MAYWEATHER VS PACQUIAO PROMO T-SHIRT & POSTER XL 24X36 boxing memorabilia RARE

$244.58 Buy It Now or Best Offer, Click to see shipping cost, eBay Money Back Guarantee
Seller: sidewaysstairsco ✉️ (1,180) 100%, Location: Santa Ana, California, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 202687937024 MAYWEATHER VS PACQUIAO PROMO T-SHIRT & POSTER XL 24X36 boxing memorabilia RARE. Check out our other new & used items>>>>>HERE! (click me) FOR SALE: "Boxing Event of the Millennium" promotional, matching bundle 2015 FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR. VS. MANNY PACQUIAO PROMO POSTER & T-SHIRT (XL) DETAILS: Mayweather vs Pacquiao memorabilia! This bundle includes a very rare, large (24" x 36") promotional poster and official fight t-shirt. T-shirt size is Adult Extra Large (XL). Both poster and t-shirt feature the same, high definition graphic with the boxers in grayscale and their names in color. The poster even has an image of the t-shirt! Promo only items! These items were never sold in stores. The official fight t-shirt was only attainable if you ordered the fight in select stores while the poster was for select store use only (not available to general public) - making it hard to come by.  CONDITION: New/used. The t-shirt has never been worn while the poster has acquired a fair amount of storage wear. The poster has a couple short tears, some creasing, and a fair amount of edge/corner wear (the poster may have more wear than shown). Please see photos. *To ensure safe delivery all items are carefully packaged before shipping out. Poster will be shipped rolled.* THANK YOU FOR LOOKING. QUESTIONS? JUST ASK. *ALL PHOTOS AND TEXT ARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF SIDEWAYS STAIRS CO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.* "Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao, billed as the Fight of the Century or the Battle for Greatness,[1] was a professional boxing match between undefeated five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. and eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao. It took place on May 2, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada. Mayweather Jr. won the contest by unanimous decision,[2] with two judges scoring it 116–112 and the other 118–110.[3] Although the fight was considered to be one of the most anticipated sporting events in history, it was largely considered a letdown by critics and audiences alike upon its broadcast. Despite predictions that Mayweather–Pacquiao would be the highest-grossing fight in history as early as 2009, disagreements between the two professional boxers' camps on terms for the fight prevented the bout from coming to fruition until 2015.[4][5] The failure to arrange the Mayweather–Pacquiao fight was named the 2010 Event of the Year by The Ring.[6] Serious negotiations were kickstarted in 2014 by an unlikely source: a Hollywood waiter and part-time actor, Gabriel Salvador,[7] made a key introduction between Pacquiao's trainer and confidant Freddie Roach and CBS President Les Moonves, who both worked to facilitate the match.[8][9][10] By 2015, negotiations for the fight had been finalized, with all of the major issues that prevented the fight from happening in the past resolved, including purse split, drug testing, and location.[11][12] The fight was televised through a pay-per-view (PPV) jointly produced by HBO and Showtime, the respective rightsholders of Pacquiao and Mayweather. In the Philippines, the fight was also broadcast in simulcast across three of the country's major broadcast television networks. The fight was expected to be the most lucrative in the history of professional boxing: with an initial estimate of 4.4 million purchases, the PPV alone broke revenue records in the United States (U.S.) with $410 million in revenue, making it the highest-grossing PPV in history, surpassing Mayweather–Álvarez in 2013. By September 2015, the figure had been amended to 4.6 million.[13][14][15][16] The broadcast of the fight in the Philippines was watched by nearly half the country's households. Due to the record high price of the PPV, the fight was also widely broadcast through unauthorized online streams on services such as Periscope. Despite the large amount of hype that surrounded it, critics felt that the bout itself was disappointing, primarily citing Mayweather's defense-oriented strategy in the ring and Pacquiao's difficulty in landing punches on Mayweather. This had led to some critics re-labelling the fight 'Better Never Than Late' rather than 'Fight of the Century'.[17] It was later revealed following the event that Pacquiao had sustained an undisclosed injury to his right shoulder while training and that while it had healed in time for the fight, he re-injured it during the fourth round. Further controversy emerged when it was revealed that prior to the fight, Mayweather had been administered IV fluids cleared by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) through a retroactive "therapeutic use exemption"—an exemption, however, not authorized by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).... Background When the fight was announced, Mayweather was 38 years old and still undefeated, with a perfect professional record of 47 wins and no losses. On June 6, 2008, six months after defeating Ricky Hatton by a tenth-round technical knockout, Mayweather announced his retirement from boxing. At the time, plans were in motion for a rematch with Oscar De La Hoya, which was going to take place September 20, 2008. "This decision was not an easy one for me to make as boxing is all I have done since I was a child," Mayweather said. "However, these past few years have been extremely difficult for me to find the desire and joy to continue in the sport."[18] At the time, 31-year-old Mayweather registered 39 wins and no losses in his historic career. At the time of his retirement, The Ring had Mayweather ranked as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, with Manny Pacquiao at No. 2. During Mayweather's brief retirement, Pacquiao earned superstar status in much of the Western world with his eighth-round technical knockout victory over Oscar De La Hoya, for which he moved up from lightweight to welterweight (135 pounds to 147 pounds). On May 2, 2009, the day of Pacquiao's fight against Ricky Hatton, Mayweather announced that he was coming out of retirement and would fight Juan Manuel Márquez, The Ring lightweight champion and No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter, on July 18, 2009, in a welterweight non-title fight.[19] Márquez had previously fought Pacquiao in two controversial outings: they fought to a 12-round draw on May 8, 2004, and Pacquiao was awarded a 12-round split decision win on March 15, 2008.[19] Mayweather played down Pacquiao's newfound stardom at his press conference, stating: "If he wins tonight, don't be all shocked ... Cause guess what? I beat (Hatton) when he was undefeated. Pacquiao beat Oscar, it don't matter. Going down to 147 pounds was too much for (De La Hoya), he was dead after the first round. ... When you talk boxing, you talk Floyd Mayweather."[20] Pacquiao would go on to defeat Hatton by a second-round knockout to win The Ring junior welterweight title. The win made him the second boxer in history to win titles in six weight divisions, the first being Oscar De La Hoya.[20] Mayweather vs. Márquez was postponed until September 19, 2009, due to a rib injury suffered by Mayweather. Despite being out of the ring for 21 months, Mayweather looked as sharp as ever and dominated the fight, winning by a lopsided 12-round unanimous decision. After the bout, Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe stated that a fight with Pacquiao was the "next obvious choice from a marketing standpoint."[21] On November 14, 2009, Pacquiao stopped Puerto Rican star Miguel Cotto in round 12 to win the WBO welterweight title. Pacquiao's victory sparked a media frenzy and fans were quick to demand a fight between the two of them,[22] despite the fact that the actual fight itself had not officially been made yet and would not take place until 2015. First negotiations On December 5, 2009, ESPN reported that Pacquiao signed a contract to fight Mayweather on March 13, 2010. Shortly afterward, Pacquiao denied ever signing a contract to fight Mayweather, telling FanHouse, "There are still some things that need to be negotiated."[23] On December 11, Golden Boy Promotions sent an eight-page contract to Top Rank, proposing a 50–50 financial split for a fight to take place on March 13, 2010.[24] The contract was very detailed, including such matters as who would weigh-in first (Pacquiao), who would enter the ring first (Pacquiao) and who would be introduced first (Mayweather). The contract included an HBO PPV showing at a cost of $59.95. Billing was to be "Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, presented by Top Rank, Golden Boy Promotions, Mayweather Promotions, and M-P Promotions in association with [approved sponsors and the site]." Also included in the contract was Olympic-style drug testing.[25] Venues for the fight being discussed were Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and the Superdome in New Orleans.[26] In a video titled "Boxing Legend Freddie Roach Updates Us On Pacquiao" uploaded to YouTube on December 11, 2009, Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, revealed the first hint about Mayweather's request for Olympic-style drug testing, telling roving reporter Elie Seckbach, "I hear negotiations are a little shady. (Richard) Schaefer and them are unhappy about something. They want Olympic-style drug testing. I said, 'Yeah, no problem.' I said, 'Whatever you want.' Since we accepted that, now they're running scared again."[24] On December 13, 2009, Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz, said Mayweather's request for Olympic-style drug testing was a laughing matter and they had no concerns whatsoever about it. "Our reaction is, 'So what?' We know Manny doesn't take any illegal drugs or anything. And none of this is getting under Manny's skin or anything. I'm here with Manny, and to him, it's like a joke. It's a laughing matter," said Koncz.[24] After reports had surfaced that both parties had agreed to all terms, Golden Boy Promotions released a press release on December 22, 2009, revealing that Pacquiao was unwilling to comply with the Olympic-style drug testing requested by Team Mayweather. The following day, Bob Arum, Top Rank founder and CEO, declared the fight was off and Pacquiao would be facing a different opponent. "We appeased Mayweather by agreeing to a urine analysis at any time, and blood testing before the press conference and after the fight. Mayweather pressed for blood testing even up to the weigh-in. He knew that Manny gets freaked out when his blood gets taken and feels that it weakens him. This is just harassment and, to me, just signaled that he didn't want the fight," Arum told David Mayo of the Grand Rapids Press.[27] Not long after declaring that the fight was off, Arum had a change of heart and offered Mayweather a 24-hour take-it-or-leave-it deadline to accept Team Pacquiao's terms for drug testing. Top Rank sent out a press release explaining their position on Mayweather's request for random Olympic-style drug testing. In it, Arum said Pacquiao was willing to submit to as many random urine tests requested, but as far as random blood tests were concerned, he was only willing to subject himself to three tests: one in January, one 30 days from the bout (no later than February 13) and immediately after the fight. "Let's be very clear on the real issues we differ on. It's not about being tested ... It's about who does the testing and the scheduling of the procedures ... The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) cannot do it because they will not amend its procedures to accommodate the blood testing schedule we have outlined. USADA, under its guidelines, would have the right to administer random blood tests as many times as they want up to weigh-in day and that is ludicrous," Arum explained.[28] Freddie Roach told Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times on December 22, 2009, that he would prefer for Pacquiao to give his final blood sample a week before the bout and no later than 72 hours before. On December 28, 2009, video from an episode of HBO's Pacquiao–Hatton: 24/7 surfaced on the internet showing Pacquiao giving blood in the weeks leading up to his May 2, 2009, bout with Ricky Hatton. Documents confirmed that the video was recorded on April 8, 2009, 24 days prior to the fight and past the 30-day cut-off date that Pacquiao had demanded for a Mayweather fight.[23] Pacquiao filed suit in U.S. District Court in Nevada on December 30, 2009, against Floyd Mayweather Jr., Floyd Mayweather Sr., Roger Mayweather, Mayweather Promotions, and Golden Boy Promotions executives Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer, alleging that they made false and defamatory statements accusing him of taking performance-enhancing drugs.