Floyd Mayweather

Top 10 Performances by Floyd Mayweather

These are the best ever performances by Money Mayweather.

by Konstantin Simidchiyski
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We could say a lot about Floyd Mayweather and his enormous success in the boxing ring. Having achieved 50 wins from 50 fights, “Money” finished his illustrious career unbeaten, winning multiple world championships in the process. 

Many believe Floyd Mayweather is one of the greatest fighters of all time, and we tend to agree. It’s not just about his record, which is flawless, but also about his aura of being unbeatable for his opponents. He was so good defensively it was almost impossible to put him in danger. 

Money Mayweather has won 15 major world championships in his career. The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) named him Fighter of the Decade for the 2010s while he won twice Ring Magazine’s prestigious Fighter of the Year award. At the same time, in 2016, ESPN chose him as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of the last 25 years.

Floyd Mayweather

Photo: rcelis / Pixabay

Floyd Mayweather’s achievements are incredible. He has won 26 consecutive world title fights while he’s also CompuBox’s most accurate puncher in existence. Far from surprising, in 2021, they inducted Mayweather into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. 

But what are Floyd Mayweather’s best performances ever? Let’s look at his remarkable career and see where he did best. 

vs. Miguel Cotto (2012)

When Floyd met the heavy-hitting Miguel Cotto in 2012, just for a second time in his career, he stepped up to 154 lbs to fight. He was defending his WBA (Super) light middleweight title for the third time. 

Many wondered if Miguel Cotto’s epic power could put Mayweather in trouble. We must admit that Cotto tried his best and even blooded Floyd’s nose, but in the end, “Money” showed his extraordinary quality and killed the fight in the latter rounds. 

vs. Canelo Alvarez (2013)

Today Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is one of the best fighters of his generation, but in 2013 he has helpless against Mayweather in the ring. The Mexican tried to outbox the best boxer, and far from surprising – he lost.

At this time, Alvarez was unbeaten, just like Mayweather, so one of the zeroes had to go. But it wasn’t Mayweather’s. Despite being 15 lbs heavier than Floyd, Canelo didn’t have the proper strategy to win. He tried to be the better fighter, but against Floyd, it’s impossible.

vs. Oscar De La Hoya (2007)

Floyd Mayweather’s first-ever event at 154 lbs came against one of the greatest fighters of all time – the “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya. The world wanted to see this spectacular fight, and many believed that De La Hoya could win.

Of course, he didn’t.

Being 10 lbs lighter than his opponent, Mayweather executed a perfect tactical plan in the fight and masterfully countered his opponent all the time. The judges awarded a split decision in Floyd’s favor, which meant he became a five-weight world champion that night. 

vs. Ricky Hatton (2007)

It was the British star Ricky Hatton who came next in line for Mayweather after the triumph against De La Hoya. “Money” moved back to 147 lbs and faced an opponent who was still unbeaten as well.

Ricky Hatton was no joke in his prime, but he was just another helpless fighter against Floyd’s class. Although he successfully shocked Mayweather with an excellent jab in the first round, soon “Money” took control and never let it go. 

Soon Hatton became exhausted while in the 10th round he was eventually knocked out. It was game over for him.

vs. Manny Pacquiao (2015)

Although it was a fight that should have happened years ago, Mayweather and Pacquiao finally faced each other on May 2, 2015. Many people still blame Floyd that he intentionally ducked “Pacman” while he was in his prime, but it is what it is, right?

More than $410m was generated by the PPV, but in the ring, it was a pretty dull affair – Mayweather controlled the fight and allowed Pacquiao to land less than 20% of his strikes. His jabs and counter-punches secured him the win, while Pacquiao’s shoulder injury didn’t help, too. At the end of the day, it was a fight the world wanted to see. 

How would this fight end if these two had met in 2009? Nobody can tell. 

vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (2009)

Soon after he announced his retirement from boxing, Mayweather decided to get back in the ring and face the highly-skilled Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez. 

Although we all expected to see a very competitive fight, Floyd didn’t disappoint his fans – he took control early and finished the fight without getting in any danger whatsoever. It looked absurd how easy it was for him to defeat one of the best fighters of this generation. He counter-punched one of the counter-punching experts and forced him to lead the dance. It didn’t end well for Marquez. 

vs. Diego Corrales (2001)

The early version of Floyd Mayweather made one of his best performances against Diego Corrales in 2001. These two fighters agreed to meet at 130 lbs. It was a risky move for Floyd as Corrales was dominating the sport of boxing – he was 33-0 at the time.

Still, Mayweather didn’t show any sign of being scared.

“Money” offered the audience a brutal performance and showed every part of his incredible skill set. Corrales kept coming at him and never gave up, but Mayweather’s skills were just too much for him. In the 7th round, Floyd landed 39 punches while Corrales went down five times during the fight. His corner finally threw in the towel in the 10th round. 

vs. Arturo Gatti (2005)

They had been trying to make this fight happen for over a year because, obviously, everybody wanted to see it. The fans were wondering – is the legendary Arturo Gatti the man to stop unbeaten Floyd Mayweather? 

Well, he was not.

“Thunder” was so severely dominated by Mayweather that his corner decided to stop the fight after the 6th round. They advertised the contest as “Thunder & Lightning,” but we didn’t see any of them from Gatti – he was just no match. Is this the Mayweather best performance?

vs. Zab Judah (2006)

It’s one of the fights Floyd found himself in real trouble. Judah was impressive with his hand speed and southpaw stance, which caused “Money” some huge concerns. Until he made adjustments, Mayweather was losing the fight. 

In the second round, Floyd was hit with a brilliant right hook – Zab Judah looked like someone who finally found the blueprint to beat him.

But just like we said – Mayweather made adjustments. He got a unanimous decision and probably felt relieved he adjusted so well to Judah. It was indeed a dangerous fight for him. We were close to an upset.

vs. Carlos Hernandez (2001)

One would say it was an easy win for Mayweather, but this fight had some nuances. It’s the only fight Floyd officially suffered a knockdown. 

The reason for this was his well-known hand issues. In the 6th round, Mayweather landed a punch to Hernandez’s dome, but he instantly turned away in pain and touched the canvas with his glove. There was the knockdown. 

This win was crucial for Mayweather because he finished the fight in significant pain but still dominated. His boxing intellect allowed him to change to a southpaw stance and make Hernandez suffer from this position. It was a night we saw how good Mayweather is at making adjustments – one of his best qualities. 

FAQ:

Is Floyd Mayweather still undefeated?

Yes, he finished his career with a perfect 50-0 record. His last bout was in 2017 against MMA star Conor McGregor.

Floyd Mayweather or Muhammad Ali – who’s the greatest?

It isn’t easy to compare fighters from different generations or weight divisions. We can confirm that both Mayweather and Ali are legends of the sport.

Why is Floyd Mayweather so good?

Indeed it’s a combination of talent and a lot of hard work. Mayweather never took it easy in the gym, aiming to be the best in the game. He was always giving one hundred percent in training.

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