Medal record
Competitor for  United States
Men's Boxing
Olympic Games
Gold	Los Angeles 1984	Lightweight
World Amateur Championships
Silver	Munich 1982	Lightweight

Pernell Whitaker (born January 2, 1964 in Norfolk, Virginia), nicknamed "Sweet Pea," is a professional boxing trainer and retired American professional boxer. Whitaker was the lightweight silver medalist at the 1982 World Championships, followed by the gold medalist at the 1983 Pan American Games and the 1984 Olympics. Whitaker then embarked on a pro career in which he became world champion in four different weight divisions. During his career, he fought world champions such as Julio César Chávez, Oscar De La Hoya and Félix Trinidad. For his achievements, he was named the 1989 Fighter of the year by Ring Magazine.

Whitaker is also a former WBA Light Middleweight Champion, WBC Welterweight Champion, IBF Light Welterweight Champion, WBC, WBA & IBF Lightweight Champion and NABF Lightweight Champion.

After his retirement, Whitaker returned into the world of boxing as a trainer. Among his trained boxers are Zab Judah, Dorin Spivey, Joel Julio and Calvin Brock. In 2002, Ring Magazine ranked him at number 10 in their list of 'The 100 Greatest Fighters of the Last 80 Years.' On December 7, 2006, Whitaker was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, in his first year of eligibility.

Fighting style[link]

Whitaker was known for his outstanding defensive skills and for being a strong counterpuncher. He was not an over-powering hitter on offense but applied a steady attack while, at the same time, being extremely slippery and difficult to hit with a solid blow.

Amateur career[link]

Whitaker had an extensive amateur boxing career, having started at the age of nine. He had 214 amateur fights, winning 201, 91 of them by knockouts, though he says that he has had up to 500 amateur fights. He lost to two-time Olympic Gold medalist �?ngel Herrera Vera at the final of the World Championships 1982 but beat him four times, notably in the final of the Pan American Games 1983 in Caracas. He crowned his amateur career with an Olympic Gold Medal in 1984.

Professional career[link]

Lightweight[link]

In just his eleventh and twelfth pro bouts, Whitaker beat Alfredo Layne on December 20, 1986 and former WBA Super Featherweight title holder Roger Mayweather on March 28, 1987. Whitaker won both bouts before hometown crowds at the Norfolk Scope, less than a mile from where he lived as a child in a Norfolk housing project. Whitaker would fight nine times in the Scope arena during his career.

On March 12, 1988, he challenged José Luis Ramírez for the WBC Lightweight title in Levallois, France. He suffered his first pro defeat when the judges awarded a split decision to Ramirez. The decision was highly controversial, with most feeling that Whitaker had won the fight with something to spare. In his 1999 edition of the 'World Encyclopedia of Boxing,' Harry Mullan stated that the decision in this bout was "generally considered to be a disgrace."

Undisputed Champion[link]

Whitaker trudged on, winning a decision over Greg Haugen for the IBF Lightweight title on February 18, 1989, becoming the first boxer to knock Haugen down by dropping him in the sixth round. He then added the vacant WBC belt by avenging his loss to Ramirez on August 20.

Now a champion, Whitaker proceeded to dominate boxing's middle divisions over the first half of the 1990s. In 1990, he defended his Lightweight title against future champion Freddie Pendleton and Super Featherweight Champion Azumah Nelson of Ghana. On August 11, 1990, he knocked out Juan Nazario in one round to win the vacant The Ring and WBA titles, becoming the first Undisputed Lightweight Champion since Roberto Durán. His highlight of 1991 was a highly disputed win over Jorge Páez and a fight against European Champion Poli Díaz that ended in another win.

Light Welterweight[link]

In 1992, he began his ascent in weight, winning the IBF Light Welterweight title from Colombian puncher Rafael Pineda on July 18.

Welterweight[link]

On March 6, 1993, he decisioned James (Buddy) McGirt, another very disputed win, to become the Lineal and WBC Welterweight Champion.

Julio César Chávez[link]

Whitaker was gaining momentum and boxing experts and fans felt that he needed to win against the pound for pound best boxer in the world: Julio César Chávez. The two met in a welterweight superfight on September 10, 1993 in San Antonio, Texas. In the eyes of many of the spectators, Whitaker outboxed the Mexican legend. However, 2 of the 3 judges saw an even bout, with the other scoring in favor of Whitaker. As in his first fight with José Luis Ramírez, Whitaker was not awarded a decision victory, this time having to settle for a draw. Sports Illustrated featured a cover titled "ROBBED!" after the conclusion of this fight^[1] and believed that Whitaker had won 9 of the 12 rounds in the fight.^[2] Chávez stated after the fight: "I felt I was forcing the fight ... he just kept holding me too much, he was throwing too many low blows too."^[3]

Whitaker continued on to dominate for the next few years, defending his Welterweight title in a rematch against McGirt on October 1, 1994.

For good measure, in his next fight on March 4, 1995, Whitaker added Julio César Vásquez's WBA Light Middleweight title to his collection but remained at welterweight to successfully defend his WBC belt against Scotland's Gary Jacobs on August 26, 1995.