[29] Both sides agreed to enter into mediation on January 7, 2010, in hopes of coming to an agreement on the blood testing issue. Retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein, who successfully resolved a prior dispute between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, would again act as mediator. Two days later, after hours of negotiating during mediation, Arum declared that the fight was officially off after Mayweather refused to agree to a 24-day cut-off date. Mayweather revealed that he offered a 14-day cut-off date to Team Pacquiao, but it was rejected. Leonard Ellerbe declared on January 18, that random blood and urine testing will be implemented in all of Mayweather's future fights, regardless of the opponent. On February 13, in an exclusive interview with David Mayo of The Grand Rapids Press, Mayweather said, "I gave him [Pacquiao] a chance, up to 14 days out. But my new terms are all the way up to the fight. They can come get us whenever, all the way up to the fight, random drug test. That's what it is."[23] After the failed negotiations, both boxers moved on to other fights. On March 13, 2010, Pacquiao defeated Joshua Clottey via unanimous decision and on May 1, 2010, Mayweather beat Shane Mosley by a unanimous decision.[24] Reported second negotiations On May 13, 2010, Bob Arum announced that he had penciled in November 13, 2010, as the date of Pacquiao's next fight, possibly against Mayweather.[30] Pacquiao was quoted by the Manila Bulletin on May 20, as saying, "As long as they're not getting a large amount of blood, I am willing to give out blood as close to two weeks before the fight."[31] On the same day, Mayweather revealed that he would be taking off the rest of 2010 and possibly 2011. Arum declared on June 30, 2010, that there were no longer any issues and the decision was up to Mayweather. "That's all been resolved," Arum stated to Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports regarding the dispute over random blood and urine drug testing.[32] Arum would also tell the Las Vegas Review-Journal, "There's no longer any issues....The question is whether Mayweather is willing to fight this year." He would reiterate that comment to the Manila Bulletin, stating, "It's now up to Mayweather if he wants to fight."[33] On July 13, Arum issued a July 16 midnight deadline for Mayweather. "Mayweather has until the end of the week. He could wait until the last minute. If it's Friday [July 16] and it's 11 p.m., and he says we have a deal, we have a deal," Arum would explain to Dan Rafael of ESPN. On July 15, Top Rank's website unveiled an official countdown to the deadline entitled "Money" Time: Mayweather's Decision.[34] Denial of second negotiations As soon as the deadline for Mayweather's response expired, Arum held a conference call. Arum revealed to the media that the negotiations he had been referring to consisted of a series of conversations with HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg. He also revealed that there was no actual direct communication with any representative from Team Mayweather or Golden Boy Promotions. "I had a couple of conversations with Ross [Greenburg] and I laid out all the terms that would be acceptable to our side and I also informed him about the concession that Manny had made regarding drug testing. He got back to me in a couple of weeks and told me that he had had discussions with Al Haymon, representing Floyd Mayweather, and that everything looked good and we were nearing a resolution," Arum explained.[35] During a Q & A session following his opening statement, Arum further explained, "We have never talked to anybody on the Mayweather side and all conversations on our part were through Ross Greenburg and he reported on all conversations on the Mayweather side from Al Haymon."[35] On July 19, 2010, Ellerbe denied that negotiations ever took place and said nothing was ever agreed on. "Here are the facts: Al Haymon, Richard Schaefer and myself speak to each other on a regular basis and the truth is no negotiations have ever taken place nor was there ever a deal agreed upon by Team Mayweather or Floyd Mayweather to fight Manny Pacquiao on November 13. Either Ross Greenburg or Bob Arum is not telling the truth, but history tells us who is lying," stated Ellerbe.[36] Three days later, Schaefer backed Ellerbe's statement that negotiations never took place. Regarding comments he made suggesting that contracts for the megafight were close to being finalized, De La Hoya told BoxingScene.com on July 26, "I think I said it because I get the question asked so many times that, obviously, I was fed up and tired of it and I just said like, yeah, yeah, it's gonna get made. So it was a quick answer that I should have obviously thought about. But, obviously, negotiations weren't going on. Nothing was going on."[37] Also on July 26, Greenburg released a statement saying he had been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2, "I had been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2, carefully trying to put the fight together. Hopefully, someday this fight will happen. Sports fans deserve it," Greenburg revealed in a prepared statement sent out to select members of the media.[38] Schaefer again supported Ellerbe's denial of negotiations and challenged both Greenburg and Arum to take lie detector tests. "I think it's unfortunate that Ross made that statement. I fully stand behind the statement I made. I have not negotiated with Ross and I am not aware of any negotiations that have taken place," Schaefer told ESPN.[34] Continued disputes On September 2, 2010, Mayweather unleashed a profanity-filled racist internet rant against Pacquiao via Ustream. He was quoted as referring to Pacquiao as "a yellow chump" amongst other derogatory and racist comments such as, "Once I stomp the midget, I'm going to make the motherf***er make me a sushi roll and cook me some rice" as well as referencing eating cats and dogs.[39] The following day Mayweather apologized. "I want to apologize to everybody. ... I don't have a racist bone in my body, you know. I love everybody," Mayweather said. "I was just having fun. I didn't really mean it, nothing in a bad way.""[40] On July 8, 2011, ESPN reported that Pacquiao was willing to agree to random drug testing—but not by USADA. "We have agreed in the Pacquiao camp to unlimited random testing done by a responsible, neutral organization," Arum told Yahoo!. "We don't believe USADA is a neutral organization. I don't think anybody's test is as vigorous as the test administered by the Olympic Organization. And we can arrange for the Olympic Organization to handle the test under the supervision of the Athletic commission respective of the state where the fight is going to be held."[41] However, the following day, Pacquiao's top adviser, Michael Koncz, stated that Pacquiao had never agreed to testing all the way up to fight day. "Will we give blood five days, seven days before the fight? You know, that's something I have to talk to Manny about, but we have nothing to hide," Koncz said.[42] On January 20, 2012, Mayweather spoke directly to Pacquiao via telephone. "He ask about a 50/50 split," Mayweather said. "I told him no that can't happen, but what can happen is you can make more money fighting me then [sic] you have made in your career."[43] Mayweather offered to pay a flat fee of USD 40 million for a proposed fight but would not allow Pacquiao to share in the revenue. Pacquiao said, "I spoke to Floyd ...and he offered me an amount. He didn't talk about the pay-per-views here and that's it. I can't agree with that. I told him I agree with 55 and 45 (split)."[44] Pacquiao appeared on the ESPN program First Take on September 20, 2012, and said he had no problem with the drug-testing issue. "Whatever he wants to do," Pacquiao said. He said he was willing to be tested even on the night of the fight.[45] On September 25, Mayweather and Pacquiao reached a confidential settlement in their federal defamation case. In a statement released through the mediator in the case, the Mayweathers said they "wish to make it clear that they never intended to claim that Manny Pacquiao has used or is using any performance-enhancing drugs, nor are they aware of any evidence that Manny Pacquiao has used performance-enhancing drugs."[46] The Telegraph reported on December 20, that Mayweather said Pacquiao’s association with promoter Bob Arum is the reason why the bout will not happen. "We all know the Pacquiao fight, at this particular time, will never happen, and the reason why the fight won't happen is because I will never do business with Bob Arum again in life, and Pacquiao is Bob Arum's fighter," Mayweather said.[47] On January 7, 2014, Fighthype.com published an interview with Mayweather in which he called Pacquiao a "desperate dog" who is chasing a megabout due to his tax problems.[48] In response, Pacquiao challenged Mayweather to a fight for charity. "I challenge him to include in our fight contract that both of us will not receive anything out of this fight," Pacquiao said. "We will donate all the proceeds from the fight—guaranteed prize, should there be any, gate receipts, pay-per-view and endorsements—to charities around the world." He added, "Floyd, if you’re a real man, fight me. Let’s do it for the love of boxing and for the fans. Let’s do it not for the sake of money. Let’s make the boxing fans happy."[49] Successful negotiations As reported by at least five major media outlets (USA Today, Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post), serious negotiations leading to success were kickstarted in May 2014 by a very unlikely source: a Hollywood waiter/actor named Gabriel Salvador (Bones, Bluebloods, Rizzoli & Isles, CSI).[8][9][10][50][51] Salvador forged a friendship with CBS Network President Leslie Moonves when Moonves became a regular at Craig's restaurant in West Hollywood, where Salvador worked part-time as a waiter and where his son Elijah worked out at Freddie Roach's gym. Salvador and Moonves bonded over their mutual love of boxing.[8][10] CBS is the parent company of the Showtime Network, which had invested heavily in boxing and spent top-dollar on a multi-year deal with Mayweather.[8] Salvador told Moonves that he believed he could make the fight happen if he could get Moonves together with Pacquiao confidant and trainer Roach.[8] Salvador believed he could do so based on his connection to both men and his "unshakeable feeling" that together they could cut through the politicking and power struggles that seemed to have stymied prior negotiations.[8] Moonves agreed that Salvador should approach Roach to make an introduction with a view to making the fight a reality.[50] Eventually, Salvador approached Roach and asked him if he would be willing to meet with Moonves to get the wheels in motion. Roach agreed and asked Salvador to set up a meeting.[9] The first meeting between Moonves and Roach took place on May 28, 2014, at the Scarpetta restaurant in the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills, which Salvador attended.[10] Both Roach and Moonves agreed the long-awaited bout had to happen and Roach gave Moonves the green-light to start making things happen. Roach later helped Moonves make peace with Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum.[10] Moonves then brought the warring elements from both boxers' camps together and, with Salvador's help, even arranged meetings at his home.[9] After difficult negotiations, it was not long after that both camps agreed to fight on the night of May 2, 2015. The consensus is that but for Salvador's key introduction, the fight would not have happened.[8] Both Moonves and Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum have confirmed Salvador's pivotal role. For his role, Salvador maintains that he is a "finder" entitled to a finder's fee.[9] But Salvador has yet to be paid that fee by either CBS or Roach/Pacquiao.[51] The fight grossed more than $600 million, with the television networks taking in more than $400 million and Pacquiao grossing more than $160 million.[52] On December 12, 2014, Mayweather proposed a May 2, 2015, fight with Pacquiao, citing his indirect frustration at not being able to make the fight happen in the past by stating that Pacquiao had lost to both Juan Manuel Márquez and Timothy Bradley respectively. He also stated that he (Pacquiao) was "not on his level". Mayweather then went on to close his comments with, "Let's make this fight happen for the people and for the fans."[53] On January 13, Pacquiao agreed to terms for the fight. Bob Arum claimed that now only Mayweather's camp was holding up an official agreement.[54][55] On January 27, Mayweather and Pacquiao finally met each other face to face for the first time during an NBA game between the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks in Miami.[56] Pacquiao said they exchanged phone numbers and would communicate with each other.[56] Pacquiao's advisor, Michael Koncz, said that the two future Hall of Famers later met at Pacquiao's hotel for about an hour to discuss the pending superfight and work out the remaining issues. