games · SELL Student Games 10-second barrier · Athletics record progressions · National records in athletics

This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (December 2011)

Floyd Mayweather redirects here. For his father, see Floyd Mayweather, Sr.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Statistics
Real name	Floyd Joy Mayweather, Jr.
Nickname(s)	Pretty Boy Money
Rated at	Super Featherweight Lightweight Light Welterweight Welterweight Light Middleweight
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Reach	72 in (183 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	(1977-02-24) February 24, 1977 (age 35) Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	43
Wins	43
Wins by KO	26
Losses	0
Draws	0
No contests	0 Official Site

Floyd Joy Mayweather, Jr. (born Floyd Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American professional boxer.^[1] He is a five-division world champion, where he has won eight world titles, as well as the Lineal Championship in three different weight classes.^[2] He is a two-time The Ring "Fighter of the Year," winning the award in 1998 and 2007^[3] also won the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) "Fighter of the Year" award in 2007 and Best Fighter ESPY Award 2007, 2008 and 2010.^[4] He is undefeated as a professional boxer.^[5]

Currently, Mayweather is the WBC Welterweight Champion,^[6] WBA (Super) Light Middleweight Champion^[7] and recipient of the WBC Diamond belt.^[8] 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, BoxRec, Fox Sports, Yahoo! Sports and About.com.^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]}

Early life[link]

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,^[15] but his last name would change to Mayweather shortly thereafter.

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.'"^[16] "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^{[citation needed]}. 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 (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."^[17]

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^{[citation needed]}. 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.^[17]

Amateur career and Olympics[link]

Mayweather had an amateur record of 84–6^[18] and won national Golden Gloves championships in 1993 (at 106 lb), 1994 (at 114 lb) and 1996 (at 125 lb).^[19] 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.^[20] 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.^[21]

At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Mayweather won a bronze medal by reaching the semi-finals of the featherweight (57 kg)^[22] 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.^[23] 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.^[24] 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.^[25]

The U.S team filed a protest over the Mayweather bout, claiming the judges were intimidated 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.^[26][27]

"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.^[28]

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.^[29] "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.^[25]

"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."^[29]

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[link]

Super Featherweight[link]

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).^[30] 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.^[31]

During Floyd Mayweather vs. Tony Duran,^[32] 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."^[33]

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."^[34]

Mayweather vs. Hernandez[link]

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 No. 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."^[35]

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.^[36][37] The Ring stopped awarding belts to world champions in the 1990s, but began again in 2002,^[38] 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 No. 1 ranked super featherweight.

Furthermore, Mayweather became the first 1996 U.S Olympian to win a world title.^[39] 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."^[40]

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.^[41]

By the end of 1998, Mayweather was ranked by the The Ring as the No. 8 pound-for-pound best boxer in the world^[42] 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.^[43][44]

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.^[45] 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.^[46] 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."^[47] 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 No. 2 pound-for-pound best boxer in the world, behind boxing great Roy Jones, Jr..^[42]

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.^[48] 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.^[49] 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.^[50] 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.

Mayweather vs. Corrales[link]

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 No. 2 ranked super featherweight in the world and The Ring No. 7 pound-for-pound while Corrales was The Ring No. 1 ranked super featherweight in the world and The Ring No. 5 pound-for-pound.^[42][51] 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."^[52] 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.^[53] 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.^[54] 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.^[55] 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.^[56]

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."^[57] 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...?"^[58]

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,^[55] '... a near flawless performance...' -BBC,^[59] 'Floyd Mayweather Jr., displaying blazing speed and punishing power...' -New York Daily News,^[56] '... a fistic masterpiece.' -Sports Illustrated.^[60]

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.'^[61]

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.^[62]

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^[63] 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.^[64] Jesús Chávez stated after the fight, "He's [Mayweather] the champ! And now I become his number one fan."^[65]

Mayweather commented after the fight, "Although it will take some time to make the match, I want to fight Kostya Tszyu."^[66] 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 Tszyu and won his The Ring Light Welterweight Championship.

