Floyd Mayweather, Jr. was born into boxing. His father and two uncles were all professional boxers, and his uncle, Roger, is his current trainer. Floyd says the only thing he did with his father during his childhood was to go to the boxing gym and train.
Mayweather was a great amateur boxer, compiling a record of 84-6 and winning three consecutive Golden Gloves titles in three different weight classes. Mayweather went to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and lost in the semifinal bout against Serafim Todorov from Bulgaria. The bout was protested by the U.S. team, but the result was not changed.
Mayweather earned the nickname, “Pretty Boy Floyd”, during his amateur career due to the fact that he was barely hit and his face never cut during his fights. His ability to escape any damage is what has made him one of the best fighters of our generation and maybe of all-time. In his 44 career fights, he has only been in one fight that he did not win by unanimous decision or by knockout -- and that was a split-decision win over Oscar De La Hoya.
That fight was historic in that it was not only featured two of the best fighters in the world, but HBO debuted a four-part prelude to the fight called, "De La Hoya-Mayweather 24-7". These installments have become routine since that fight, but it took someone with the charisma of a Mayweather to allow the show to succeed.
The fact that he is a charismatic and entertaining self-promoter is another reason for his super-star status. He has also been in a fight during Wrestlemania 24 and competed on Dancing With The Stars. He has the ability to build up expectations for a fight and back it up when he steps in the ring.
In one of the most definitive wins of his career, Mayweather fought former IBF super-featherweight champion, Diego Corrales. Corrales came in with the reputation of being a hard hitter and someone who had never been knocked out. Mayweather knocked him down five times before the cornerman for Corales stepped in to stop the fight.
During the fight, Floyd landed 220 of 414 punches while Corrales landed only 60 out of 205. He showed off his ability to be a precise and technical boxer while being able to elude the punches from the other fighter.
In a 2007 fight against the unbeaten Ricky Hatton, Mayweather battered him until the referee stepped in and stopped the fight, just as Hatton’s corner threw in a white towel to signify submission. Floyd took punishment early on in the fight, but was able to use his amazing stamina to keep throwing at Hatton while Hatton slowed his pace in the later rounds.
The combination of speed, agility, power, charisma and experience is what made Floyd Mayweather, Jr. a highly-respected, pound-for-pound expert fighter known throughout the world. He is an excellent promoter of his own fights, can throw punches at an unbelievable rate and avoid being hit in those exchanges.
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