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum expressed optimism that the fight could be finalized by Super Bowl Sunday at the soonest and that there would be no further deadlines for the fight, stating that the negotiations are nearly complete.[57] On January 30, TMZ reported that the fight had been agreed upon by both sides and that a formal announcement would be made in the "next couple of days." However, members from both sides, including Bob Arum and Stephen Espinoza, refuted the report, saying that the deal had not been finalized yet and that negotiations on what would be a joint pay-per-view (Showtime–HBO) telecast of the fight were still clearing out the last significant issues before the deal could be finalized.[53] On February 20, Mayweather announced that the fight was official and a contract had been signed for a fight to take place on May 2, 2015, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.[58] The fight was expected to shatter PPV buy records and gross millions of dollars with the ticket prices ranging from $3,500 to $250,000 and the PPV was expected to cost USD 89.95 for SD and USD 99.95 for HD. Boxing experts predicted the match would be the richest fight in boxing history and would generate $300 million.[59] Fight card Weight Class     Weight         vs.         Method     Round     Time     Notes Welterweight     147 lbs.     Floyd Mayweather Jr. (c)     def.     Manny Pacquiao (c)     UD     12/12         Note 1 Featherweight     126 lbs.     Léo Santa Cruz     def.     Jose Cayetano     UD     10/10     Featherweight     126 lbs.     Vasiliy Lomachenko (c)     def.     Gamalier Rodriguez     KO     9/12         Note 2 Super Middleweight     168 lbs.     Jesse Hart     def.     Mike Jimenez     TKO     6/10         Note 3 Junior Middleweight     154 lbs.     Chris Pearson     def.     Said El Harrak     UD     10/10     Junior Middleweight     154 lbs.     Brad Solomon     def.     Adrían Granados     SD     10/10     ^Note 1 For WBA (Super), WBC, WBO and The Ring welterweight titles. ^Note 2 For WBO featherweight title. ^Note 3 For vacant USBA super middleweight title. Fight details Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tickets for the fight went on sale on April 23 after an agreement had been reached over ticket allocation. Only 500 tickets went on sale to the public, priced at $1,500, $2,500, $3,500, $5,000, and $7,500 for the 16,800 capacity MGM Grand.[60][61] The tickets that went on sale sold out within a minute.[62][63][64] As per the contract, the first $160 million of revenue and the revenue above $180 million from the fight was split 60/40 between the fighters, with Mayweather receiving the larger 60% share. Revenue between $160 million and $180 million was to be split 51/49, with the 51% share going to the winner. Both fighters were expected to earn at least $100 million in revenue from their participation.[65] Although the event was jointly promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank, the contract named Mayweather Promotions as the lead promoter of the fight.[66] Both fighters agreed to undergo drug testing by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, including random blood and urine testing prior to the fight, a test following the fight and a ban from professional boxing for four years if they test positive.[67] Neither fighter has failed a drug test during their professional career.[68] Kenny Bayless served as the in-ring referee, as chosen by the Nevada Athletic Commission. Bayless has previously officiated five of Mayweather's past bouts and seven of Pacquiao's and he earned a record $25,000 for officiating this fight. Burt Clements, Dave Moretti and Glenn Feldman served as judges.[69] The U.S. national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner", was performed by Jamie Foxx.[70] The Philippine national anthem, "Lupang Hinirang", was performed by Filipino-American singer Gail Banawis, joined by The Word Chorale—a choir of Filipino pastors.[71] A large number of celebrities were in attendance; singer Justin Bieber was among Mayweather's entourage, while Pacquiao was joined by comedian Jimmy Kimmel—who had discussed the possibility of entering with him when Pacquiao appeared on his talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live. Kimmel wore an outfit parodying Bieber's wardrobe from a pre-fight press conference and photobombed a pre-fight photo taken by Pacquiao. Other figures in attendance included Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Charles Barkley, Mike Tyson, Clint Eastwood, Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington, Michael J. Fox, Donald Trump, Jake Gyllenhaal, Amir Khan, Drew Barrymore, Jesse Jackson, Russell Westbrook, Mark Wahlberg, Lewis Hamilton, Leonardo DiCaprio, Don Cheadle, Michael Jordan, Sugar Ray Leonard, Paris Hilton, Nicki Minaj, Meek Mill, Ben Affleck, The Jonas Brothers, Michael Keaton, Tom Brady, Magic Johnson, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Evander Holyfield, Mariah Carey, Sting, 50 Cent, and others.[72][73] Broadcasting As both Pacquiao and Mayweather had exclusive relationships with the broadcasters, HBO and Showtime, at the time of the fight, the telecast of the fight was a joint production between HBO World Championship Boxing and Showtime Championship Boxing. This marked the first collaboration between the two American premium television services since Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson in 2002. It was executive produced and directed by Showtime's David Dinkins Jr. and Bob Dunphy and featured a mix of Showtime and HBO personalities.[74][75] The lead ringside announcer for the fight was Jim Lampley (HBO) and he was joined by analysts, Al Bernstein (Showtime) and Roy Jones Jr. (HBO). Max Kellerman (HBO) and Jim Gray (Showtime) covered the locker rooms of Pacquiao and Mayweather, respectively. James Brown and Paulie Malignaggi of Showtime hosted the pre-fight show, Harold Lederman (HBO) was the unofficial scorer, and both fighters had their own personal ring announcer: Jimmy Lennon Jr. (Showtime) introduced Mayweather, while Michael Buffer (HBO) made the main ring announcements while introducing Pacquiao.[76] The broadcast was, in most regions, distributed as a pay-per-view event. In the United States, the PPV cost was USD 89.95 (with an additional $10 charge for HD), a 40% increase over the PPV cost of Mayweather's 2013 fight against Canelo Álvarez.[65][75] Rights to screen the fight in commercial venues such as bars and restaurants were administered by G&G Sports, with costs based upon venue size and other factors, reaching as high as $5,000 for a 257-seat establishment. Due to concerns that they may not have been able to recoup the cost of the PPV through cover charges and drink sales, some bars decided against screening the fight at all.[77] Both HBO and Showtime aired encores of the fight the following Saturday, May 9, 2015.[78] Both Showtime and HBO broadcast documentary specials focusing on the two fighters as part of the lead-up to the fight; Showtime produced the Mayweather-focused Inside Mayweather vs. Pacquiao—with three episodes focusing on Mayweather's preparations for the event and an epilogue which aired the week following the fight, while HBO aired a one-hour Pacquiao-focused Mayweather/Pacquiao: At Last, as well as encores of past Pacquiao fights. Showtime's sister outlet CBS Sports Network also aired supplemental programming, including encores of Inside Mayweather vs. Pacquiao and past Mayweather fights, live coverage of the weigh-in, special broadcasts of The Doug Gottlieb Show and Boomer and Carton from Las Vegas and coverage of the post-fight press conference.[79][80][81] International broadcasting In Pacquiao's native country of the Philippines, Solar Entertainment held broadcast rights to the fight, reportedly paying $10 million (PHP 440 million). The telecast was made available via commercial free pay-per-view on the television providers Cignal and SkyCable, and at the locations of theatre chain SM Cinema (including IMAX theaters) and the Mall of Asia Arena. Unlike previous Pacquiao fights, whose free-to-air rights were held by GMA Network as part of a sub-licensing arrangement, a "slightly-delayed" telecast of the fight was simulcast by Solar Sports, GMA, ABS-CBN, and TV5.[82] Solar Sports President Wilson Tieng said that Pacquiao personally requested the joint broadcast due to its historic nature, and that "everybody agreed to set aside all their differences to make sure that this will become the biggest event ever in Philippine television history." GMA held exclusive radio rights to the fight.[83][84] In Europe, generally, the fight was broadcast via PPV (Austria, United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Spain). Only a few TV holders in Europe decided otherwise – TVP (Poland), Sport 1 (Czech Republic and Hungary), and Discovery Italy (Deejay TV and DMAX). Sky Sports Box Office won exclusive television rights in the UK to the bout, and produced a four episode broadcast leading up to the event titled Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: Countdown.[85] Sportsmax TV and Cleeng offered the fight via PPV in 19 Caribbean countries, including Barbados, Jamaica, Surinam, and Trinidad and Tobago.[86] International broadcasters Piracy and streaming Due to the high profile of the event and the high price of the PPV, there were significant concerns surrounding piracy of the fight's telecast by either bars (which were required to purchase a higher-priced commercial license to televise the event, and were not legally allowed to purchase it through their television provider) or by online streaming services, with TorrentFreak going on to report that Mayweather vs. Pacquiao was "destined to become the most pirated live sports event in history".[90][91][92] Organizers were especially concerned about the mobile broadcasting apps Meerkat and Periscope due to their relative ease of use and accessibility, as viewers could simply film their television screen with their phones to make a stream available.[91][92][90] Alongside monitoring activities during the event, actions were also preemptively taken against several sites that advertised plans to illegally stream the fight. In the Philippines, the Philippine National Police's Anti-Cybercrime Group arrested the operator of a streaming service after a complaint by ABS-CBN and was granted a temporary restraining order in a Florida court for its infringements of copyrights and trademarks. HBO and Showtime filed a similar lawsuit against two other streaming services that advertised an intent to offer the fight under 17 U.S.C. § 411 (which allows for preemptive claims of copyright infringement against those conspiring to infringe the copyrights of a broadcast) and a court issued a restraining order against the sites and all parties in "active concert or participation with any of them, including any and all service providers who receive notice of this order". The Electronic Frontier Foundation criticized the wide reach of the order, arguing that the clause of "any and all service providers who receive notice of this order" was comparable to the provisions of the previously proposed Stop Online Piracy Act, theorizing that other parties not originally named could become subject to the injunction by merely receiving notice of the order.[91][93][94] A large number of Periscope streams were used to broadcast the fight, either indirectly with a focus on reactions from viewing parties, or simply rebroadcasting television feeds of the fight. One stream reportedly peaked at around 10,000 viewers, although these streams had inconsistent uptime due either to connection issues or to being reported and taken down by the service. Representatives of both Meerkat and Periscope reported that they acted upon takedown notices received throughout the evening.[95] ESPN's Ryan McGee dubbed Periscope the "winner" of the fight due to the prominence it received through this manner.[92][96][97] Dick Costolo, CEO of microblogging service and Periscope parent company Twitter, made a similar remark; although it was initially assumed to be in reference to the illegal streams, he clarified that it was actually in reference to HBO's usage of the service to stream behind-the-scenes from the fighters' locker rooms.[95] Belt The winner of the fight received a newly created belt by the WBC. The belt, valued at $1 million, is an exact replica of the current belt, except it has thousands of emeralds in place of the gold plating for the center logo.[98] The belt also contains the faces of both Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, along with the faces of the former WBC President, José Sulaimán and boxing legend Muhammad Ali.[98] Two belts were initially made for the fight. The green emerald belt won the public fan vote over the black onyx belt with a vote of 53% to 47%.[99] Gloves Both fighters wore eight-ounce (230 g) gloves with brands of their choosing. Mayweather wore custom Grant gloves with a multicolored paisley pattern, red & purple trim and the letters TBE (The Best Ever) on the cuff. Pacquiao wore standard red Cleto Reyes gloves with black & white trim.