Floyd Mayweather

 Floyd Mayweather

 

Biography: childhood, family, studies

The full name of the athlete is Floyd Mayweather Jr. It is the full name of his father, who also played in the boxing ring at one time. The future champion was born on February 24, 1977 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In addition to his father, his uncles, Roger and Jeff Mayweather, were also related to boxing, both of whom had championship titles.

Floyd has been boxing since early childhood. He saw this as an opportunity to ensure a decent life for himself and his family. The family lived very poorly. Especially hard times came when my father was convicted of trafficking in illegal substances. Prior to his arrest, Mayweather grew up in an environment of constant abuse and fights. Later, he will try to experience this pattern of behavior in his relationships with women.

sports career

In amateur boxing, Mayweather played in the period from 1993-1996. He fought 90 fights and won 84 of them. Three times (in 1993, 1994 and 1996) he won the annual Golden Gloves amateur boxing tournament. In his debut he performed at his first flyweight and each year moved up to a heavier weight class.

Speed ​​and technique combined with defensive tactics helped Floyd effectively avoid opponents' blows and do without serious damage to his face. For this he was given the nickname "Handsome".

The final chord in the career of an amateur boxer was the bronze medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. In the semifinals, he lost on points to the Bulgarian athlete Serafim Todorov.

Floyd Mayweather was originally a lightweight champion. His parameters in 1996: height 173 cm, body weight 60 kg. Since 2002, he has moved up to lightweight, defeating two-time WBC champion Jose Luis Castillo. True, the first victory was not very convincing, and many experts did not agree with the judges' decision. But the revenge put everything in its place, and the critics were forced into silence.

Then Mayweather moved up to the second lightweight division. The fight with WBC champion Arturo Gatti, which took place in June 2005, turned out to be scandalous. Floyd brazenly broke the rules when he elbowed his opponent. However, his advantage in the ring was so overwhelming that Gatti ended the fight ahead of schedule.

May 2, 2015 Mayweather met in the ring with Manny Pacquiao. His rival is the only world champion in eight weight categories at once. Fans were eagerly awaiting how the two greatest boxers would prove themselves in this showdown. The fight took place in an equal fight and turned out to be not very spectacular. Mayweather still has a slight edge. For this fight, he received a record fee of 300 million dollars.

Floyd decided to quit professional boxing after defeating mixed martial arts wrestler Conor McGregor. Few would have thought that the Irish athlete's debut in the boxing ring would bring him victory over Mayweather. As expected, the American won by TKO in the tenth round.

Titles of champion Floyd Mayweather in different weight categories:

2nd WBC Featherweight - October 3, 1998;

lightweight according to the WBC - April 20, 2002;

1st WBC Welterweight - June 25, 2005;

IBF Welterweight - Apr 8, 2006;

First WBC Intermediate - May 5, 2007.

personal life

Floyd Mayweather has never been married. He has four children from two women. With Josie Harris, one of his lovers, the athlete lived for 10 years. She gave him two sons and a daughter. Unfortunately, Floyd Mayweather has carried his traumatic childhood experience into adulthood. In 2012, Harris accused him of domestic violence. The boxer was sentenced to 90 days in prison and a large fine.

A quick overview of the Mayweather fights

The American boxer fought 50 professional fights in his career between 1996 and 2017, in which he did not lose any fight.

Mayweather won 27 of his fights by knockout and 23 by unanimous decision, and his most famous matches are undoubtedly those that brought him together with Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather's last match against the Irish Conor McGregor won unprecedented media coverage in this sport, but it was more like an exhibition match, unlike the aforementioned matches.