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Floyd Mayweather Jr. (born February 24, 1977, Grand Rapids, MI) is rated by Ring Magazine as the #1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world. He is the son of former Welterweight contender Floyd Mayweather Sr., who currently is the trainer of Oscar de la Hoya. Mayweather Jr.'s trainer is his uncle, Roger Mayweather; neither Floyd Jr. nor Roger speak with Floyd Sr.

As a Featherweight, Mayweather won a bronze medal in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Mayweather lost by a controversial decision in his semi-final bout against silver medalist Serafim Todorov of Bulgaria. Nearly everyone who saw the bout, including the referee, thought that Mayweather had won. However, the international judges, whom U.S. boxing coach Al Mitchell called "a bunch of mobsters," ruled the bout 10-9 for Todorov.

In 1998, Mayweather won his first professional title, the WBC Super Featherweight championship, when the corner of Genaro "Chicanito" Hernandez stopped the fight after round 8. From there, Mayweather defended his title with dominating performances against challengers such as perennial contender Angel Manfredy and former WBC Featherweight champion Gregorio Vargas. Mayweather's biggest fight as a Super Featherweight was in 2001, against Diego "Chico" Corrales. At the time, neither fighter had been defeated or knocked down. In the bout, Mayweather won every round, and knocked Corrales down five times (three times in round 7 and twice in round 10). After the fifth knockdown, Corrales' corner displayed the towel, thereby establishing Mayweather as one of the claimants to boxing's mythical pound-for-pound title.

In his first bout after Corrales, against Carlos Alberto Hernandez, Mayweather was knocked down for the first time, when his right glove touched the canvas, a result of Mayweather injuring his hand while punching Hernandez, but he rose to win the fight. After defending his title against Hernandez and Jesus Chavez, Mayweather moved up to the Lightweight division, where he won the WBC Lightweight championship. In 2002, Mayweather won two close bouts against Jose Luis Castillo. Some feel he should have lost the first fight, but few doubt he lost the rematch. He went on to beat Victoriano Sosa and Phillip N'dou in 2003.

Mayweather then moved up to the Super Lightweight division. He defeated Chop Chop Corley and Henry Bruseles, and then was given an opportunity to fight WBC Super Lightweight Champion Arturo Gatti on June 25, 2005. Gatti was a heavy fan favorite, but Mayweather easily out-boxed him and battered him throughout the fight. Gatti's corner stopped the fight after round 6, giving Mayweather his third world title.

One month after the Gatti fight, Mayweather went to trial for a domestic violence charge, facing a minimum of one year in prison if he were convicted. Mayweather had been accused of violence against his former girlfriend, Josie Harris. Harris had claimed that Mayweather had punched and kicked her during an argument in Mayweather's Bentley, outside a Las Vegas nightclub in 2003. During the trial, however, Harris admitted that she had lied on the initial police report, and testified that Mayweather never hit her. The jury acquitted Mayweather ().

Mayweather has a PPV match scheduled for November 12, 2005, but does not yet have an opponent.

External links

• Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s Career Record
• Possible Future Fights for Mayweather
• Estrangement of Mayweather Jr. and Sr.

• 1977 births
• American boxers
• Lightweights