Tim Floyd
Floyd gives the USC "V-for-victory" sign during a practice before the 2009 NCAA Tournament
Sport(s)	Basketball
Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	UTEP
Biographical details
Born	(1954-02-25) February 25, 1954 (age 58) Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA
Playing career
Southern Mississippi, Louisiana Tech
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1976–1977 1977–1986 1986–1988 1988–1994 1994–1998 1998–2001 2003–2004 2005–2009 2010-present	Louisiana Tech (asst.) UTEP (asst.) Idaho New Orleans Iowa State Chicago Bulls New Orleans Hornets USC UTEP
Accomplishments and honors
Championships Pac-10 Tournament Championship (2009) Big 8 Tournament Championship (1996) Sun Belt Regular Season Championship (1993) American South Tournament Championship (1990) American South Regular Season Championship (1989, 1990, 1991)

Tim Floyd (born February 25, 1954) is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Miners men's basketball team. He is also a former head coach of several teams in both the NCAA and the NBA, most recently the University of Southern California men's college basketball team. Floyd is also known as the coach of the Chicago Bulls after Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman left the team.

Personal life[link]

Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Floyd is a 1977 graduate of Louisiana Tech University where he earned a bachelor's of science degree in health and physical education. He originally was a walk-on player at the University of Southern Mississippi, but he transferred to Louisiana Tech and was a scholarship player there. His father, who was also a coach, died when Floyd was 18.

Floyd and wife Beverly have one daughter, Shannon.

Coaching career[link]

University of Texas at El Paso[link]

Floyd's first coaching job was as an assistant at UTEP under Hall of Famer Don Haskins from 1977 to 1986. While Floyd was at UTEP, the Miners went to three straight NCAA Tournaments (from 1984 to 1986). They also went to the NIT three times (in 1980, 1981, and 1983), and UTEP won four Western Athletic Conference championships in those years.

University of Idaho[link]

Tim Floyd's first assignment as a head coach came at the University of Idaho, succeeding Bill Trumbo, who finished last in the Big Sky conference in each of his three seasons. Floyd coached the Vandals for two years. In his first season, the Vandals posted their first winning record since Don Monson left for Oregon after the 20-9 1983 season.

University of New Orleans[link]

At the University of New Orleans, Floyd tallied a 127–58 mark in six seasons as head coach. During his tenure, UNO advanced to postseason play five times, including two NCAA Tournament appearances in 1991 and 1993 and the NIT three times. At UNO, Floyd averaged 21 wins a season. Floyd is one of only four Division I coaches who have won four conference championships in the first five years at their school. In his final season at New Orleans in 1994, the team finished 20-10. Floyd reached the 20-win plateau for the sixth time in eight seasons, and UNO made its seventh postseason appearance in eight years.

Iowa State University[link]

Floyd was hired at Iowa State University in May 1994 as the 15th basketball coach in ISU history. In his four years at ISU, Floyd posted an 81-49 record. He is the only coach in Iowa State history to post three consecutive 20-win seasons, which in part, earned him a nickname among some NCAA coaches as "Timothy The Great".^{[citation needed]} He also led the team to three straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament and three straight first-round victories.

In his first season with the Cyclones, Floyd guided the team to a then-school-record 23 victories and the second round of the NCAA Tournament. During that season, the Cyclones were ranked in the AP Top 25 poll for 11 consecutive weeks, peaking at number eleven. Four of the eleven ISU losses were to 1995 NCAA Final Four teams. The Cyclones returned to the Big Eight Conference Tournament championship for the first time since 1986. In that year, Fred Hoiberg became the first Cyclone to earn All-American honors since Jeff Grayer in 1988.

Picked in preseason polls to finish last in the Big Eight, the 1995-96 Cyclones finished second in the league with a 9-5 mark and won Big Eight Conference Tournament with a win over the Kansas Jayhawks, then ranked the number five team in the nation. The Cyclones received the highest NCAA Tournament seed in school history. As the number five seed, the Cyclones defeated California Bears but lost to Utah Utes, then coached by Rick Majerus (who, in 2004, accepted and immediately resigned from the USC head coaching job that went to Floyd). Iowa State's 24 victories that season was a school record. For his coaching efforts, Floyd was named Big Eight Coach of the Year and runner-up to Gene Keady of Purdue University for AP National Coach of the Year.