[100] In Pacquiao's third professional loss to Érik Morales, he was forced to use Winning brand gloves the first time around. Pacquiao's complaints were that the gloves felt like "pillows" and they did not give him the same power as his Reyes "puncher's gloves."[101] More recently, Mayweather had glove issues in his first bout with Marcos Maidana, stating that Maidana's Everlast MX gloves did not provide sufficient padding for the knuckles. The issue was later resolved with Marcos Maidana resorting to using Everlast Powerlock type gloves, leaving Maidana's trainer, Robert Garcia, unhappy with the negotiation.[102] Fighters' gear Mayweather's trunks were designed by Dapper Dan, a Harlem-based hip-hop fashion designer. At least five possible outfits were created for the fight. FanDuel, a daily fantasy sports website, acquired sponsorship rights to have their logo appear on his waistband.[103][104] Pacquiao's gear was provided by Nike.[103][104][105] Mayweather commissioned specially-designed mouthguards for the fight by Dr. Lee Gause, owner of Iceberg Guards, costing $25,000. Along with "subtle" clear pairs, some of them contained gold leaf, diamond dust and an embedded $100 bill. Iceberg Guards also released a limited-edition TMT-branded mouthguard to tie in with the fight.[106] Pacquiao's mouthguard was designed by Dr. Ed Dela Vega of Canoga Park, Los Angeles, who has custom-fit mouthguards for Pacquiao and other Philippine boxers. It featured a multi-colored design with a blend of the colors from the flag of the Philippines, meant to represent the different ethnic groups that support him. Unlike Mayweather's, this mouthguard was supplied as a gift to Pacquiao; Vega argued that Mayweather's high-cost mouthguard was simply "hype" meant to "rub it in the face of boxers who can't afford it".[107][108] Sponsors A bidding war ensued between Corona and Tecate—which had respectively served as prominent sponsors of previous Mayweather and Pacquiao fights—for lead sponsorship rights to the fight. Tecate won the sponsorship deal with a bid of $5.6 million, beating a bid of $5.2 million by Corona. As part of the deal, Tecate's logo was visible on all promotional material for the fight.[109] Pacquiao was expected to feature a number of major sponsorships on his gear, providing an estimated $2.25 million in additional revenue. Among them were long-time sponsors, such as Air Asia, Cafe Puro, and Motolite.[104][105] Daily fantasy sports service FanDuel acquired sponsorship rights for Mayweather, including waistband branding and a block of tickets that were given away through an on-site sweepstakes.[103][104] The King, a mascot of fast food chain Burger King, was among Mayweather's entourage entering the arena.[72] Merchandise Prior to the fight, Nike launched a line of Pacquiao-oriented merchandise carrying his logo and the slogans "Do What They Say You Can't" and "#MannyDoes".[110] Demand for Mayweather merchandise was also heavy, including apparel branded under the Mayweather Promotions and The Money Team (TMT) labels amongst others.[111] From April 24, 2015, through the day of the fight, a MayPac pop-up store operated on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street. It sold merchandise for both fighters and featured interactive displays and fan-oriented events.[112] Recap In round one, both boxers were aggressive, Mayweather unusually so.[113] Pacquiao attempted to score early points from body shots. However, Mayweather escaped his attack and landed a solid counter strike under Pacquiao's right side.[114] All three judges gave the round to Mayweather.[115] In the second round, Pacquiao repeatedly forced Mayweather toward the ropes, but Mayweather was able to escape or wrap Pacquiao up each time. Pacquiao's jabs mostly missed, but he landed a solid left hand hit late in the round. Mayweather increased his aggression late. Although Harold Lederman of HBO scored this round for Pacquiao, all three judges scored the round in favor of Mayweather.[115] Early in round three, Mayweather hit Pacquiao low. Pacquiao reacted angrily to the hit, perceiving it as illegal. The fighters exchanged big hits late in the round, energizing the crowd.[114] For the third consecutive round, all three judges scored it in favor of Mayweather.[115] In the fourth round, Pacquiao chased Mayweather around the ring, throwing punches at a rapid pace.[113] Pacquiao scored a big left handed hit, causing Mayweather to put his high guard up against the ropes.[114] Pacquiao took the round on all three scorecards.[115] Having recovered from Pacquiao's big hit in the previous round, Mayweather won the early exchanges of the fifth round. Pacquiao remained on the offensive, but was unable to land any big punches.[114] Mayweather upped his activity and won the round in the eyes of the three judges. Pacquiao came out aggressive in the sixth, forcing Mayweather to the ropes. Pacquiao successfully landed a couple of combinations, but Mayweather appeared to be unfazed.[114] All the judges gave the round to Pacquiao, making the overall score Mayweather 58–56 (4–2 by rounds) on all cards.[115] Mayweather changed tactics at the start of the seventh round, becoming the aggressor for a second and forcing Pacquiao on to the ropes. He threw a double jab, then a right-handed punch, landing none, before Pacquiao counterattacked with an unsuccessful combo.[114] Mayweather stayed aggressive in the eighth round, landing jabs that kept Pacquiao off balance. Pacquiao went on the attack, opening up and landing some bigger punches.[113][114] The round went to Mayweather on the official scorecards.[115] In the ninth round, Pacquiao was again on the offensive. He effectively landed several punches, but Mayweather also landed on his counters.[114] Both parties landed a number of hits in a late flurry of action that excited the crowd.[113][114] Pacquiao was active, while Floyd picked his counters. Two of the three judges gave the round to Pacquiao, while the other saw it for Mayweather.[115] The tenth round saw Pacquiao on the attack. Again, two judges saw it for Pacquiao and one for Mayweather. Mayweather led 96–94 (6–4) on two cards and 98–92 (8–2) on the other with two rounds remaining.[115] Mayweather came out swinging in the eleventh round, landing just below his highest volume of the fight. The action then stalled as Pacquiao struggled to land much on a defensive-minded Mayweather, who ducked the attacks. Pacquiao forced Mayweather to the corner, but Mayweather landed a clean hit on Pacquiao's chin. However, Pacquiao still managed to hit solid punches in a fast pace.[114] The judges unanimously scored the round in favor of Mayweather.[115] In the final round, Pacquiao attempted to attack with Mayweather mostly looking to avoid his punches by running across the ring.[114] Mayweather kept the fight in the center of the ring, but Pacquiao did land some inside counters. All three judges gave the round to Mayweather.[115] Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Manny Pacquiao after 12 rounds by unanimous decision, 118–110, 116–112, 116–112, to remain undefeated in his career. According to CompuBox, Mayweather landed 67 more punches throughout the match, connecting with his punches 34 percent of the time, while limiting Pacquiao to only 19 percent.[116] Only three times did Pacquiao land double figure punches in a round.[113] Pacquiao himself thought he won the fight and continues to maintain that he deserved the decision.[117] Scorecards Judge     Fighter      1       2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9      10     11     12     Total[115] Burt Clements     Mayweather     10     10     10     9     10     9     10     10     9     9     10     10     116 Pacquiao     9     9     9     10     9     10     9     9     10     10     9     9     112 Glen Feldman     Mayweather     10     10     10     9     10     9     10     10     9     9     10     10     116 Pacquiao     9     9     9     10     9     10     9     9     10     10     9     9     112 Dave Moretti     Mayweather     10     10     10     9     10     9     10     10     10     10     10     10     118 Pacquiao     9     9     9     10     9     10     9     9     9     9     9     9     110 Aftermath Revenue and viewership The fight lived up to revenue expectations, generating somewhere between $300 million and $400 million in gross revenue according to early estimates (including announced ticket sales totalling $72,198,500), which would surpass Super Bowl XLIX.[118][119] Due to the possibility of high demand, viewers were encouraged to pre-order the PPV: a HBO representative reported that the fight had attracted more pre-orders than any other PPV event in the broadcaster's history. Despite the guidance, a high volume of last-minute orders overwhelmed the systems of several major U.S. television providers and resulted in various technical issues, such as difficulties ordering or viewing the PPV and outages that affected unrelated channels as well for some viewers.[120][121] To address these issues, the main event was pushed back 45 minutes from its originally projected start time of 8:15 p.m. PT (11:15 p.m. ET), to 9:00 p.m PT (12:00 a.m. ET).[122][123][124] The fight broke PPV viewership records in the United States, with 4.6 million buys and over $410 million in revenue, surpassing the previous $150 million revenue record set by Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Álvarez, the 2.48 million buy record set by 2007's Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. and a pre-fight estimate of $270 million from three million households.[65][75][125] In the Philippines, Kantar ratings estimated that the fight was watched across the three-network consortium by 46.9% of Filipino households; of the three networks simulcasting the fight, ABS-CBN had the largest number of viewers, with a rating share of 24%.[82] Due to hundreds of business jets filling up the stands, McCarran International Airport was closed for non-airline flights during the event days.[126][127] By contrast, the typically bustling streets of the Philippine capital Manila were nearly empty during the fight.[128] Post-fight remarks After the fight, Mayweather remarked "[Pacquiao] definitely had his moments in the fight. As long as I moved on the outside, I was able to stay away from those. He’s a really smart fighter ... My dad wanted me to do more, but I had to take my time. Because Manny Pacquiao is a competitor, and he’s extremely dangerous."[113] Mayweather said he would retire after his next fight, the opponent of which is not yet decided.[129] Pacquiao said "I thought I won the fight. He’s moving around. It’s not easy to throw punches when he’s moving around so much ... I thought I caught him many more times than he caught me."[113] Citing the stats that showed he possibly should have won the fight, Pacquiao has continued to maintain he should have been awarded the decision.[2][117] On the possibility of a rematch, Mayweather stated on May 9, 2015, that he had no plans to fight Pacquiao again "at this particular time", referring to him as being a "sore loser" and a "coward".[130][131] Pacquiao shoulder injury Hours after the fight, Pacquiao's team disclosed that he had injured his right shoulder in April during a training exercise. The injury was partially healed, but Pacquiao requested and was denied an injection of legal painkillers before the fight. Pacquiao said he re-injured the shoulder in the fourth round of the fight and was ineffective after that.[132] On May 4, a representative of the Nevada State Athletic Commission said that it was looking into why Pacquiao had stated he had no shoulder injuries on pre-fight questionnaire and was considering fining or suspending him for the deception. Pacquiao's team responded with a statement saying the United States Anti-Doping Agency had been informed of the injury, but USADA head Travis Tygart said Pacquiao's team had only asked about the legality of certain substances for use on an unspecified shoulder injury and had provided "no medical information, no MRIs, no documents". Mayweather initially stated that he would be open to the possibility of a rematch with Pacquiao once he had recovered from his shoulder injury, but he changed his mind before talks of a rematch were in the works.[133] Pacquiao later underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and was out of action for nine months to one year.[133] Mayweather's IV injection After weighing in for the fight on May 1, Mayweather received an intravenous injection for the stated purpose of pre-bout re-hydration. The two IV infusions were administered at his home, amounted to 16% of the total average male blood quantity, and contained saline, multivitamins and vitamin C. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) forbids such a large amount of fluids entering the body before competition as a preventive step against the possible masking of performance-enhancing drug use. Bob Bennett, the executive director of the NSAC, stated that unless the IV was administered at a hospital, it needs to be cleared by filing a therapeutic-use exemption, and supporting documents through the Nevada commission and authorized by the commission’s medical expert. The Pacquiao camp had requested an injection of the anti-inflammatory Toradol for Pacquiao's injured shoulder before the fight, but was denied authorization by the NSAC. USADA authorized both of Mayweather's IV injections, but the NSAC was not informed of them until after the fight.