Oscar De La Hoya[link]

He met a bigger, younger Oscar De La Hoya on April 12, 1997, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Whitaker succeeded in making De La Hoya look bad through his crafty defense, but he was unable to mount a sufficient offense to convince the judges. Despite receiving an official knockdown, Whitaker outlanded De La Hoya in overall punches & connect percentage (according to CompuBox stats). De La Hoya won by a disputed unanimous decision. At the end of the fight, the judges' scores were 111-115, 110-116, 110-116.^[4]

Felix Trinidad and farewell fight[link]

On February 20, 1999, Whitaker suffered his first sound defeat against the much bigger, much fresher Félix Trinidad, gamely taking the Puerto Rican the distance.^[5] The bout was for the latter's IBF Welterweight title. The fight began with both boxers displaying aggressive styles, which included excessive pushing. In the following rounds, both boxers used their jabs most of the time, with Trinidad gaining an advantage when Whitaker attempted to attack inside, eventually scoring a knockdown in round two.^[5] In the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds the fighters exchanged combinations.^[5] Later in the fight, both boxers fell to the floor in what were ruled as "accidental slips."^[5] On the seventh round, Whitaker displayed more offense, trading power punches with Trinidad, but the champion retained control in the fight's tempo during the eight, ninth and tenth rounds.^[5] In the last round, Whitaker, with a badly swollen right eye, displayed a purely defensive stance, avoiding his opponent throughout the round while Trinidad continued on the offensive until the fight concluded. The judges gave the champion scores of 117–111, 118–109 and 118–109.^[5]

His last fight came on April 27, 2001, against journeyman Carlos Bojorquez. The former Undisputed Lightweight Champion jumped into the ring at 155 pounds. Whitaker broke his clavicle in round four and was forced to retire; at the time of the stoppage Whitaker was trailing in all the judges' scorecards by 28-29. Following this fight, Whitaker officially announced his retirement. He finished his professional career with an official record of 40-4-1 (17 knockouts).

In 2002, The Ring ranked Whitaker as the 10th Greatest Fighter of the Last 80 Years.

On December 7, 2006, Whitaker was inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame along with contemporaries Roberto Durán and Ricardo López. They were all elected in their first year of eligibility.

Nickname[link]

As a youngster, Whitaker was known to friends and family as "Pete" and when he began to emerge as a top amateur, fans in his hometown of Norfolk used to serenade him with chants of "Sweet Pete." This was misinterpreted by a local sportswriter as "Sweet Pea." When this erroneous report came out in the local newspaper, the new nickname stuck.

Personal life[link]

Pernell was married to Rovanda Whitaker until they divorced. They had four children together: Dominique, Pernell Jr., Dantavious and Devon.

After Boxing[link]

In June 2002, Whitaker was convicted of cocaine possession after a judge found he violated the terms of a previous sentence by overdosing on cocaine in March.

As of December 2005, Whitaker has taken on the role as trainer in his home state of Virginia. While the decline of speed and agility have pushed him into retirement, his knowledge of the ring and components have led him to seek out up-and-coming boxers and train them to fight the way he did.

His first fighter, Dorin Spivey, had several matches scheduled for 2006. Recently, he's been training heralded young prospect Joel Julio.

Pernell Whitaker is also the trainer for heavyweight Calvin Brock who, as recently as November 2006, fought for the IBF and IBO titles against Wladimir Klitschko, where Brock was knocked out in the 7th round.

In 2010, he was inducted into the Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame, honoring those who have contributed to sports in southeastern Virginia.

Recently, Whitaker also became the new head trainer of former Undisputed Welterweight Champion Zab Judah,^[6] who defeated Kaizer Mabuza in March 2011 to win the vacant IBF Welterweight title.

Professional boxing record[link]

