There have been many high class performances by Floyd Mayweather in the ring and it can often be difficult to choose which ones define him, but this article attempts to do just that.
Arturo Gatti may not have been anywhere near Floyd Mayweather’s league in terms of skillset but as always he showed heart in taking a beating over six rounds. After eighteen minutes, Gatti’s team pulled him out. Gatti did not contest the decision. Despite the gulf in class, Mayweather’s victory over Gatti has to rank up there among the best of them in his professional career, despite Mayweather’s cringe worthy crying he did afterward as if to convince everybody that he had defeated God.
Saul Alvarez was being touted as the new kid on the block by Golden Boy Promotions and one that was being thought of as someone who could take the torch from Mayweather. Well, how wrong those people were as the 36 year old Floyd won almost every round, despite the bizarre draw scoring by CJ Roth. Alvarez was clueless in his approach and looked like he came in with no gameplan. Instead, he was content to take his bumps and bruises while walking forward, not even bothering to use much head movement which is one of his assets. Mayweather seemed to turn back the clock with his performance in this fight, raising questions as to who could give him a test at this current stage.
His fans may say that Mayweather was far from his best in this fight but against Miguel Cotto he showed he could mix it up with the best of them, and that he did as he sacrificed his normal defensive approach to become more offensive to beat Cotto at his own game. Normally Floyd promises toe to toe action but fails to deliver, but the Cotto fight was an exception when he showed he could be a tough guy as well as a smart one and found himself in unfamiliar territory when his nose was bloodied up (something that would not be a big deal to any other fighter) by one of Cotto’s strong jabs but was still abled to pound out a unanimous decision in his favour.
Yes, Juan Manuel Marquez made the jump to welterweight in the wrong fashion, looking overweight and failing to look in fighting shape but nobody can say that Mayweather did not put on a boxing clinic against the Mexican. It became just another day at the office for Floyd as he practically toyed with Marquez, the only rocky moment being early in the third round when he was caught with a right hand but turned that on it’s head when he floored Marquez in the same round moments later. It was Floyd’s first fight and victory in two years since facing Ricky Hatton and there was no evidence of ring rust, despite pre-fight concerns.
Carlos Baldomir had been on a lucky winning streak in America with wins over the likes of Zab Judah and Arturo Gatti but Mayweather ended that with an emphatic display, showing up the Argentinian fighter and putting his class in it’s place, which was nowhere near the heights of Floyd’s ring IQ and defensive reflexes. The crowd may have jeered in the closing rounds, as they did in the Alvarez and Guerrero fights, Baldomir was the main man of the division then and Mayweather delivered the next best thing to knocking out a champion to rip his belt away from him. Floyd left no doubt as to who the winner was and this fight paved the way for superstardom for the man soon to become known as ‘Money Mayweather.
Diego Corrales was 33-0 with 28 knockouts and was thought to be one of Floyd’s biggest tests at the time but ‘Money’ stopped Corrales in the tenth round after flooring him five times. Corrales, known for showing his grit, kept trying and walking forward, as many Mayweather opponents do, but was left bewildered by the unique defensive skills and pin point of accuracy that was coming back at him.
Genaro Hernandez may have not done as what others did and kept strolling in straight lines but Mayweather still managed to soundly outbox him by using a consistent jab and back Hernandez up. The end came when the bell sounded to end the eighth and Hernandez was pulled out to make way for the new young lion of the ring.