[134] Reception The fight itself left many fans disappointed. Forbes.com contributor Brian Goff called it "arguably, the least entertaining 'mega fight' in memory", attributing the disappointment to Mayweather's defense-oriented strategy, which is atypical of top boxers.[119] The New York Times felt that the bout was "far from electrifying and had some fans grumbling about Mayweather’s methodical defensive style".[135] Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Dwyre felt that the fight was "as compelling as the 405 freeway at 8 a.m.". Regarding Pacquiao's undisclosed shoulder injury, he called the entire situation very damaging to boxing, accusing the fight's promoters of allowing the fight to go on for monetary reasons, and potentially alienating fans. Dwyre went on to say that "This was billed the Fight of the Century. As The Wall Street Journal so aptly put it, it's good that we have 85 years left to top it."[132] Former heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield, who thought that Pacquiao should have been awarded the decision, questioned the judging of not just this fight but recent prize fights in general in an essay in The Players' Tribune.[136] Lawsuits On May 5, 2015, two Las Vegas residents filed a class-action lawsuit against Pacquiao, his manager and Top Rank, for failing to disclose Pacquiao's injury before the fight. The plaintiffs felt that their actions deceived those who bought tickets for the PPV or bet on the fight and violated the rules of the NSAC.[137] In August 2017 a Los Angeles judge threw out the suit alongside other fan suits relating to the injury, though he stated he felt sympathy for fans who felt deceived that Pacquiao didn't disclose his injury.[138] The case was later appealed and in November 2019 the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 to throw out the suit.[139] In May 2016, Showtime Networks also sued Top Rank over the injury, claiming that the promoter violated an indemnification agreement.[140] Rematch On September 15, 2018, both Mayweather and Pacquiao posted videos on Instagram depicting an encounter between the two at Ultra Japan, speculating the possibility of a rematch. Mayweather's stated in his posting of the video that the fight would happen "this year" and described it as "another nine-figure pay day on the way" and was heard remarking to Pacquiao that he was going to "take [the belt] from you like I did before". In Pacquiao's video (posted with the comment "50–1 #NoExcuses"), Mayweather was heard mentioning the "second of December". It is unknown if any formal negotiations have actually occurred.[141][142][143][144][145] On September 19, 2018, Mayweather clarified his calls for a rematch, stating that he planned to hold a fight in Japan first before any possible rematch.[146] On November 4, 2018, it was announced that Mayweather would fight undefeated Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa on New Year's Eve,[147][148] in a three-round exhibition boxing match. In the one-sided fight, Nasukawa was knocked down three times in the first round and his corner subsequently threw the towel in." (wikipedia.org) "Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (born Floyd Joy Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American professional boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He competed between 1996 and 2015, and made a one-fight comeback in 2017. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. During his career he won fifteen major world championships from super featherweight to light middleweight, including the Ring magazine title in five weight classes, the lineal championship in four weight classes (twice at welterweight), and retired with an undefeated record. As an amateur, Mayweather won a bronze medal in the featherweight division at the 1996 Olympics, three U.S. Golden Gloves championships (at light flyweight, flyweight, and featherweight), and the U.S. national championship at featherweight. Mayweather was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 2010s by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), a two-time winner of The Ring magazine's Fighter of the Year award (1998 and 2007), a three-time winner of the BWAA Fighter of the Year award (2007, 2013, and 2015), and a six-time winner of the Best Fighter ESPY Award (2007–2010, 2012–2014).[2][3] In 2016, Mayweather was ranked by ESPN as the greatest boxer, pound for pound, of the last 25 years.[4] As of May 2021, BoxRec ranks him the greatest boxer of all time, pound for pound.[5][6][7] Many sporting news and boxing websites, including The Ring, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, BoxRec, Fox Sports, and Yahoo! Sports, ranked Mayweather as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world twice in a span of ten years.[8][9][10][11][12][13] He is often referred to as the best defensive boxer in history, as well as being the most accurate puncher since the existence of CompuBox, having the highest plus–minus ratio in recorded boxing history.[14][15][16] Mayweather has a record of 26 consecutive wins in world title fights (10 by KO), 23 wins (9 KOs) in lineal title fights, 24 wins (7 KOs) against former or current world titlists, 12 wins (3 KOs) against former or current lineal champions, and 5 wins (1 KO) against International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees. Mayweather was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the class of 2021.[17] Mayweather is one of the most lucrative pay-per-view attractions of all time, in any sport. He topped the Forbes and Sports Illustrated lists of the 50 highest-paid athletes of 2012 and 2013, and the Forbes list again in both 2014 and 2015,[18][19] listing him as the highest-paid athlete in the world.[20][21] In 2006, he founded his own boxing promotional firm, Mayweather Promotions, after leaving Bob Arum's Top Rank.[22] Mayweather has generated approximately 24 million PPV buys and $1.67 billion in revenue throughout his career, surpassing the likes of former top PPV attractions including Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao.[23] In 2018, Mayweather was the highest-paid athlete in the world, with total earnings, including endorsements amounting to $285 million, according to Forbes.[24] In November, 2021, Sportico released an all-time athlete earnings list, in which Mayweather ranked no. 6 all time, totaling an inflation-adjusted $1.2 billion throughout his career. Early life Mayweather was born Floyd Joy Sinclair on February 24, 1977, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, into a family of boxers.[26] His father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., is a former welterweight contender who fought Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Leonard. His uncles Jeff and the late Roger Mayweather were professional boxers, with the latter—Floyd's former trainer—winning two world championships, as well as fighting Hall of Famers Julio César Chávez, Pernell Whitaker, and Kostya Tszyu. Mayweather was born with his mother's last name,[27] but his last name would change to Mayweather shortly thereafter. His maternal grandfather was born in Kingston, Jamaica.[28] He attended Ottawa Hills High School before dropping out.[29] Boxing has been a part of Mayweather's life since his childhood and he never seriously considered any other profession. "I think my grandmother saw my potential first," he said. "When I was young, I told her, 'I think I should get a job.' She said, 'No, just keep boxing.'"[30] During the 1980s, Mayweather lived in the Hiram Square neighborhood of New Brunswick, New Jersey, where his mother had relatives.[31] He later said, "When I was about eight or nine, I lived in New Jersey with my mother and we were seven deep in one bedroom and sometimes we didn't have electricity. When people see what I have now, they have no idea of where I came from and how I didn't have anything growing up."[32] It was common for the young Mayweather to come home from school and find used heroin needles in his front yard.[33] His mother was addicted to drugs, and he had an aunt who died from AIDS because of her drug use. "People don't know the hell I've been through," he says. The most time that his father spent with him was taking him to the gym to train and work on his boxing, according to Mayweather.[34] "I don't remember him ever taking me anywhere or doing anything that a father would do with a son, going to the park or to the movies or to get ice cream," he says. "I always thought that he liked his daughter [Floyd's older sister] better than he liked me because she never got whippings and I got whippings all the time."[32] Mayweather's father contends that Floyd is not telling the truth about their early relationship. "Even though his daddy did sell drugs, I didn't deprive my son," the elder Mayweather says. "The drugs I sold, he was a part of it. He had plenty of food. He had the best clothes and I gave him money. He didn't want for anything. Anybody in Grand Rapids can tell you that I took care of my kids".[35] Floyd Sr. says he did all of his hustling at night and spent his days with his son, taking him to the gym and training him to be a boxer. "If it wasn't for me he wouldn't be where he is today," he maintains.[32] "I basically raised myself," Mayweather says. "My grandmother did what she could. When she got mad at me I'd go to my mom's house. My life was ups and downs." His father says he knows how much pain his incarceration caused his son, but insists he did the best he could. "I sent him to live with his grandmother," he says. "It wasn't like I left him with strangers." In the absence of his father, boxing became an outlet for Mayweather.[35] As the elder Mayweather served his time, his son put all of his energy into boxing and dropped out of high school. "I knew that I was going to have to try to take care of my mom and I made the decision that school wasn't that important at the time and I was going to have to box to earn a living," he said.[35] Amateur boxing career Mayweather had an amateur record of 84 wins and 8 losses,[36] and won national Golden Gloves championships in 1993 (at 106 lb), 1994 (at 114 lb), and 1996 (at 125 lb).[37] He was nicknamed "Pretty Boy" by his amateur teammates because he had relatively few scars, a result of the defensive techniques that his father and uncle (Roger Mayweather) had taught him.[38] In his orthodox defensive stance Mayweather often utilizes the shoulder roll, an old-school boxing technique in which the right hand is held normally (or slightly higher than normal), the left hand is down around the midsection and the lead shoulder is raised high on the cheek in order to cover the chin and block punches. The right hand (as in the orthodox stance) is used as it normally would be: to block punches coming from the other side, such as left hooks. From this stance Mayweather blocks, slips and deflects most of his opponents' punches (even when cornered) by twisting left and right to the rhythm of their punches.[39] 1996 Olympics At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Mayweather won a bronze medal by reaching the semi-finals of the featherweight (57-kg)[40] division. In the first fight, Mayweather led 10–1 on points over Bakhtiyar Tileganov of Kazakhstan, before winning when the fight was stopped. In the second fight, Mayweather outpointed Artur Gevorgyan of Armenia 16–3. In the quarterfinals, the 19-year-old Mayweather narrowly defeated 22-year-old Lorenzo Aragon of Cuba in an all-action bout to win 12–11, becoming the first U.S boxer to defeat a Cuban in 20 years.[41] The last time this occurred was the 1976 Summer Olympics, when the U.S Olympic boxing team captured five gold medals; among the recipients was Sugar Ray Leonard. In his semifinal bout against eventual silver medalist Serafim Todorov of Bulgaria, Mayweather lost by a controversial decision (similar to Roy Jones Jr.'s highly controversial decision loss to Park Si-hun at the 1988 Summer Olympics).[42] Referee Hamad Hafaz Shouman of Egypt mistakenly raised Mayweather's hand (thinking he had won), while the decision was announced giving the bout to the Bulgarian.[43] The U.S. team filed a protest over the Mayweather bout, claiming the judges were intimidated by Bulgaria's Emil Jetchev (head of the boxing officials) into favoring the Bulgarian Todorov by a 10–9 decision in the 125-pound semifinal bout. Three of Jetchev's countrymen were in gold medal bouts. Judge Bill Waeckerle (one of the four U.S. judges working the games for the International Amateur Boxing Federation) resigned as Olympic Games and federation judge after Mayweather lost the decision, which was loudly booed by the crowd at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum.[44][45] "I refuse to be part of an organization that continues to conduct its officiating in this manner", Waeckerle wrote in his letter of resignation to federation president Anwar Chowdhry.