40 Wins (17 knockouts, 23 decisions), 4 Losses (1 knockouts, 3 decisions), 1 Draw, 1 No Contest[7]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	40-4-1 1 NC	Carlos Bojorquez	TKO	4 (10)	2001-04-27	Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada
Loss	40-3-1 1 NC	Felix Trinidad	UD	12 (12)	1999-02-20	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	For IBF Welterweight title.
NC	40-2-1	Andrey Pestryaev	ND	12 (12)	1997-10-17	Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut	WBA Welterweight Title Eliminator. Result was later changed to a No-Decision after Whitaker tested positive for cocaine.
Loss	40-2-1	Oscar De La Hoya	UD	12 (12)	1997-04-12	Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada	Lost WBC & Lineal Welterweight titles.
Win	40-1-1	Diosbelys Hurtado	TKO	11 (12)	1997-01-24	Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey	Retained WBC & Lineal Welterweight titles.
Win	39-1-1	Wilfredo Rivera	UD	12 (12)	1996-09-20	James Knight Convention Center, Miami, Florida	Retained WBC & Lineal Welterweight titles.
Win	38-1-1	Wilfredo Rivera	SD	12 (12)	1996-04-12	Atlantis Casino, Cupecoy Bay, St Maarten, Netherlands Antilles	Retained WBC & Lineal Welterweight titles.
Win	37-1-1	Jake Rodriguez	KO	6 (12)	1995-11-18	Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey	Retained WBC & Lineal Welterweight titles.
Win	36-1-1	Gary Jacobs	UD	12 (12)	1995-08-26	Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey	Retained WBC & Lineal Welterweight titles.
Win	35-1-1	Julio Cesar Vasquez	UD	12 (12)	1995-03-04	Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey	Won WBA Light Middleweight title.
Win	34-1-1	James McGirt	UD	12 (12)	1994-10-01	The Scope, Norfolk, Virginia	Retained WBC & Lineal Welterweight titles.
Win	33-1-1	Santos Cardona	UD	12 (12)	1994-04-09	The Scope, Norfolk, Virginia	Retained WBC & Lineal Welterweight titles.
Draw	32-1-1	Julio César Chávez	PTS	12 (12)	1993-09-10	Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas	Retained WBC & Lineal Welterweight titles.
Win	32–1	James McGirt	UD	12 (12)	1993-03-06	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	Won WBC & Lineal Welterweight titles.
Win	31–1	Ben Baez	KO	1 (10)	1992-12-01	Virginia Beach, Virginia, Virginia
Win	30–1	Rafael Pineda	UD	12 (12)	1992-07-18	Mirage Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Won IBF Light Welterweight title.
Win	29–1	Jerry Smith	KO	1 (?)	1992-05-22	El Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, Mexico City, Distrito Federal
Win	28–1	Harold Brazier	UD	10 (10)	1992-01-18	Pennsylvania Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Win	27–1	Jorge Paez	UD	12 (12)	1991-10-05	Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Reno, Nevada	Retained IBF, WBC, WBA & The Ring Lightweight titles.
Win	26–1	Policarpo Díaz	UD	12 (12)	1991-07-27	The Scope, Norfolk, Virginia	Retained IBF, WBC, WBA & The Ring Lightweight titles.
Win	25–1	Anthony Jones	UD	12 (12)	1991-02-23	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained IBF, WBC, WBA & The Ring Lightweight titles.
Win	24–1	Benjie Marquez	UD	10 (10)	1990-11-22	Sports Palace, Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain
Win	23–1	Juan Nazario	KO	1 (12)	1990-08-11	Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada	Retained IBF, WBC & won vacant The Ring and WBA Lightweight titles.
Win	22–1	Azumah Nelson	UD	12 (12)	1990-05-19	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained IBF & WBC Lightweight titles.
Win	21–1	Freddie Pendleton	UD	12 (12)	1990-02-03	Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey	Retained IBF & WBC Lightweight titles.
Win	20–1	Martin Galvan	TKO	3 (?)	1989-12-11	Paris, Paris, France
Win	19–1	Jose Luis Ramirez	UD	12 (12)	1989-08-20	The Scope, Norfolk, Virginia	Retained IBF & won vacant WBC Lightweight titles.
Win	18–1	Louie Lomeli	TKO	3 (12)	1989-04-30	The Scope, Norfolk, Virginia	Retained IBF Lightweight Title.
Win	17–1	Greg Haugen	TKO	3 (12)	1989-02-18	The Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia	Won IBF Lightweight title.
Win	16–1	Antonio Carter	TKO	4 (10)	1988-11-02	Virginia Beach, Virginia, Virginia
Loss	15–1	Jose Luis Ramirez	SD	12 (12)	1988-03-12	Stade de Levallois, Levallois-Perret, Hauts-de-Seine, France	For WBC Lightweight title.
Win	15–0	Davey Montana	TKO	4 (10)	1987-12-19	Paris, Paris, France
Win	14–0	Miguel Santana	TKO	6 (12)	1987-12-19	The Scope, Norfolk, Virginia	Retained NABF & won USBA Lightweight title.
Win	13–0	Jim Flores	KO	1 (?)	1987-06-28	Las Americas Arena, Houston, Texas
Win	12–0	Roger Mayweather	UD	12 (12)	1987-03-28	The Scope, Norfolk, Virginia	Won vacant NABF Lightweight title.
Win	11–0	Alfredo Layne	UD	10 (10)	1986-12-20	The Scope, Norfolk, Virginia
Win	10–0	Rafael Gandarilla	UD	10 (10)	1986-10-09	Felt Forum, New York, New York
Win	9–0	Rafael Williams	UD	10 (10)	1986-08-16	Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	8–0	John Montes	UD	10 (10)	1986-03-09	The Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia
Win	7–0	Jesus De la Cruz	KO	1 (8)	1985-11-12	Norville, Texas
Win	6–0	Teddy Hatfield	KO	3 (8)	1985-08-29	The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia
Win	5–0	John Senegal	TKO	2 (8)	1985-07-20	The Scope, Norfolk, Virginia
Win	4–0	Nick Parker	UD	6 (6)	1985-04-20	Memorial Coliseum, Corpus Christi, Texas
Win	3–0	Mike Golden	TKO	4 (?)	1985-03-13	The Scope, Norfolk, Virginia
Win	2–0	Danny Avery	TKO	4 (6)	1985-01-20	Harrah's Marina Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	1–0	Farrain Comeaux	TKO	2 (6)	1984-11-15	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	Whitaker's professional debut.

See also[link]

• List of boxing triple champions
• List of boxing quadruple champions
• List of left-handed boxers

References[link]

External links[link]

• Amateur record (incomplete)
• Professional boxing record for Pernell Whitaker from BoxRec

James Walter "Buddy" McGirt (born January 17, 1964, Brentwood, New York) is an American boxing trainer and retired boxer.

