Floyd Mayweather Jr. (47-0-0, 26 KOs) is getting ready for his rumble with Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 2.
“Money” Mayweather has been at the top of boxing since the mid ’90s. So far, it’s been 47 up and 47 down for the Michigan native. Mayweather’s last loss was in the 1996 Olympic semifinal against Serafim Todorov of Bulgaria in a controversial decision, when he was still an amateur. Without question, he’s one of the best pound-for-pound fighters ever.
Before he faces Pacquiao on Saturday, check out Mayweather’s best fights.
5. Floyd Mayweather vs. Jose Luis Castillo
On April 20, 2002, Mayweather had the first real scare of his career. The boxer, 27-0 at the time, went into the fight against Jose Luis Castillo with a hurt shoulder, and it almost cost him his first professional loss. The Mexican brawler out landed Mayweather, but the judges still gave the fight to “Money.” This was a highly questionable decision. Many experts had scored the fight in Castllo’s favor.
4. Floyd Mayweather vs. Saul Alvarez
On September 14, 2013, Mayweather took on the new young gun of the sport. Mexican boxer, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was a hard-hitting undefeated brawler. Alvarez was supposed to come in and punish Mayweather, if he could catch him. Spoiler alert: he didn’t.
The young Mexican was frustrated the entire night trying to catch up to the much older and much faster Mayweather. Every time he got ready to punch, Money caught him with a lightning-quick shot that stunned him. As the fight went on, Alvarez began was scared to even throw his hands.
Mayweather won the fight in a split decision. A surprising result given the domination displayed in the ring.
3. Floyd Mayweather vs. Diego Corrales
On January 20, 2001, Mayweather took on Diego “Chico” Corrales in a highly anticipated fight. Corrales came in with a record of 33-0. He was one of the hottest stars in the sport and this fight was going to be one the biggest challenges in Mayweather’s career.
What ended up happening was a complete annihilation of Corrales. Money knocked down Chico five times during the bout. The beating finally came to an end when Corrales’ corner stopped the fight in the 10th round.
This is the fight that turned Mayweather into a superstar. Unfortunately, Corrales lost his life in a motorcycle accident six years later.
2. Floyd Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto
On May 5, 2012, Mayweather took on the hard-hitting Miguel Cotto.
The Puerto Rican bruiser brought the pain, and crushed Mayweather against the ropes early on. “Money” even ended up with a bloody nose, something he wasn’t accustomed to at all.
The undefeated Mayweather took control in the later rounds and was able to win the fight in a unanimous decision. The win earned Money Cotto’s WBA Super World super welterweight title.
1. Floyd Mayweather vs. Marcos Maidana
Marcos Maidana of Argentina gave Mayweather all that he could handle. This one was a bit of surprise. The hard-punching Maidana had impressed in other bouts, but Money had always grown to the challenge.
Mayweather’s past fights with brawlers proved to be pretty easy for the undefeated champion. This time, however, it was different. The Argentine brawler is known for throwing his power punches at weird angles, and that confused “Pretty Boy Floyd.”
Mayweather had to use his entire boxing repertoire to escape the fight with a split decision win.
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Before Mayweather Faces Pacquiao, Relive Money’s Top 5 Fights was originally published on theurbandaily.com