[46] In the official protest U.S. team manager Gerald Smith said Mayweather landed punches that were not counted, while Todorov was awarded points without landing a punch.[47] "The judging was totally incompetent," Waeckerle said. The judges failed to impose a mandatory two-point deduction against Todorov after he was warned five times by the referee for slapping.[43] "Everybody knows Floyd Mayweather is the gold-medal favorite at 57 kilograms," Mayweather said afterward. "In America, it's known as 125 pounds. You know and I know I wasn't getting hit. They say he's the world champion. Now you all know who the real world champion is."[47] Featherweight Olympic qualification     Defeated William Jenkins RSC/TKO-3     Defeated James Baker RSCH/TKO-1     Lost to Augie Sanchez PTS (11–12)     Defeated Carlos Navarro PTS (31–11)     Defeated Augie Sanchez PTS (12–8) in the box-offs     Defeated Augie Sanchez PTS (20–10) in the box-offs Olympic results     Defeated Bakhtiyar Tileganov (Kazakhstan) RSCI/TKO-2     Defeated Artur Gevorgyan (Armenia) PTS (16–3)     Defeated Lorenzo Aragon (Cuba) PTS (12–11)     Lost to Serafim Todorov (Bulgaria) PTS (9–10)*     *Decision was protested unsuccessfully by the U.S. team Professional boxing career Super featherweight Mayweather won his first professional bout on October 11, 1996, when he knocked out fellow newcomer Roberto Apodaca in Round 2. Mayweather's trainer at the time was his uncle, Roger Mayweather; his father was still imprisoned after his conviction for illegal drug trafficking in 1993. The latter took over as his son's trainer when he was released from prison (after Mayweather Jr.'s 14th fight—a second-round knockout of Sam Girard).[48] From 1996 to early 1998, Mayweather won most of his fights by knockout or TKO. Early in his pro career, Mayweather received praise from all corners of the boxing world and was touted as a pugilistic prodigy.[49] During his fight with Tony Duran[50] the ESPN commentator remarked, "Emmanuel Steward was quoted as saying there have been very few who have been more talented than this kid. He will probably win two or three world championships; I think he will go on to be the best ever".[51] IBHOF trainer and commentator Gil Clancy commented before Mayweather's ninth professional fight (against Jesus Chavez), "I thought that Floyd Mayweather was the outstanding pro prospect in the entire Olympic games".[52] Mayweather vs. Hernandez In 1998, within two years of entering professional boxing, Mayweather decisively won his first world title (the WBC super featherweight (130 lb) championship) with an eighth-round technical knockout of The Ring world #1-ranked super featherweight Genaro Hernández after his opponent's cornerman stopped the fight. It was Hernández' first defeat in that weight class; he said after the fight, "He defeated me, he is quick, smart and I always knew he had the speed. I give him respect. He is a true champ".[53] With Mayweather's win he became lineal champion of the division; Genaro Hernández had previously beaten Azumah Nelson, whose dominance of the super-featherweight division had prompted boxing publications to give him the vacant lineal championship.[54][55] The Ring stopped awarding belts to world champions in the 1990s, but began again in 2002.[56] Nelson won his lineal status during the 1990s; therefore, The Ring's vacant title was awarded neither to him, Hernández, nor Mayweather (although Mayweather was The Ring's #1-ranked super featherweight). Mayweather became the first 1996 U.S. Olympian to win a world title.[57] Following his victory Mayweather's promoter Bob Arum said, "We believe in our heart of hearts that Floyd Mayweather is the successor in a line that starts with Ray Robinson, goes to Muhammad Ali, then Sugar Ray Leonard...We believe that he epitomizes that style of fighting".[58] After capturing the title Mayweather defended it against contender Angel Manfredy with a TKO in round two, giving Manfredy his first defeat in four years.[59] By the end of 1998 Mayweather was ranked by The Ring as the #8-ranked pound-for-pound best boxer in the world,[60] and became one of the youngest recipients of The Ring's Fighter of the Year award (21, the same age Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali were when winning their first awards).[61][62] In 1999, Mayweather continued his domination of the super featherweight division by defending his title three more times. The second defense of his title was against the Argentine Carlos Rios, which he won in a unanimous decision. Mayweather, fighting past the eighth round for only the third time in his career, won on the judges' scoring 120–110, 119–108, and 120–109.[63] Mayweather's third title defense was against Justin Juuko, which he won via knockout in the ninth round. Juuko could not beat the count of 10 by referee Mitch Halpern, and the fight ended in Mayweather's favor 80 seconds into that (the ninth) round.[64] His final title defense in 1999 was against Carlos Gerena, with Mayweather winning in a seventh-round referee technical decision (RTD). Mayweather said after the fight, "I want to show the world that along with Oscar De La Hoya and Roy Jones Jr., I'm the best fighter in the world".[65] This dominance did not go unnoticed in the boxing world; by the end of the year, the 22-year-old Mayweather was ranked The Ring's #2 pound-for-pound best boxer in the world (behind Roy Jones Jr.).[60] Before making the fifth successful defense of his title against former WBC Featherweight Champion Gregorio Vargas in early 2000, Mayweather fired his father as his manager and replaced him with James Prince. A few months after the fight, the rift between father and son grew when Mayweather also fired the elder Mayweather as his trainer.[66] In a 2004 interview Mayweather said that although he loves his father, he had a better chemistry with Roger because his father had put too much pressure on him to be perfect.[67] Mayweather, in his fifth title defense, won a near-shutout over "Goyo" Vargas in Las Vegas. During the 10th round, when Mayweather overheard HBO announcer Jim Lampley say that the champ had switched to a southpaw stance for the second time in the bout he leaned ringside and said "It was the third time". After a six-month layoff, Mayweather was still elusive. During the sixth round, Mayweather dropped Vargas with a hook to the ribs[68] and cruised to a unanimous decision. Roger Mayweather returned to his role as his nephew's trainer for his next bout; a non-title lightweight fight against Emanuel Augustus (then known as Emanuel Burton), which Mayweather won by ninth-round technical knockout.[69] Years later, in an interview in 2012, Mayweather would name his fight against Augustus as the toughest of his career, and said, "If I was rating certain fighters out of every guy that I fought, I'm going to rate Emanuel Augustus first compared to all the guys that I've faced."[70][71] Mayweather vs. Corrales In one of the more definitive and memorable fights of his career Mayweather fought the hard-hitting, former IBF super-featherweight champion Diego Corrales (33–0, with 27 KOs). Coming into the bout Mayweather and Corrales were undefeated, and neither fighter had touched the canvas. Mayweather was The Ring's #2-ranked super featherweight in the world (and #7 pound-for-pound), while Corrales was the #1-ranked super featherweight in the world and #5 pound-for-pound.[60][72] Before the fight was announced Mayweather had stated he wanted to fight Corrales, who was facing jail time for allegedly beating his pregnant wife. "I want Diego because I'm doing it for all the battered women across America", Mayweather said. "Just like he beat that woman, I'm going to beat him".[73] While both fighters were the same age (23), Corrales had several physical advantages over Mayweather: two inches in height, an inch in reach and (despite both arriving at the official weight-in at the 130-lb super-featherweight limit) unofficially 146 lbs, versus Mayweather's 1361/2 lbs.[74] In the bout, Mayweather won every round and knocked down Corrales five times (three times in round 7 and twice in round 10). After the fifth knockdown, Corrales' cornermen climbed onto the apron and stopped the fight, thereby establishing Mayweather as a claimant to boxing's mythical pound-for-pound title. At the time of the stoppage Mayweather was ahead on the scorecards, leading by 89–79, 90–79, and 90–78.[75] Throughout the fight, HBO commentators analyzed Mayweather. Larry Merchant stated, "Mayweather fights in a tradition of boxing and quick handedness that goes back in Michigan, all the way to fighters like Sugar Ray Robinson". Harold Lederman remarked,     Jim (Lampley), I gotta tell ya, I'm terribly impressed, I don't think I've seen an exhibition of boxing like this since Willie Pep, this kid is unbelievable, great legs, great speed, unbelievable ring-generalship. I mean he's got tremendous presence in that ring, Floyd Mayweather knows where he is, every minute of this fight... Corrales landed 60 of 205 punches, and landed no more than nine punches in a single round. Mayweather landed 220 of 414 punches.[76] Corrales was unable to land any clean shots, as he stalked Mayweather through the early rounds. He landed an average of six punches a round, according to CompuBox stats – the only time that a fighter has registered single digits in the 20 years CompuBox has been tracking punch statistics.[77] After the fight Mayweather remarked, "I would like to fight Prince Naseem (Hamed), hopefully we can meet at 128 (lbs) or he can come up to 130 (lbs), we can fight or I can fight the winner of Casamayor..." "Prince Naseem isn't going to fight you," intervened HBO commentator Larry Merchant; who then chuckled and added: "after he saw this, it ain't gonna happen". "I really want to fight Prince Naseem..." Mayweather continued, "but hopefully I can face the winner of Casamayor (vs.) Freitas".[78] Although neither fight materialised, Mayweather's opponent Diego Corrales would later hand Freitas (the winner of the Casamayor vs. Freitas fight) his first professional defeat and defeat Casamayor via controversial decision in a rematch of their first bout. Afterwards, Bob Arum was ecstatic about his new star. "Better than Sugar Ray Leonard", he asserted. "And did you see him at those press conferences...?"[79] The fight was met with acclaim in the boxing world and sports in general. CBS said, "Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s speed was dazzling. His power was unexpected"[76] and the BBC reported on "... a near flawless performance...".[80] The New York Daily News reported that "Floyd Mayweather Jr., displaying blazing speed and punishing power..."[77] and Sports Illustrated reported "... a fistic masterpiece".[81] On October 10, 2001, boxing trainer Eddie Futch died at age 90. Tim Smith of the New York Daily News remembered an encounter with the trainer in an article.     One of the last times I saw Futch was before the Floyd Mayweather Jr.–Diego Corrales junior lightweight title bout in Vegas. Futch was talking about how much he admired Mayweather's style, how Mayweather was such a beautiful boxer, able to slip along the ropes and avoid punches. Corrales said he was going to neutralize Mayweather's hand speed by hitting Mayweather on the arms. "I guess he thinks he's going to stand there and let him hit him on the arms all night," said Futch, who correctly predicted that Mayweather would completely dismantle Corrales in a defensive masterpiece. Futch had a way of cutting to the heart of a matter. I don't know anyone in boxing who won't miss him. I don't know anyone in boxing that can take his place.[82] On May 26, 2001, Mayweather, fighting in his hometown of Grand Rapids, pounded out a 12-round unanimous decision over future IBF super featherweight titleholder Carlos Hernández to retain his WBC super-featherweight title. Calling it "one of the toughest nights of my career", the 130-pound champion overcame injuries in both hands to improve his record to 26–0. "He is a very, very tough fighter," Mayweather said of the challenger, whose record fell to 33–3–1. "I'm disappointed in my performance." Mayweather suffered the first knockdown of his career when he hit Hernández with a left hook in round six, which caused him sufficient pain that he dropped his injured left hand to the canvas. He wasn't hit, but was given a standing eight-count by the referee.[83] Mayweather's last fight in the super-featherweight division was against future super featherweight and lightweight titleholder Jesús Chávez. Chávez was the WBC's top-ranked contender[84] and came into the fight with a 31-bout winning streak. This was Mayweather's eighth defense of the WBC super-featherweight title, which he had held for more than three years. He won when Chávez's corner stopped the fight after round nine. Mayweather had such difficulty making weight for this fight that he did not eat for four days before the weigh-in.[85] Chávez stated after the fight, "He's [Mayweather] the champ! And now I become his number-one fan".