Floyd Mayweather Jr’s Greatest Career Wins
“I come from a very rough background and I’m saying that if you work hard and dedicate yourself, that you can make it, too.”
From a tough upbringing in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to a historic Hall of Fame legacy, Floyd Mayweather Jr was born into a family of fighters and raised through boxing.
The son of former world title challenger, Floyd Mayweather Sr, and nephew of Jeff and the late Roger Mayweather, who became world champion in two weight divisions, the youngest talent on the production line was always destined for a life in the ring.
With an old-school work ethic and style, Mayweather shone as a young amateur and was eventually unfortunate to only clinch a Bronze medal for Team USA in a controversial decision at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
But it would be the last time he would ever lose a fight. Storming onto the professional scene later that same year, Mayweather went on to achieve boxing immortality.
From his savage early ‘Pretty Boy’ years to his dominant ‘Money’ Mayweather performances, the self-proclaimed ‘TBE’ became a five-division world champion from super-featherweight to light-middleweight.
Retiring with a flawless 50-0 record and being deservingly inducted into the coveted Hall of Fame in 2021, his legacy as an all-time great is cemented. Now, look back at Mayweather’s best wins from his iconic career.
Floyd Mayweather Best Wins
Mayweather vs Genaro Hernandez
(October 3rd, 1998)
Before the extravagant ring walks, record-breaking pay-per-view fights and dominant defensive displays of ‘Money’ Mayweather, there was the savage skills of ‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd.
Back in his surge through the lighter weight classes and, on his rise to prominence, a younger Mayweather captured world titles with more eye-catching beatdowns on high-profile opponents.
Starting with his crowning world championship victory in 1998, a dazzling display in only his 18th professional fight against Genaro Hernandez put him on the map, as he rallied to a one-sided eighth-round stoppage success to begin his first reign at super-featherweight.
Mayweather vs Diego Corrales
(January 20th, 2001)
Perhaps Mayweather’s greatest career victory next. Coming up against then undefeated 33-0 Diego Corrales, it was dubbed as a genuine ‘50-50, pick-em' match-up.
But a 24-0 Mayweather put in a clinical performance from the opening bell to grind down, score five knockdowns and force Corrales’ corner to compassionately stop the brutal beating inside ten rounds.
It was the first defeat in the career of fan favourite ‘Chico’, a two-division world champion, and the demolition gave fans a glimpse of just how special Mayweather was as an all-round fighter.
Mayweather vs Jose Luis Castillo II
(December 7th, 2002)
After his rampant run through the super-featherweight division as champion, Mayweather jumped up to lightweight in search of further silverware success.
Never shying away from a challenge in his earlier career days, ‘Pretty Boy’ immediately took on the tough Jose Luis Castillo on his division debut in Las Vegas.
Mayweather ultimately prevailed in arguably the closest and toughest fight in his whole career, with many believing his unanimous decision victory was highly controversial and harsh on the defeated Mexican Castillo.
Rather than move on, Mayweather dived straight back into a rematch just months later in a bid to silence any critics. He did exactly that with a more decisive unanimous decision triumph in the second meeting – putting to bed any lingering doubts to go 29-0.
Mayweather vs Arturo Gatti
(June 25th, 2005)
Having unleashed his trademark barrage of trash talk in the build-up to facing crowd favourite Arturo Gatti, it was another night that Mayweather backed his words up in Atlantic City.
In a PPV showdown promoted as ‘Thunder & Lightning’, Mayweather dominated proceedings instantly and pounded the outclassed Gatti into submission within six brutal rounds to add the light-welterweight world title to his ever-growing collection.
This further signalled the end of Gatti’s heroic career, with this taking place two years after the epic Micky Ward trilogy had come to a pulsating conclusion.
Gatti would fight three more times, including suffering two more knockout losses, while Mayweather’s impressive performance kickstarted a more financially prosperous period of his career in a willingly embraced role as boxing’s boisterous ‘villain’.
Mayweather vs Oscar De La Hoya
(May 5th, 2007)
The big-money blockbuster between Oscar De La Hoya and bitter rival Mayweather was a defining night for modern boxing.
It was a star-studded event which broke the previous PPV record held by Evander Holyfield vs Mike Tyson II (later broken again by other Mayweather fights), and the most lucrative clash in history also saw HBO launch their now legendary 24/7 series beforehand.
There were plenty of sub-plots involved too, most notably Floyd Mayweather Sr, who had been estranged from his son during this time, signed on to train and work with De La Hoya in the opposite corner.
In one of Mayweather’s more entertaining encounters, he rallied to a competitive but clear victory with a split decision ruling over ‘The Golden Boy’ to become light-middleweight champion and began the new ‘Money’ era.
Mayweather vs Canelo Alvarez
(September 14th, 2013)
An all-time great facing a young future pound-for-pound star. Mayweather welcomed the seemingly dangerous figure of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in a catchweight bout in Las Vegas.
With 43 wins already under his belt and holding victories over the likes of Shane Mosley and Austin Trout during his early light-middleweight world title reign, the fresh-faced, red-headed Canelo was fancied by many to spring a seismic upset.
But Mayweather had other plans. Showing his levels, he simply outclassed the lesser experienced Mexican in what was a genuine masterclass over 12 rounds.
Although, Mayweather and everyone watching were left bewildered when the judges read out a ‘majority’ decision verdict, despite the one-sided affair. Nevertheless, 45-0 was comfortably secured.
Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao
(May 2nd, 2015)
There may not have been more hype for a fight in boxing history when Mayweather and long-standing nemesis Manny Pacquiao were finally confirmed to collide in the ring.
Decades on from ‘The Fight of the Century’ between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, it was the same promotional tag used for this modern-day super-fight.
Following six years of back and forth and constant speculation surrounding a potential match-up, Mayweather and Pacquiao finally traded leather – setting the sporting world into overdrive.
But the magnitude of hysteria leading up to this once-in-a-generation spectacle set expectations that the fight itself could never realistically exceed.
Instead, fans were treated to a pinpoint boxing lesson from Mayweather, as he smoothly put years of anticipation to rest with another one of his finest ever displays.