In the 1996-1997 season,with high expectations and a ranking as high as #4 natioanl ranking, Floyd and the Cyclones posted a 22-9 mark and advanced to their first NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in 11 years. In the NCAA Tournament, the sixth-seeded Cyclones defeated the Illinois State Redbirds in the first round and the Cincinnati Bearcats before losing to UCLA Bruins in overtime in a game they led by double digits most of the game..

Floyd was also responsible for landing would-be recruits, and currents pros, Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich. Both Collison and Hinrich withdrew their verbal commitments upon Floyds departure from Iowa State.

While at Iowa State, Floyd coached future pros Dedric Willoughby, Fred Hoiberg (now the current Head Coach at Iowa State), Kelvin Cato, Marcus Fizer and Paul Shirley.

Chicago Bulls[link]

On July 23, 1998, Floyd was hired head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the NBA. That off-season, the core of the Bulls championship teams retired or left, leaving the equivalent of an expansion team. During the lockout season of 1998-1999, the team posted a record of 13–37. The next season, the Bulls had a 17-65 record. The team continued to regress, posting a 15–67 record in the 2000-2001 season. His fourth year as coach was marred by fights with players and management. Floyd resigned on December 24, 2001 after a 4–21 start.

In his four seasons with the Bulls, Floyd posted a record of 49–190. The team did not make the NBA Playoffs in any of those years. Known as a favorite of Jerry Krause by the Chicago media, an entertaining press conference had Floyd proclaim [I'm not] "Jerry's boy."^[1]

New Orleans Hornets[link]

As head coach of the New Orleans Hornets in 2003-2004, Floyd posted a 41-41 record, despite the mid-season loss of Hornets star Jamal Mashburn. The Hornets lost in the first round of the playoffs, taking the Miami Heat the full seven games. Ownership was dissatisfied and dismissed Floyd after just one season.

Floyd ended his NBA career with a 93-235 overall record, including the playoffs, admitting in interviews that, as an NBA coach, "I wasn't very good at it". It was announced on November 12, 2009 that Floyd would be rejoining the Hornets as a top assistant to head coach and General Manager Jeff Bower.^[2]

University of Southern California[link]

On January 14, 2005, Floyd was hired as head coach of the USC Trojans, replacing interim coach Jim Saia who filled in after the school fired coach Henry Bibby.^[3] USC had originally hired Rick Majerus on December 15, 2004, however he unexpectedly resigned five days later.^[4][5] Floyd was the Trojans' immediate next choice.^[3][4]

Floyd's initial season may be regarded as a success. The 2005–06 Trojans finished the regular season with a 17–12 (8–10) record and sixth place in the Pacific 10 Conference ("Pac-10"), including three conference losses by a combined nine points. Floyd was the subject of heightened media attention in October 2006, when 14-year-old high school freshman Dwayne Polee Jr., son of former NBA player Dwayne Polee, verbally accepted a scholarship offer from Floyd. Polee Jr. had yet to play in a high school basketball game.

For the 2006–2007 season, Floyd led the Trojans to a 25–12 (13–8) record (most wins in school history) and third place in the Pac-10. He also led this team to finals of the Pacific Life Pac-10 Tournament, where they lost to Oregon. Floyd took the Trojans to the 2007 NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16, only the second USC team to do so since 1979. However, USC lost to number one seeded UNC on March 23, 2007.

In the 2008 NCAA Tournament, the #6 seeded Trojans fell 80-67 to the #11 seed Kansas State Wildcats in the first round.