Professional boxing career[link]

In 1988, McGirt defeated Frankie Warren, avenging his only defeat, to win the IBF light welterweight title.^[1] In his second defense, he lost the title to Meldrick Taylor.^[2]

In November 1991, he defeated Simon Brown to win the Lineal and WBC welterweight titles.^[3][4]

McGirt lost the titles to Pernell Whitaker in 1993.^[5] The following year, he again lost to Whitaker in an attempt to regain the title. In 1997, he retired with a record of 73-6-1 (48 KOs).

Career as a boxing trainer[link]

After his career as a boxer ended, he became a trainer. McGirt trains many top ranked fighters, including Antonio Tarver, Timo Hoffmann and James McGirt Jr.. He has recently taken 3 English fighters, Paul Smith, Brian Mihtar, Matthew Macklin, and Audley Harrison. He won the Boxing Writers' Association of America Trainer of the Year Award for 2002.

Some of his high-profile fights have ended in defeats for his fighters, including Lamon Brewster who lost his WBO title in a rematch to Wladimir Klitschko, (IBF, WBO, Ring Magazine Heavyweight champion), Antonio Tarver who lost to Bernard Hopkins, Tomasz Adamek who lost WBC title to Chad Dawson, Paulie Malignaggi who lost to Ricky Hatton (which saw Malignaggi leave McGirt in search of a new trainer), and Arturo Gatti who was KO'd by Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Carlos Baldomir. However, McGirt has had some successes in title fights of some of his fighters. Those successes include Antonio Tarver's two victories over Roy Jones Jr., Vernon Forrest's victories over both Carlos Baldomir and Sergio Mora, and Arturo Gatti's victories over Gianluco Branco, Leonard Dorin, Jesse James Leija, and Thomas Damgaard.

McGirt's son, James McGirt Jr., is also a professional boxer. McGirt also trains Kurt Pellegrino's boxing, his first venture into MMA.

See also[link]

• List of WBC world champions
• Notable boxing families

Buddy was trained and managed by Al Certo.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Professional boxing record for Buddy McGirt from BoxRec

Félix Trinidad, Jr.
Trinidad during a visit to a military facility
Statistics
Real name	Juan Félix Trinidad García
Nickname(s)	Tito
Rated at	Middleweight Light Middleweight Welterweight
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Nationality	Puerto Rican
Born	(1973-01-10) January 10, 1973 (age 39) Fajardo, Puerto Rico
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	45
Wins	42
Wins by KO	35
Losses	3
Draws	0
No contests	0

Félix 'Tito' Trinidad, Jr. (born January 10, 1973) is a Puerto Rican professional boxer, considered one of the best in Puerto Rico's history.^[1] After winning five National Amateur Championships in Puerto Rico, he debuted as a professional when he was 17. He won his first world championship when he defeated Maurice Blocker for the International Boxing Federation's welterweight belt. Trinidad holds the record for most welterweight title defenses (15). During his career he fought Oscar De La Hoya winning the Lineal & World Boxing Council welterweight championships, Fernando Vargas in a unification fight where with sensei Fabio Martella he won the International Boxing Federation's light middleweight title, and William Joppy for the World Boxing Association's middleweight championship. He lost to Bernard Hopkins by technical knockout and retired for the first time. Trinidad returned to action in a fight against Ricardo Mayorga and, following a fight against Winky Wright, retired a second time. In 2008, he returned to the ring to fight Roy Jones, losing the contest by unanimous decision. Subsequently, Trinidad entered a four-year hiatus without clarifying the status of his career.

Professional career[link]

Trinidad debuted as a professional on March 10, 1990, when he was 17 years old.^[2] The fight was against Angel Romero, another debuting boxer, in a contest that Trinidad won by knockout in the second round. In the beginning of his career he knocked out nine of his first 10 opponents.^[2] He then competed against more experienced boxers like Jake Rodriguez, whom he fought on December 6, 1991. Trinidad won the fight by unanimous decision but suffered an injury on his right hand. He was then inactive for five months while recovering from the injury.^[2]

Gonzalez vs Trinidad[link]

Raul Gonzalez fought Felix Trinidad^[3] on May 3, 1992 in Cayey, Puerto Rico.This fight was the main event of the night. Both Gonzalez and Trinidad weighed in at 142 pounds.Gonzalez had a record of 8-2-3 with 5 KOs, while Trinidad had a record of 13-0 with 10 KOs. Gonzalez went down three times, and Trinidad took the victory in round four by TKO. Trinidad would add another victory by KO to his record and would now make it 14-0 with 11 KOs.

Winning and defending the world title[link]

External audio
	You may watch Félix Trinidad vs. Maurice Blocker, here

Trinidad traveled to San Diego, California and defeated the IBF welterweight champion Maurice Blocker in two rounds, in a fight card that took place on June 19, 1993, televised by Showtime.^[4] Trinidad spent the first two minutes of the fight analyzing Blocker's style. With 11 seconds left in the first round, one of Trinidad's punches injured Blocker, who barely survived the round.^[5] In the second round, the champion's condition appeared to improve, but after the first 30 seconds, another Trinidad punch injured him.^[6] Trinidad followed with a combination, scoring a knockout at 1:49 in the round when the referee stopped the fight.^[7] Afterwards, tournament organizer Don King's exclusive relationship to stage fights for the cable channel Showtime meant that Trinidad would be showcased regularly on Showtime Championship Boxing.