By the end of 2001, Mayweather was still ranked The Ring No. 1 super featherweight in the world and was The Ring No. 5 pound-for-pound best boxer in the world.^[67]

Lightweight[link]

Mayweather vs. Castillo I[link]

In his first fight as a lightweight, Floyd Mayweather Jr. took on WBC Champion & The Ring No. 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.^[68] 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.^[69] Also, the New York Daily News scorecard had Mayweather winning, 116–112.^[70]

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."^[71]

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..."^[71] Drakulich took a point away from Castillo for hitting on the break in the eighth round after several warnings throughout 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, had an alternative view, "I think this referee has been altogether too involved in the fight. Too officious."^[72] 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.^[73] 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."^[74]

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.^[75][76] Jermain Taylor did throw and land more jabs, however.

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."

Mayweather vs. Castillo II[link]

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.^[77]

The smaller Mayweather was again outweighed by Castillo on the night of the fight, as Castillo weighed 147 Lbs to Mayweather's 138.^[78] In the rematch, Mayweather used his footwork, combinations and jab to earn another unanimous decision victory. There were no knockdowns or notable exchanges in the fight and the judgment was close, with Mayweather winning 115–113 on two scorecards and 116–113 on a third. The Associated Press had Mayweather winning 116–112.^[78] Also, HBO unofficial scorer Harold Lederman and fellow analyst Larry Merchant both had scored it 115–113 for Mayweather.^[79]

Other Fights at Lightweight[link]

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 No. 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."^[80]

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.^[81]

By the end of 2003, Mayweather was still The Ring Lightweight Champion and was The Ring No. 5 pound-for-pound best boxer in the world.^[67]

Light Welterweight[link]

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 and scoring a lopsided decision of 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.^[82]

"Mayweather can flat-out fight," Corley's trainer Don Turner said. "He's like magic. He makes you move into the punches."^[82] Mayweather would, after this fight, shortly ascend to No. 1 on the USA TODAY's pound-for-pound rankings with Middleweight Champion Bernard Hopkins at #2.^[83]

On January 22, 2005, Mayweather fought against Henry Bruseles in another WBC 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 Light Welterweight Championship.

Mayweather vs. Gatti[link]

The pay-per-view fight between Mayweather and The Ring No. 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."^[84] Near the end of round one, 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.^[85] 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.^[86] Compubox had Mayweather outlanding Gatti by a total of 168 to 41,^[87] Gatti had landed only 10 power-punches (anything other that a jab).^[88]

Mayweather's fight with Gatti would be his last in the light welterweight division. Mayweather would leave as The Ring No. 1 ranked contender, with Ricky Hatton as The Ring Light Welterweight Champion.

Welterweight[link]

After his fight with Gatti, Mayweather moved up to the welterweight division. On November 19, 2005, Mayweather fought a non-title bout at 147 lb (67 kg) 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.

Mayweather vs. Judah[link]

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.^[89] 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.^[90]

Five days after the fight, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) decided not to overturn the result of the bout, but Roger Mayweather was fined US$200,000 and suspended for one year.^[91] The suspension entailed that Roger could train Mayweather, Jr. in the gym but could not work the corner during fights.^[92] 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.^[93] 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.^[94] Oscar De la Hoya, however, postponed his decision until 2007, leaving Mayweather to choose his next opponent.^[95] Mayweather considered moving up in weight again to fight Light 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.^[96]

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 The 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.^[97] 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.