Floyd's Trojans won the 2009 Pac-10 Tournament by defeating Arizona State, then made it to the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, losing to eventual runner-up Michigan State. This marked the first time the Trojans had made a third consecutive NCAA tournament. After USC's exit from the tournament, Floyd was offered the vacant coaching position at Arizona but turned it down.^[6]

The off-season immediately following the 2009 tournament proved to be tumultuous for Floyd and the USC program: Key starters DeMar DeRozan, Taj Gibson and Daniel Hackett all declared for the NBA draft on the same day.^[7] Floyd was accused of providing improper benefits by handing cash to Los Angeles event promoter Rodney Guillory, one of the handlers for O. J. Mayo, to influence the then-high school star to choose USC, resulting in an NCAA investigation.^[6] Due to the NCAA investigation and academic issues, several key recruits decommitted or chose different universities. After Marcus Johnson, who played only 16 games for USC, averaging 3.6 points, opted to turn professional, Floyd lamented to a gathering of boosters: "Kansas has two players who would have been NBA lottery picks, Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins, and they are returning to school. Good for them. Our guys get an offer from Islamabad and they're gone."^[7]

Claiming to have lost enthusiasm for his job, Floyd resigned as the head coach of USC on June 9, 2009.^[6] Floyd first notified a paper in his home state of Mississippi; his resignation was accepted by USC, which was faced with looking for a replacement late in the off-season.^[6] Following an internal investigation, USC vacated its 21 wins from the 2007-08 season and withdrew from postseason consideration (including the Pac-10 tournament) for the 2009-10 season.^[8]

Return to University of Texas at El Paso[link]

On March 30, 2010, UTEP announced the hiring of Tim Floyd. Floyd replaced Tony Barbee who left to take a head coach job at Auburn.^[9]

Controversy[link]

OJ Mayo[link]

"Tim Floyd, who brought respectability on the court and controversy off it to the Southern California basketball program, resigned Tuesday. Floyd stepped down a month after a published report that he gave $1,000 in cash to the man who acted as a go-between when star player O.J. Mayo decided to attend USC and play his freshman season at the school."^[10]

Head coaching record[link]

Collegiate record[link]

* USC vacated all 21 of its wins for 2007–08 after O.J. Mayo was ruled ineligible. Official record is 0–12 (0–7 Pac–10). ** Record does not include vacated wins at USC.

[edit] Professional record

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• NBA.com Profile
• USC press release about his hiring there
• Floyd's ahead of schedule at "last job"

HBO Boxing Commentator and ex-judge Harold Lederman at Bally's Atlantic City, September 26, 2010

Harold Lederman (born January 26, 1940, in The Bronx, New York, USA) is a celebrated boxing judge and analyst. He began his career as a boxing judge in 1967 and joined the cast of HBO World Championship Boxing in 1986, where he has been ever since.

Education and career[link]

Lederman attended Columbia University and upon graduation earned a license from New York's State Athletic Commission to judge title fights on June 26, 1967. He judged (by his count) over a hundred title fights in every corner of the globe, all the while maintaining his pharmacy practice in New York. In 1986, HBO executive producer Ross Greenburg invited Lederman to join HBO's boxing show World Championship Boxing as an "expert commentator".

Lederman retired from active judging in 1999 but remained with the HBO show as "unofficial ringside scorer." His voice can be heard when official HBO commentator Jim Lampley introduces him with the line, "...and now the rules with our unofficial ringside scorer, Harold Lederman," after which he reads the rules of the fight (often beginning by saying "Ok, Jim...") and occasionally the rules for scoring fights to the audience and cuts back to Jim. During the fight, after the 3rd, 6th and 9th rounds and immediately after the fight, while waiting for the official scores, Lampley will have Lederman tell the fans what his unofficial card looks like, often calling it the Lederman card. HBO also runs a graphic at the beginning of each round with his preceding round's score.

Family life[link]

Lederman is married with two daughters and lives in Orangeburg, New York. His daughter, Julie Lederman, has followed her father into the business as a ring side judge. When not commentating, Lederman can be frequently found as an ordinary spectator at ringside in boxing events in the Northeast. His expertise on boxing still commands frequent interviews from boxing press.[1] [2]

Awards and honors[link]

• 1997: inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame
• Inductee, Rockland County, New York Sports HOF
• Marvin Goldberg Award, Bna'i Br'ith Max Kase Sports Lodge (outstanding contribution to boxing)
• 2006: "Good Guy Award", Boxing Writers Association of America

References[link]

• Judging record of Harold Lederman on Boxrec [3]
• Harold Lederman interview on Youtube by Goossen Tutor Productions [4]
• Harold Lederman's classic 'Ok Jim' from HBO on Youtube [5]

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