[86] Mayweather commented after the fight, "Although it will take some time to make the match, I want to fight Kostya Tszyu".[87] Tszyu, an Australian-based Russian, by then had established himself as the best light welterweight in the world. Mayweather did not get a chance to fight Tszyu, but went on to fight Ricky Hatton (who defeated Tszyu and won his Ring light welterweight championship). By the end of 2001, Mayweather was still ranked The Ring #1 super featherweight and #5 best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.[88] Lightweight Mayweather vs. Castillo I In his first fight as a lightweight, Mayweather took on World Boxing Council (WBC) champion and The Ring #1-ranked lightweight José Luis Castillo. Despite both fighters officially meeting the 135-lb lightweight limit, Mayweather came to the ring weighing unofficially 1381/2 lbs to Castillo's 1471/2 lbs. He defeated Castillo, winning the WBC and vacant The Ring and lineal lightweight titles with a 12-round unanimous decision at the MGM Grand Garden Arena before a crowd of 6,920. With Mayweather's win, he became the first lineal lightweight champion since Pernell Whitaker.[89] Judges Jerry Roth and John Keane scored it 115–111 and judge Anek Hongtongkam scored it 116–111, a decision that was loudly booed by the pro-Castillo crowd. The Associated Press had Mayweather winning, 115–111;[90] the New York Daily News scorecard also had Mayweather winning, 116–112.[91] Castillo (45–5–1, 41 KOs) could not touch Mayweather in the first round, with Castillo throwing 27 punches and landing only three. After round one Larry Merchant pointed out, "Mayweather made a comment in the corner about his left shoulder. We'll see if something's wrong with it, he seems to be rotating it, trying to keep it loose". George Foreman noted likewise, adding "'Massage my left shoulder', he (Mayweather) said, that's not a good sign".[92] In the first minute of the second round Castillo went down on a shot by Mayweather, which was ruled a slip by the referee. Later in the fight Harold Lederman alluded to it, saying "By the way, that knockdown in the second round [is] extremely questionable, I thought Floyd did throw a left hook and this guy [Castillo] went down at the end of the hook but what you going to do, it's a judgement call by the referee, so it doesn't go as a 10–8 round..."[92] Drakulich took a point from Castillo for hitting on the break in the eighth round after several warnings throughout the fight. With Castillo repeatedly hitting on the break, this led to a large number of his punches landing. George Foreman agreed with the decision ("That's what you want a referee to do"), although his counterpart Larry Merchant had an alternative view: "I think this referee has been altogether too involved in the fight. Too officious".[93] Drakulich struck again in the ninth round, this time taking a point away from Mayweather for using his elbows. Mayweather won the fight by using his jab effectively and staying away from Castillo for much of the fight.[94] Having injured his left shoulder on the last day of training, he changed to a southpaw stance on several occasions to throw more right-handed punches. At the end of the fight, Harold Lederman had Castillo winning 115–111. ESPN's Max Kellerman disputed Lederman's scoring, writing in his boxing column: "Harold Lederman, the (HBO) unofficial ringside television judge, gave the third round to Castillo, which I think demonstrates that Mayweather suffers from the same scoring syndrome that afflicted Pernell Whitaker. Mayweather is so seldom hit cleanly in his face, that when a clean shot is landed against him it registers all out of proportion in the observer's mind. Meanwhile, the three clean shots Mayweather just landed against his opponent do not make the same kind of impression".[95] CompuBox statistics indicated that Castillo landed more overall punches and significantly more power shots over the course of the fight. Mayweather outscored Castillo in jabs thrown and landed. Lederman's scoring for this fight may be seen as inconsistent[by whom? – Discuss]; in both Bernard Hopkins vs. Jermain Taylor fights Lederman had Taylor winning 115–113, despite Hopkins landing more overall punches and significantly more power shots during both fights.[96][97] Taylor threw and landed more jabs, however. In the post-fight interview Mayweather said, "My last training day, I hurt my rotator cuff in my left shoulder, so I couldn't use my jab the way I want to. My left wasn't as strong as I wanted it to be, but I didn't want to have no excuses, you know, like other champions, you know, when they get hurt they won't even show up to the fight. I get hurt I keep fighting, you know, I want to bring the fans a victory". Mayweather vs. Castillo II Due to the closeness of their first bout, Mayweather accepted an immediate rematch with José Luis Castillo which took place on December 7, 2002. Before the rematch, Mayweather reiterated that he had torn his left rotator cuff two days before the first fight and could not throw a jab or a left hook. He had surgery following the controversial decision over Castillo, and said his shoulder had fully healed.[98] The smaller Mayweather was again outweighed by Castillo on the night of the fight; Castillo weighed 147 lbs, to Mayweather's 138.[99] In the rematch Mayweather used his footwork, combinations and jab to earn another unanimous decision. There were no knockdowns or notable exchanges in the fight; the judgment was close, with Mayweather winning 115–113 on two scorecards and 116–113 on a third. The Associated Press had Mayweather winning 116–112;[99] HBO unofficial scorer Harold Lederman and fellow analyst Larry Merchant both scored it 115–113 for Mayweather.[100] On April 19, 2003, Mayweather defended his WBC lightweight title in a unanimous decision over Dominican Victoriano Sosa. Mayweather (30–0) fought a tactically-sound 12-round bout against an aggressive Sosa (35–3–2). His next fight (on November 1 of the same year) was in his hometown of Grand Rapids against WBC #1-ranked contender Phillip N'dou, whose record was 31–1 with 30 KOs. During the run-up to the fight Nelson Mandela invited N'dou to his office for a pep talk before his departure for the U.S., advising him to "keep Mayweather on the outside with the jab, work the body and the head will become available". South African president Thabo Mbeki, in a note, said he had "full confidence" N'dou would put on a performance to make all South Africans proud and would return home with the WBC belt. When told of his opponent's high-level support Mayweather responded, "Nelson Mandela's a great man, he's big in America, but Mandela can't get in there and fight for him".[101] In the fifth round, Mayweather connected with a series of straight rights and lefts; when N'dou would not go down, Mayweather gave a little smile and continued the barrage. He dominated his opponent, before flooring him with a series of rights in the seventh round. N'dou got up on shaky legs, forcing a stoppage at 1:50. At times during the fight, Mayweather (in black trunks outlined with fur) seemed to toy with N'dou.[102] By the end of 2003, Mayweather was still The Ring's lightweight champion and the #5-ranked best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.[88] Light welterweight Mayweather vs. Corley Mayweather, at 27, made his 140-pound debut by defeating former titlist DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley, knocking him down twice officially in rounds eight and ten, and scoring a unanimous decision of 119–107, 119–108, and 118–108. The fight was billed as a WBC elimination bout, with the winner earning a shot at 140-pound champion Arturo Gatti.[103] "Mayweather can flat-out fight", Corley's trainer Don Turner said. "He's like magic. He makes you move into the punches."[103] Shortly after this fight Mayweather would reach #1 on the USA Today pound-for-pound rankings, with middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins at #2.[104] Mayweather vs. Bruseles On January 22, 2005, Mayweather fought Henry Bruseles in another WBC elimination bout, outclassing Bruseles throughout the first seven rounds. In round eight, Mayweather knocked Bruseles down twice and the fight was stopped. Mayweather's victory made him the mandatory challenger for Gatti's WBC light welterweight championship. Mayweather vs. Gatti Main article: Arturo Gatti vs. Floyd Mayweather The pay-per-view fight between Mayweather and The Ring #1-ranked contender Arturo Gatti took place June 25, 2005 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where fans heavily supported Gatti. Before the fight Mayweather was confident, describing Gatti as "a C+ fighter," "a fake" and "a blown-up club fighter".[105] Mayweather entered the ring being carried on a chariot to the song "Another One Bites the Dust".[106] Gatti entered the ring accompanied by the song "Thunderstruck" and was momentarily frightened by the pyrotechnics exploding. Near the end of round one, Mayweather pushed Gatti's head down in close; Gatti broke, leaving himself vulnerable while Mayweather continued landing punches. Gatti turned to the referee to complain; Mayweather capitalised, sending Gatti to the canvas with more shots for what was scored a knockdown.[107] Throughout the next five rounds, the quicker Mayweather landed nearly every shot against Gatti, who had no offense with which to return fire. Gatti's corner stopped the fight after round six, giving Mayweather his third world title. In the post-fight interview Mayweather praised Gatti, claiming that his pre-fight comments "were just to sell tickets". To many boxing experts, Mayweather's dominance of Gatti solidified his position as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.[108] CompuBox had Mayweather out-landing Gatti 168–41,[109] with Gatti landing only 10 power punches (anything other than a jab).[110] Mayweather's fight with Gatti would be his last in the light-welterweight division; he would leave as The Ring #1-ranked contender, with Ricky Hatton as light-welterweight champion. Welterweight After his fight with Gatti, Mayweather moved up to the welterweight division. On November 19, 2005, Mayweather fought a non-title bout at 147 lb (67 kg) against welterweight Sharmba Mitchell. In round three, Mayweather knocked Mitchell down with a straight right hand to the head. In round six another straight right hand—this one to Mitchell's body—dropped Mitchell again, ending the fight. Mayweather vs. Judah Main article: Floyd Mayweather vs. Zab Judah On April 8, 2006, Mayweather defeated Zab Judah for the IBF welterweight title in a unanimous decision. Plans for the fight had been jeopardized after Judah lost the WBA, WBC and The Ring Welterweight titles to Carlos Baldomir on January 7, 2006; however, Mayweather's and Judah's camps reworked the contract and decided that the fight would go on.[111] During the bout, Mayweather stayed calm during Judah's aggressive early rounds. He began to dominate Judah in round five, and the latter eventually bled. Late in the tenth round Judah hit Mayweather with a left hand that was clearly below the belt, following with a right-handed rabbit punch. Referee Richard Steele called time out with five seconds remaining in the round. Roger Mayweather entered the ring and approached Judah, but Steele restrained him; Judah's father (and trainer), Yoel Judah, entered the ring as well. Mayweather remained in the neutral corner while the Judahs scuffled with Roger (and others who had entered the ring), until police and security restored order. Roger was ejected, and the fight continued for the scheduled 12 rounds. Mayweather won a unanimous decision by official scores of 116–112, 117–111, and 119–109. CompuBox statistics showed him landing 188 punches, compared with 82 for Judah.[112] Five days after the fight, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) decided not to overturn the result of the bout; however, Roger Mayweather was fined $200,000 and suspended for one year.[113] The suspension stipulated that Roger could train Mayweather in the gym, but could not work the corner during fights.[114] On April 17, 2006, the IBF ordered a rematch between Mayweather and Judah; however, the NSAC suspended Judah for one year on May 8[115] and Mayweather vacated the IBF title on June 20. After his fight with Judah it was reported that Mayweather rejected an $8 million offer to fight Antonio Margarito, citing his split with promoter Bob Arum as the reason.[116] However, Oscar De la Hoya postponed his decision until 2007, leaving Mayweather to obtain Mayweather Promotions and choose his next opponent.[117] Mayweather considered moving up in weight again to fight light middleweight champion Cory Spinks, but because of negative publicity and Spinks' impending mandatory defense of his title, he decided to face WBC and The Ring welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir on November 4, 2006 in Las Vegas.