Trinidad defended his title for the next three years against several opponents. Trinidad's first fight in Las Vegas, Nevada was against Héctor Camacho on January 29, 1994.^[8] He was cautious during the first rounds and received a cut over his left eye. In the third round he connected a solid combination that made Camacho change to a defensive stance.^[9] Throughout the fight Trinidad was on the offensive and won the fight by unanimous decision, in what was his first decision since he won the world championship. The scores awarded by the judges were 117–109, 116–110, and 119–106.^[10]

On September 17, 1994, Trinidad traveled to the MGM Grand for a second straight fight to compete in a title defense against Yori Boy Campas, who had a record of 56-0. In the second round Campas scored a knockdown, the second knockdown in Trinidad's career.^[11] Following this Trinidad exchanged several combinations, injuring Campas' face and breaking his nose.^[12] In the fourth round, the referee stopped the fight, the first defeat in Campas' career.^[13]

Trinidad's fourth fight outside Puerto Rico or the United States took place on Estadio de Beisbol in Monterey, Mexico. Trinidad was scheduled to defend his title against the undefeated Oba Carr. In the second round, Carr scored a knockdown, which was the product of a quick right hand punch.^[14] Trinidad continued the fight and pursued the challenger, who displayed a quick pace throughout the fight.^[15] In the fourth round Trinidad connected a solid punch that injured Carr, and in the eighth he scored three consecutive knockdowns before the referee stopped the fight by technical knockout.^[16]

Trinidad spent the next four years defending his title against numerous fighters in bouts televised on Showtime. Among these fights was a defense against Mahenge Zulu, the number two challenger for Trinidad's championship.^[17] This fight was part of a card that took place on April 3, 1998 in Bayamón, Puerto Rico and marked the first time that Trinidad had performed in the archipelago in five years.^[17] Trinidad began the first round by cautiously analyzing the challenger's style, but the round ended with quick exchanges after Zulu took the initiative in the offensive. In the second round Zulu was actively pursuing the champion, but retreated when he received a solid jab sequence.^[17] Early in the third round a series of jabs opened a wound on Zulu's mouth, while the challenger's punches were not reaching their target.^[17] Trinidad began the fourth round heavily on in the offensive connecting several combinations which hurt the challenger, using this to land more punches in Zulu's head and body. One punch hit Zulu in the jaw, he fell to the floor and tried to rise, but the referee stopped the fight before he could do so.^[17]

On February 20, 1999, Trinidad defended the welterweight championship against Pernell Whitaker, winning the fight by unanimous decision in a contest that marked his thirteenth successful defense.^[18] The fight began with both boxers displaying aggressive styles, which included excessive pushing. In the following rounds both boxers used their jabs most of the time with Trinidad gaining an advantage when Whitaker attempted to attack inside, eventually scoring a knockdown in round two.^[18] In the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds the fighters exchanged combinations.^[18] Later in the fight both boxers fell to the floor in what were ruled as "accidental slips."^[18] On the seventh round Whitaker displayed more offense, trading power punches with Trinidad, but the champion retained control in the fight's tempo during the eight, ninth, and tenth rounds.^[18] In the last round Whitaker, with a badly swollen right eye, displayed a purely defensive stance, avoiding his opponent throughout the round while Trinidad continued on the offensive until the fight concluded. The judges gave the champion scores of 117–111, 118–109 and 118–109.^[18]

In the spring of 1999, Don King and Oscar De la Hoya's promoter, Bob Arum, agreed to co-promote a mega-fight for the Lineal, World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation welterweight championships on September 18, 1999 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas. Early in the fight De la Hoya employed boxing to connect combinations while avoiding Trinidad's attacks.^[19] The second round began with both boxers trading punches but De la Hoya quickly returned to his previous tactic, which he employed in the third round.^[19] In the fourth round Trinidad pressured the offense while De la Hoya tried to avoid his punches by moving, both boxers eventually exchanged punches. In the fifth round Trinidad continued in the offensive while De la Hoya attempted to remain on the outside corners of the ring, Trinidad's eye was swollen following a trade of punches. In the sixth round Felix connected a solid right to his opponent's jaw. Trinidad began the seventh round connecting several solid left hooks to the body that affected De la Hoya's stamina.^[19] In the eighth round the swelling on Trinidad's eye was reduced and he was able to control the center of the ring.^[19] After trading several combinations in the ninth round, Trinidad began to control the fight's tempo in the tenth, countering his adversary's attacks. Thinking that they had an advantage on points, De la Hoya's corner urged him to be conservative, a strategy benefiting Trinidad who became more active in the offensive, connecting several solid combinations.^[19] Both boxers continued this pattern in the final round, with De la Hoya trying to slow down the offense while displaying signs of exhaustion, as Trinidad continued to possess control. The judges gave Trinidad a majority decision, with scores of 115–113, 115–114 and 114–114.^[19]

Moving to junior middleweight[link]