Light Middleweight[link]

Mayweather vs. De La Hoya[link]

The World Awaits

Mayweather's next match was the long-anticipated superfight against six-division champion and current WBC Light Middleweight 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.^[98]

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 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 (Mayweather), 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[link]

Mayweather vs. Hatton[link]

Undefeated

Press Conference in Manchester, 2007

After his fight with De La Hoya, Mayweather decided to relinquish his WBC Light Middleweight Championship^[99] 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.^[100] 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 tenth 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 ten.^[101] 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.^[102]

Comeback[link]

Mayweather vs. Marquez[link]

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 and The Ring No. 2 pound-for-pound, Juan Manuel Márquez, at a catchweight of 144 lb on July 18 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on HBO PPV.^[103] 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.^[104] 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.^[105] 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.^[106] 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.^[107]

Mayweather vs. Mosley[link]

Who R U Picking?

Negotiations for a proposed matchup between Mayweather and The Ring No. 3 pound-for-pound, 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.^[108] 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.^[109] Both Mayweather and Mosley agreed to Olympic-style testing for this bout.^[110][111] 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.^[112]

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.^[113]

Negotiations with Manny Pacquiao[link]

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.^[114] 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.^[115] 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.^[116] 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.^[117]

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.^[118] 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.^[119] Mayweather was then given a two-week deadline for the fight contract to be signed.^[120]

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.^[121] 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.^[122] 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."^[123] 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.^[124] 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.^[125][126] 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.^[127] 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.^[128] However, Arum stated in confirmation that Pacquiao had agreed to unlimited random testing to be administered by the Olympic Organization.^[129] Further obstacles to the fight were introduced when Mayweather refused a 50/50 split of earnings with Pacquiao in the event of the fight being made. Pacquiao was reportedly offered a flat fee of $40 million with no share of the pay per view earnings.^[130] Mayweather has since affirmed that a 50/50 split will not be offered to Pacquiao despite Pacquiao's desire for an even split.^[131]

Return to the Ring[link]

Mayweather vs. Ortiz[link]

Star Power

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. at the Mayweather-Ortiz Press Conference

On June 7, 2011, Mayweather announced via Twitter that he was set to fight WBC Welterweight Champion & The Ring No. 2 ranked Welterweight, Victor Ortiz, on September 17, 2011. Ortiz was Mayweather's first challenger in 16 months.^[132]

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 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.^{[133][134][135]}

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."^[136]

Mayweather vs. 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).^[137]

Return to Light Middleweight[link]

Mayweather vs. Cotto[link]

Ring Kings

Floyd Mayweather's adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, announced on November 2, 2011, that Mayweather would 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 No. 1 ranked light middleweight, Miguel Cotto.

On the evening of Saturday, May 5, Mayweather defeated Cotto in 12 rounds via unanimous decision, improving his record to 43-0.^[138]

Mayweather earned the biggest guaranteed purse in boxing history, $32 million, when he fought Cotto, according to contracts filed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.^[139]

Professional boxing record[link]