In 2000, Trinidad vacated the welterweight championships and moved to the junior middleweight division, in order to challenge the World Boxing Association's champion David Reid. Early in the fight Trinidad concentrated his punches on Reid's body, connecting hard punches to his ribs and belly.^[20] In the second round Reid connected a solid punch to his opponent's jaw, and in the third round scored a knockdown. In the fourth and fifth rounds Trinidad used his jab consistently, gaining control of the fight's tempo in the sixth round.^[20] The fight's score was close at the beginning of the seventh round but Trinidad opened the second half of the contest in the offensive, scoring the fight's second knockdown.^[20] Controlling the fight in the eighth, ninth and tenth rounds, and opening a cut over Reid's eye.^[20] Trinidad dominated the eleventh round, scoring three consecutive knockdowns. Reid tried to close the fight on the offensive but his opponent boxed and countered his attacks. The judges gave scores of 114–107, 114–106 and 115–106, all in favor of Trinidad.^[20]

On December 2, 2000, he was scheduled to fight in a unification card against Fernando Vargas, the International Boxing Federation's junior middleweight champion.^[21] The fight began in a fast pace with Trinidad connecting a solid combination that led to his opponent being knocked down. Vargas was able to stand up, but another combination injured him a second time and led to another knockdown. Early in the second round Trinidad was in the offensive but Vargas connected a solid combination at the round's closing moments which opened a cut over Trinidad's right eye.^[21] In the fourth round's opening seconds one of Vargas' punches connected on Trinidad's jaw and he fell, marking the eight knockdown in his career. In the fifth round Vargas was in control of the fight's offensive, connecting combinations to Trinidads' body.^[21] In the sixth round Trinidad regained control of the fight's tempo that lasted throughout the contest, connecting punches on Vargas' head and left jabs to the ribs. In the eighth, Vargas displayed signs of exhaustion which slowed his offensive while Trinidad then pursued the offense with combinations to the body. This pattern continued throughout the ninth, tenth and eleventh rounds.^[21] Opening the final round Vargas was on the offensive, connecting a solid left hook. Trinidad countered the attack with a left hook that made Vargas collapse; Vargas was able to stand up, but was subsequently knocked down for a second time. With Vargas injured, Trinidad continued connecting combinations, until the referee stopped the fight by technical knockout.^[21]

Moving to middleweight[link]

Following his fight with Vargas, Trinidad moved up in weight – this time to participate in Don King's middleweight unification tournament featuring IBF champion Bernard Hopkins, WBA champion William Joppy, and WBC champion Keith Holmes. Trinidad was matched with Joppy, whom he defeated by technical knockout in the fifth round of a contest that took place on May 12, 2001.^[22] Joppy opened the first round on the offensive, but late in the round Trinidad scored a knockdown with a combination of punches that came close to throwing Joppy underneath the ropes.^[22] Trinidad subsequently scored a knockdown in the fourth round, during this stage of the competition he was using combinations of left hooks and right punches to the head.^[22] In the fifth round Trinidad scored another knockdown, Joppy attempted to continue the fight, but while he was using the ropes to help him stand, the referee stopped the fight. When the contest was over, Trinidad explained his strategy by stating: "I knew he wanted to impose his will, his weight, and I wouldn't let him do it".^[22]

The middleweight unification fight between Hopkins and Trinidad was originally scheduled for September 15, 2001, at the Madison Square Garden. On the morning of September 11, terrorists attacked the World Trade Center. Following this incident, the fight was postponed indefinitely. After receiving assurances from Madison Square Garden officials and the City of New York, Don King rescheduled the fight for September 29. The pace of the fight in the early rounds was slow, with each boxer studying his opponent.^[23] In the second round Hopkins connected some combinations while Trinidad pursued the offensive in the fourth round and both boxers traded sequences of punches.^[23] This pattern continued in the fifth round with Trinidad showing an aggressive style while Hopkins relied on jabs. In the sixth Trinidad continued an offensive stance and won the round after trading several combinations.^[23] Both fighters continued to exchange punches in the eighth and ninth round with Hopkins connecting three consecutive solid punches.^[23] In the twelfth round Hopkins' scored a knockdown, but before the contest could continue Trinidad's father entered the ring, which led to the referee stopping the fight by technical knockout.^[23] According to an interview with Bernard's trainer Bouie Fisher, prior to the fight members of Hopkins' team visited the Trinidad dressing room in what is considered a normal boxing custom to watch the taping of Trinidad's hands before his gloves were placed on. The Hopkins camp claimed that Trinidad's hands were wrapped in an incorrect fashion, and threatened to cancel the fight unless they were wrapped correctly.^[24] Fisher also stated that the Chief Inspector of the NYSAC insisted to Trinidad's camp that they needed to re-wrap his hands in a correct fashion.

Trinidad was subsequently scheduled to fight against Hacine Cherifi in a contest that he won by technical knockout in the fourth round.^[25] The event was part of a card that took place on May 11, 2002, and was organized in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Early in the first round Trinidad's strategy consisted of using his jab while Cherifi did not try to directly engage in the offensive.^[25] In the last minute of the round a punch by Trinidad hit Cherifi's chin leaving him disoriented, he followed this with a combination and scored a knockdown.^[25] In the second round, Trinidad displayed more boxing and was on the offensive by using combinations to the head and ribs. In the third Cherifi landed more punches than in the previous two, but Trinidad relied on throwing left jabs. One of his punches hit Cherifi's liver, followed by a punch to the jaw, making Cherifi fall to the floor.^[25] In the fourth, a series of combinations injured Cherifi, who collapsed to the floor twice, forfeiting the fight on the second occasion.^[25] Following this contest Trinidad announced his retirement, at the moment leaving the sport with a record of 41 wins, one defeat, and 34 wins by knockout.^[26]

Coming out of retirement[link]

Trinidad announced a comeback on March 2, 2004. On October 2, 2004 he fought against Ricardo Mayorga, in Madison Square Garden.^[27] Early in the first round Mayorga was on the offensive connecting several combinations, later in the round Trinidad connected some punches to his opponent's face. Mayorga reacted defiantly while lowering his defense, which Trinidad used to continue the offensive during the closing seconds.^[27] In the second round he continued connecting with combinations to Mayorga's face which caused him to bleed from his nose; the round concluded with both fighters exchanging punches.^[27] In the third round Mayorga attempted to counter with punches to the body but did not do significant damage to his opponent, however later in the round one of these punches made Trinidad lose his balance and touch the floor with one glove which the referee counted as a knockdown.^[27] In the fourth round both boxers traded hard combinations. In the fifth Trinidad displayed control of the offense's tempo injuring Mayorga and opening a cut under one of his eyes.^[27] This pattern continued in the sixth and seventh round, and the cut on Mayorga's face began to swell. In the eight round Trinidad scored several knockdowns, Mayorga continued after two knockdowns, but lost by technical knockout following a third knockdown.^[27]

Felix Trinidad throws a punch at Roy Jones, Jr.

On May 14, 2005, Trinidad competed against Winky Wright, in a fight where the winner would become the World Boxing Council's number one challenger in the Middleweight division. Wright won the fight by decision, receiving scores of 120–107 and 119–108 twice by the judges.^[28] Trinidad's fighting style appeared to be out of rhythm in the first round, while Wright presented a defensive stance and relied on jabs.^[28] During the first three rounds Wright was in the offensive scoring with jabs.^[28] On the fourth round Trinidad connected a solid combination.^[28] In the sixth, Wright continued the strategy used in the previous rounds while Trinidad employed a strategy where he tried to neutralize his opponent's punches by standing in front of him.^[28] In the later rounds Trinidad tried to take the contest's offensive but his adversary managed to block most of his punches while continuing his previous tactic.^[28] In the twelfth round Trinidad pursued Wright while trying to score a knockout, but his opponent boxed away from him until the round ended.^[28] Following this fight, Trinidad retired temporarily, after his father informed him that he would not continue in his corner.^[29]

Trinidad came out of his second retirement for the fight against Roy Jones, a former four-division champion on January 19, 2008. According to the contract, it was to be at a catch weight of 170 lbs; and was broadcast live on HBO Pay-Per-View.^[30] The card took place at Madison Square Garden in New York city. Trinidad began the fight on the offensive and won the first two rounds. The third and fourth rounds were won by Jones who relied on the velocity of his punches.^[31] This pattern continued in the fifth and sixth rounds.^[31] In the seventh round, Jones scored a knockdown following a right hand. Following this Jones continued to use his speed while Trinidad pursued the offensive, in the tenth round Jones scored a second knockdown after landing a combination.^[31] The judges declared the fight a unanimous decision in favor of Jones with scores of 117–109 and 116–110 twice.^[31]

Inactivity[link]

After this fight, Trinidad was inactive for almost two years, before announcing on October 14, 2009, that he was "between 95 and 98 percent sure [that he would] not do anything more within boxing".^[32] During this timeframe, he made sporadic public appearances, attending boxing cards and participating in public activities, including a ceremony where Juan Manuel López and Iván Calderón received rings for five successful defenses of their world championships.^[32] Beginning in July 2009, Trinidad became involved with the World Wrestling Council, participating as a guest referee at their anniversary show.^[33] Three months later, he was included in a storyline that also included Orlando Colón. In 2010, Trinidad expressed interest in purchasing the Changos de Naranjito.

Personal life[link]

Félix Trinidad was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, to Irma García and Félix Trinidad Senior. During his childhood the family moved to Cupey Alto, a subdivision of San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he grew up. His future wife, Sharon Santiago, lived in Cupey and first met Trinidad in the home of her neighborhood friend, a classmate of Trinidad's.^[34] Trinidad pursued a relationship with Santiago, including an attempt to impress her with his red Ford Mustang.^[35] He continued to press for her affection and, with the help of Santiago's neighbor, Trinidad was able to win her over.^[35] Early on, Santiago's mother thought that Trinidad was related to her daughter's friend, but she realized the true situation when she visited the friend's house and he acted nervous in her presence.^[36] Santiago's father objected to the relationship because Trinidad was an athlete; at the time many athletes had a negative public image.^[37] Santiago became rebellious, but Trinidad eventually won her family's trust.^[38] The couple was married four years after they began dating and have had four daughters.^[39] Trinidad has a fifth daughter, named Alondra Nicole, from another relationship.^[40]

Professional record[link]