43 Wins (26 knockouts, 17 decisions), 0 Losses, 0 Draws[140]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Win	43–0	Miguel Cotto	UD	12	2012-05-05	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	Won WBA (Super) Light Middleweight title. Awarded WBC Diamond Welterweight title.
Win	42–0	Victor Ortiz	KO	4 (12), 2:59	2011-09-17	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	Won WBC Welterweight title.
Win	41–0	Shane Mosley	UD	12	2010-05-01	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	A non-title welterweight bout.
Win	40–0	Juan Manuel Márquez	UD	12	2009-09-19	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	A non-title welterweight bout. Fight at 142-pound catch weight.
Win	39–0	Ricky Hatton	TKO	10 (12), 1:35	2007-12-08	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained WBC & The Ring Welterweight titles.
Win	38–0	Oscar De La Hoya	SD	12	2007-05-05	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	Won WBC Light Middleweight title.
Win	37–0	Carlos Baldomir	UD	12	2006-11-04	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained IBO and won WBC, IBA & The Ring Welterweight titles.
Win	36–0	Zab Judah	UD	12	2006-04-08	Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada	Won IBF & vacant IBO Welterweight titles.
Win	35–0	Sharmba Mitchell	TKO	6 (12), 2:06	2005-11-19	Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon	A non-title welterweight bout.
Win	34–0	Arturo Gatti	RTD	6 (12), 3:00	2005-06-25	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey	Won WBC Light Welterweight title.
Win	33–0	Henry Bruseles	TKO	8 (12), 2:55	2005-01-22	American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida	WBC Light Welterweight Title Eliminator.
Win	32–0	DeMarcus Corley	UD	12	2004-05-22	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey	WBC Light Welterweight Title Eliminator.
Win	31–0	Phillip N'dou	TKO	7 (12), 1:08	2003-11-01	Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan	Retained WBC & The Ring Lightweight titles.
Win	30–0	Victoriano Sosa	UD	12	2003-04-19	Selland Arena, Fresno, California	Retained WBC & The Ring Lightweight titles.
Win	29–0	José Luis Castillo	UD	12	2002-12-07	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained WBC & The Ring Lightweight titles.
Win	28–0	José Luis Castillo	UD	12	2002-04-20	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	Won WBC & vacant The Ring Lightweight titles.
Win	27–0	Jesús Chávez	RTD	9 (12), 3:00	2001-11-10	Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California	Retained Lineal & WBC Super Featherweight titles.
Win	26–0	Carlos Hernández	UD	12	2001-05-26	Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan	Retained Lineal & WBC Super Featherweight titles.
Win	25–0	Diego Corrales	TKO	10 (12), 2:19	2001-01-20	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained Lineal & WBC Super Featherweight titles.
Win	24–0	Emanuel Augustus	TKO	9 (10), 1:06	2000-10-21	Cobo Center, Detroit, Michigan	A non-title lightweight bout.
Win	23–0	Gregorio Vargas	UD	12	2000-03-18	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained Lineal & WBC Super Featherweight titles.
Win	22–0	Carlos Gerena	RTD	7 (12), 3:00	1999-09-11	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained Lineal & WBC Super Featherweight titles.
Win	21–0	Justin Juuko	KO	9 (12), 1:20	1999-05-22	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained Lineal & WBC Super Featherweight titles.
Win	20–0	Carlos Rios	UD	12	1999-02-17	Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan	Retained Lineal & WBC Super Featherweight titles.
Win	19–0	Angel Manfredy	TKO	2 (12), 2:47	1998-12-19	Miccosukee Indian Reservation, Miami, Florida	Retained Lineal & WBC Super Featherweight titles.
Win	18–0	Genaro Hernández	RTD	8 (12), 3:00	1998-10-03	Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, Nevada	Won Lineal & WBC Super Featherweight titles.
Win	17–0	Tony Pep	UD	10	1998-06-14	Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	16–0	Gustavo Cuello	UD	10	1998-04-18	Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	15–0	Miguel Melo	TKO	3 (10), 2:30	1998-03-23	Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut
Win	14–0	Sam Girard	TKO	2 (10), 2:47	1998-02-28	Bally's Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	13–0	Hector Arroyo	TKO	5 (10), 1:21	1998-01-09	Grand Casino Biloxi, Biloxi, Mississippi
Win	12–0	Angelo Nuñez	TKO	3 (8), 2:42	1997-11-20	Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Win	11–0	Felipe Garcia	KO	6 (8), 2:56	1997-10-14	Qwest Arena, Boise, Idaho
Win	10–0	Louie Leija	TKO	2 (10), 2:33	1997-09-06	El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas
Win	9–0	Jesús Chávez	TKO	5 (6), 2:02	1997-07-12	Grand Casino Biloxi, Biloxi, Mississippi
Win	8–0	Larry O'Shields	UD	6	1997-06-14	Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
Win	7–0	Tony Duran	TKO	1 (6), 1:12	1997-05-09	Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	6–0	Bobby Giepert	KO	1 (6), 1:30	1997-04-12	Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	5–0	Kino Rodriguez	TKO	1 (6), 1:44	1997-03-12	DeltaPlex Arena, Walker, Michigan
Win	4–0	Edgar Ayala	TKO	2 (4), 1:39	1997-02-01	Swiss Park Hall, Chula Vista, California
Win	3–0	Jerry Cooper	TKO	1 (4), 1:39	1997-01-18	Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	2–0	Reggie Sanders	UD	4	1996-11-30	Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Win	1–0	Roberto Apodaca	TKO	2 (4), 0:37	1996-10-11	Texas Station, Las Vegas, Nevada	Mayweather's professional debut.