42 Wins (35 Knockouts), 3 Defeats (1 Knockout), 0 Draws[41]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	42-3	Roy Jones Jr.	UD	12	2008-01-19	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Loss	42-2	Winky Wright	UD	12	2005-05-14	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	WBC Middleweight Title Eliminator
Win	42-1	Ricardo Mayorga	TKO	8 (12), 2:39	2004-10-02	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	41-1	Hacine Cherifi	TKO	4 (10), 2:32	2002-05-11	Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan
Loss	40-1	Bernard Hopkins	TKO	12 (12), 1:18	2001-09-29	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	For WBC, WBA & IBF Middleweight Titles. Before fight, Trinidad had extra tape on his left hand.[42]
Win	40-0	William Joppy	TKO	5 (12), 2:25	2001-05-12	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	Won WBA Middleweight Title
Win	39-0	Fernando Vargas	TKO	12 (12), 1:33	2000-12-02	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained WBA & Won IBF Light Middleweight Title
Win	38-0	Mamadou Thiam	TKO	3 (12), 2:48	2000-07-22	American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida	Retained WBA Light Middleweight Title
Win	37-0	David Reid	UD	12	2000-03-03	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada	Won WBA Light Middleweight Title
Win	36-0	Oscar De La Hoya	MD	12	1999-09-18	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained IBF & Won Lineal and WBC Welterweight Titles
Win	35-0	Hugo Pineda	KO	4 (12), 2:53	1999-05-29	Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan	Retained IBF Welterweight Title
Win	34-0	Pernell Whitaker	UD	12	1999-02-20	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	Retained IBF Welterweight Title
Win	33-0	Mahenge Zulu	KO	4 (12), 2:20	1998-04-03	Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon	Retained IBF Welterweight Title
Win	32-0	Troy Waters	KO	1 (12), 2:50	1997-08-23	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	WBC Light Middleweight Title Eliminator
Win	31-0	Kevin Lueshing	TKO	3 (12), 2:59	1997-01-11	Nashville Arena, Nashville, Tennessee	Retained IBF Welterweight Title
Win	30-0	Ray Lovato	TKO	6 (12), 1:57	1996-09-07	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained IBF Welterweight Title
Win	29-0	Freddie Pendleton	KO	5 (12), 1:30	1996-05-18	The Mirage, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained IBF Welterweight Title
Win	28-0	Rodney Moore	RTD	4 (12), 3:00	1996-02-10	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained IBF Welterweight Title
Win	27-0	Larry Barnes	TKO	4 (12), 2:54	1995-11-18	Atlantic City Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey	Retained IBF Welterweight Title
Win	26-0	Roger Turner	TKO	2 (12), 2:28	1995-04-08	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained IBF Welterweight Title
Win	25-0	Oba Carr	TKO	8 (12), 2:41	1994-12-10	Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo León	Retained IBF Welterweight Title
Win	24-0	Luis Ramon Campas	TKO	4 (12), 2:41	1994-09-17	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained IBF Welterweight Title
Win	23-0	Héctor Camacho	UD	12	1994-01-29	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained IBF Welterweight Title
Win	22-0	Anthony Stephens	KO	10 (12), 3:09	1993-10-23	Convention Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida	Retained IBF Welterweight Title
Win	21-0	Luis Gabriel Garcia	TKO	1 (12), 2:31	1993-08-06	Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon	Retained IBF Welterweight Title
Win	20-0	Maurice Blocker	KO	2 (12), 1:49	1993-06-19	San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California	Won IBF Welterweight Title
Win	19-0	Colin Tomlinson	KO	1	1993-05-08	Condado
Win	18-0	Pedro Aguirre	TKO	4 (10)	1993-02-20	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
Win	17-0	Henry Hughes	TKO	1 (10)	1993-02-13	Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan
Win	16-0	Alberto de las Mercedes Cortes	TKO	3 (10)	1992-10-03	Paris
Win	15-0	Joseph Alexander	KO	1	1992-07-18	San Juan
Win	14-0	Raúl González	TKO	4 (10)	1992-05-03	Cayey
Win	13-0	Jake Rodríguez	UD	10	1991-12-06	Bayamon
Win	12-0	Lorenzo Bouie	TKO	1	1991-10-25	Mahi Temple Shrine Auditorium, Miami, Florida
Win	11-0	Darren McGrew	PTS	10	1991-07-10	San Juan
Win	10-0	Manuel Salas	TKO	5	1991-06-21	Tamiani Fairgrounds Auditorium, Miami, Florida
Win	9-0	Felix Vasquez	TKO	3	1991-05-01	San Juan
Win	8-0	Noe Rivera	TKO	3	1991-03-13	San Juan
Win	7-0	Luis Felipe Perez	TKO	2 (6), 2:01	1990-11-13	El San Juan Hotel & Casino, San Juan
Win	6-0	Valentin Ocasio	UD	6	1990-10-03	El San Juan Hotel & Casino, San Juan
Win	5-0	Jose Vilarino	KO	2	1990-09-06	San Juan
Win	4-0	Omar Victoriano Alegre	KO	2	1990-07-27	Outdoor Arena, Capo d'Orlando, Sicilia
Win	3-0	William Lopez	TKO	1	1990-06-21	El San Juan Hotel & Casino, San Juan
Win	2-0	Israel Ponce	TKO	2	1990-04-07	Miramar
Win	1-0	Angel Romero	KO	2 (4)	1990-03-10	Miramar	pro debut

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Puerto Rico portal

• List of famous Puerto Ricans
• African immigration to Puerto Rico
• List of boxing families
• List of boxing triple champions
• List of Puerto Rican boxing world champions

References[link]

External links[link]

• Professional boxing record for Félix Trinidad from BoxRec
• Boxinginsider.com profile interview with Felix 'Tito' Trinidad

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]