Titles in boxing[link]

Major World Titles:

• 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 Light Middleweight Champion (154 lbs)
• (2) WBC Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)
• WBA Light Middleweight Champion (154 lbs)

Minor World Titles:

• IBO Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)
• IBA Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

The Ring/Lineal Championship Titles:

• Lineal Super Featherweight Champion (130 lbs)
• The Ring Lightweight Champion (135 lbs)
• The Ring Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

Special Titles:

• WBC Emeritus Light Middleweight Champion (154 lbs)
• WBC Diamond Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

World Wrestling Entertainment[link]

Mayweather in WWE ring

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.^[141] 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.^[142] 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[link]

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.^[143]

Domestic violence cases[link]

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.^[144] 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.^[145] In 2005, Mayweather pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge after kicking a bouncer and received a 90 day suspended jail sentence.^[146]

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, battered her.^[147] 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.^[148]

On June 1, Mayweather began serving his county jail sentence. ^[149]

Honours, awards and recognitions[link]

• 1993 Michigan State Golden Gloves Champion, 106 Lbs^[150]
• 1993 National Golden Gloves Champion, 106 Lbs^[151]
• 1994 Michigan State Golden Gloves Champion, 112 Lbs^[150]
• 1994 National Golden Gloves Champion, 112 Lbs; Outstanding Boxer Award^[151]
• 1995 National PAL Champion, 125 Lbs; Outstanding Boxer Award^[152]
• 1995 U.S. National Amateur Featherweight Champion, 125 Lbs
• 1995 Competed at Featherweight at the World Amateur Boxing Championships^[153]
• 1996 Michigan State Golden Gloves Champion, 125 Lbs^[150]
• 1996 National Golden Gloves Champion, 125 Lbs^[151]
• 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^[154]
• 1998 and 2007 The Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year
• 2000–09 Yahoo! Sports, Best of the Decade^[155]
• 2002 World Boxing Hall of Fame Fighter of the Year^[152]
• 2005 and 2007 World Boxing Council Boxer of the Year^[156][157]
• 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^[158]
• 2007 Forbes Magazine, Ranked "Number 14" Richest Celebrity Paydays^[159]
• 2007 New York Daily News Fighter of the Year^[160]
• 2007 World Boxing Council Event of the Year (The World Awaits)^[157]
• 2007 World Boxing Council Knockout of the Year (against Ricky Hatton)^[157]
• 2007, 2008 and 2010 Best Fighter ESPY Award
• 2007, 2008 and 2010 The Ring Magazine Event of the Year^[161]
• 2008 Sports Illustrated, The 50 Highest-Earning American Athletes (ranked 4th)^[162]
• 2008 Yahoo Sports, Ranked "Number 6" Most Powerful People in Boxing^[163]
• 2009 The Ring Magazine Comeback of the Year
• 2009–10 BoxRec, BBC Sport and Yahoo! Sports 'number one' pound for pound^[164]
• 2010 Yahoo! Sports Boxing's Most Influential (ranked 70th)^[165]
• 2010 Forbes Magazine Celebrity 100 (ranked 31st)^[166]
• 2010 Forbes Magazine, The World's 50 Top-Earning Athletes (ranked 2nd)^[167]
• 2010 Sports Illustrated, The 50 Highest-Earning American Athletes (ranked 3rd)^[168]

See also[link]

• 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[link]