[118] Mayweather vs. Baldomir Main article: Floyd Mayweather vs. Carlos Baldomir Despite having not lost in over eight years, Baldomir was an underdog in the fight. Mayweather defeated him for both titles in a unanimous decision. Ringside punch statistics showed Mayweather landing 199 of 458 punches, while Baldomir landed 79 of 670. Mayweather earned $8 million for the fight; Baldomir was paid $1.6 million, career earnings highs for each fighter at the time. During the fight Baldomir chased Mayweather, unable to land any meaningful shots but trying to be the busier fighter; Mayweather picked away with sharp jabs and hooks, cutting Baldomir over his left eye in the first round. This pattern continued throughout the fight; the defensive-minded Mayweather put on what many witnesses (and Mayweather himself) called a "boxing clinic" to take Baldomir's WBC, The Ring and lineal welterweight titles in a lopsided 12-round decision by scores of 120–108, 120–108, and 118–110.[119] After the fight, Mayweather proposed a match with Oscar De La Hoya. With Mayweather's win, he became the first fighter since Roberto Durán to have captured The Ring titles in both the lightweight and welterweight divisions.[citation needed] He also captured his third lineal championship in as many weight classes (super featherweight, lightweight and welterweight), following in the footsteps of Henry Armstrong and Sugar Ray Leonard. Light middleweight Mayweather vs. De La Hoya Main article: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Mayweather's next match was the long-anticipated fight against six-division champion and WBC light-middleweight titleholder Oscar De La Hoya on May 5, 2007. De La Hoya's belt was on the line, which required Mayweather to move up in weight from 147 pounds to 154. However, Mayweather was outweighed by more than 10 pounds the night of the fight, coming in at only 150 pounds. Despite De La Hoya's insistence that money was not a factor, the Mayweather-De La Hoya bout set the record for most PPV buys for a boxing match with 2.4 million households, breaking the previous record of 1.95 million for Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson II. About $120 million in revenue was generated by the PPV, another record. Including percentages De La Hoya earned $58 million for the bout, the highest purse ever for a fighter; the previous record was $35 million, held by Tyson and Holyfield. Mayweather earned about $25 million for the fight.[120] At one time, Floyd Mayweather Sr. negotiated to train Oscar De La Hoya and be in his corner during the fight, but De La Hoya decided to train with Freddie Roach. Mayweather won the fight by a split decision in 12 rounds, capturing the WBC title. However, many analysts and ringside observers felt Mayweather should have received a unanimous decision. During the early rounds De La Hoya had some success cutting off the ring, attempting to pound Mayweather on the inside. Despite his activity on the inside, however, many of De La Hoya's punches were ineffective and landed on Mayweather's arms or shoulders. By the middle of the fight, it was seen as an even bout by the announcers. Mayweather turned the tide in the middle and late rounds, often hitting De La Hoya at will. Official scorecards read 116–112 (Mayweather), 115–113 (Mayweather), and 115–113 (De La Hoya). CompuBox had Mayweather out-landing De La Hoya 207–122 in total punches and 134–82 in power punches, with better accuracy throughout the fight. After the bout Mayweather contemplated retirement, saying he had nothing left to prove in the boxing world. Return to welterweight and retirement Mayweather vs. Hatton Main article: Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton Mayweather and Hatton during the press conference leading up to their much anticipated showdown, which would take place on December 8, 2007 After his fight with De La Hoya, Mayweather decided to relinquish his WBC light-middleweight championship,[121] retaining his welterweight title. On July 28, 2007, it was announced that Mayweather would come out of his brief retirement to fight The Ring light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton; the bout was promoted by De La Hoya's promotion company (Golden Boy Promotions) and Mayweather's Mayweather Promotions. The fight was entitled "Undefeated"; it took place December 8, 2007, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, the biggest welterweight showdown between two undefeated fighters since De La Hoya met Félix Trinidad in 1999. During the run-up to their fight Mayweather claimed he was the greatest boxer ever: "I respect what Robinson and Ali did for the sport. But I am the greatest and this is my time." Mayweather controlled the fight from the beginning, knocking Hatton out in the 10th round to retain the welterweight championship.[122] Hatton suffered a cut over his right eye in round three; from that point, his pace and movement began to slow. In round six, Hatton lost a point for punching the back of Mayweather's head as he was draped over the ropes. During the tenth round, Hatton was caught by a checked left hook thrown from Mayweather's hip; after falling headfirst into the turnbuckle, he hit the floor. Hatton made it to his feet, but was dazed. Two more lefts in quick succession knocked Hatton down again, and referee Cortez stopped the fight at 1:35 of round ten.[123] Official scorecards read 88–82, 89–81, and 89–81 at the time of stoppage, all in favor of Mayweather. After the fight, Mayweather said that Hatton was one of his toughest, most tenacious opponents. Mayweather announced his retirement from boxing to concentrate on his promotional company, saying he wanted Hatton to be his first client.[124] Comeback Mayweather vs. Marquez Main article: Floyd Mayweather vs. Juan Manuel Marquez Mayweather during his comeback bout against Juan Manuel Márquez, 2009 On May 2, 2009, it was confirmed that Mayweather was coming out of a 21-month retirement to fight The Ring lightweight champion and #2 pound-for-pound Juan Manuel Márquez, at a catch weight of 144 lb on July 18 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on HBO PPV.[125] The fight was postponed due to a rib injury Mayweather received during training. HBO's sports series 24/7 was also rescheduled for August 29. The fight took place on September 19 in conjunction with Mexican Independence Day, traditionally a big boxing weekend. During the official weigh-in for their 144 lb bout, Mayweather failed to meet the weight limit at 146 lb and was fined as a result.[126] However, it was later revealed that the contract was changed so that Mayweather could make weight within the welterweight limit of 140–147 lb as long as Marquez received a large guarantee.[127] Mayweather won a unanimous decision after 12 rounds in a lopsided fight; scorecards read 120–107, 119–108, and 118–109. Marquez landed 12 percent of his total 583 punches, while Mayweather landed 59 percent of his 490 total punches.[128] This fight marked only the fifth time in boxing history that a non-heavyweight fight sold more than 1 million pay-per-view households, with HBO generating a revenue of approximately $52 million. Four of the other fights featured Oscar De La Hoya as the main event, making this fight the one of two events where a non-heavyweight fight sold over 1 million PPVs without Oscar De La Hoya. The other fight was Manny Pacquiao versus Miguel Cotto, which sold 1.25 million PPVs.[129] Mayweather vs. Mosley Main article: Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley Negotiations for a proposed match between Mayweather and The Ring #3 pound-for-pound Shane Mosley began right after Andre Berto pulled out of his scheduled January 30 unification bout with Mosley due to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.[130] Both sides eventually agreed to fight on May 1, 2010, for Mosley's WBA super-welterweight title. It was later revealed that Mayweather refused to pay sanctioning fees required by the WBA, saying "All belts do is collect dust". However, the belt was only on the line for Mosley to defend against Mayweather.[131] Both Mayweather and Mosley agreed to Olympic-style testing for this bout.[132][133] Mosley started the fight well, landing two solid right hands in round two which caused Mayweather's knees to buckle. Mayweather recovered well and went on to dominate the remainder of the fight, out-boxing Mosley and showing more aggression than in his previous recent fights. Mayweather eventually won a unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the fight 119–109, 119–109, and 118–110. In round four CompuBox found Mosley throwing seven power punches without landing any, making Mayweather the second boxer (after Roy Jones Jr.) to go an entire round without being hit by a power punch. After the fight, president of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya stated that he believed Mayweather was the best in the game.[134] The fight was the second-bestselling non-heavyweight pay-per-view bout in boxing history, with 1.4 million purchases. HBO reported that the fight generated $78.3 million in revenue. After the bout Mayweather expressed interest in moving up in weight to capture a world title in six different weight classes, and to challenge newly crowned middleweight champion Sergio Martínez.[135] Negotiations with Manny Pacquiao See also: Mayweather vs. Pacquiao On December 5, 2009, ESPN reported that eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao signed a contract to fight Mayweather on March 13, 2010. Shortly afterward, Pacquiao denied ever signing a contract to fight Mayweather, telling FanHouse, "There are still some things that need to be negotiated."[136] According to Yahoo! Sports, an eight-page contract was sent on December 11, 2009, by Golden Boy Promotions on behalf of Mayweather to Top Rank, representing Pacquiao, that proposed a 50–50 financial split between the sides for a fight to take place on March 13, 2010. The eight-page agreement was so detailed that it indicated which of the two fighters would step onto the scale first at the weigh-in (Pacquiao), who would walk to the ring first (Pacquiao), who would be introduced first (Mayweather) and who had first choice of the locker room (Mayweather). It detailed that the bout would have been on HBO Pay-Per-View at a cost of $59.95. Billing was to be "Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, presented by Top Rank, Golden Boy Promotions, Mayweather Promotions and M-P Promotions in association with [approved sponsors and the site]." The contract also called for both fighters to submit to Olympic-style drug testing. A Mayweather-Pacquiao bout at that time was expected to be the largest-grossing fight in history, in which total revenues could reach $300 million. Experts predicted the fight would sell between 2.5 million and 3 million pay-per-views in the U.S.[137] In a video titled "Boxing Legend Freddie Roach Updates Us On Pacquiao" uploaded to YouTube on December 11, 2009, Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, revealed the first hint about Mayweather's request for Olympic-style drug testing, telling roving reporter Elie Seckbach, "I hear negotiations are a little shady. Schaefer and them are unhappy about something. They want Olympic-style drug testing. I said, 'Yeah, no problem.' I said, 'Whatever you want.' Since we accepted that, now they're running scared again."[138] On December 13, 2009, Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz, said Mayweather's request for Olympic-style drug testing was a laughing matter and they had no concerns whatsoever about it. "Our reaction is, 'So what?' We know Manny doesn't take any illegal drugs or anything. And none of this is getting under Manny's skin or anything. I'm here with Manny, and to him, it's like a joke. It's a laughing matter," said Koncz. After reports had surfaced that both parties had agreed to all terms, Golden Boy Promotions released a press release on December 22, 2009, revealing that Pacquiao was unwilling to comply with the Olympic-style drug testing requested by Team Mayweather. The following day, Bob Arum, Top Rank founder and CEO, declared the fight was off and Pacquiao would be facing a different opponent:     We appeased Mayweather by agreeing to a urine analysis at any time, and blood testing before the press conference and after the fight. Mayweather pressed for blood testing even up to the weigh-in. He knew that Manny gets freaked out when his blood gets taken and feels that it weakens him. This is just harassment and, to me, just signaled that he didn't want the fight. Arum told David Mayo of the Grand Rapids Press. Not long after declaring that the fight was off, Arum had a change of heart and offered Mayweather a 24-hour take-it-or-leave-it deadline to accept Team Pacquiao's terms for drug testing. Top Rank sent out a press release explaining their position on Mayweather's request for random Olympic-style drug testing. In it, Arum said Pacquiao was willing to submit to as many random urine tests requested, but as far as random blood tests were concerned, he was only willing to subject himself to 3 tests—one in January, one 30 days from the bout (no later than February 13) and one immediately after the fight:     Let's be very clear on the real issues we differ on. It's not about being tested....It's about who does the testing and the scheduling of the procedures....The major issue related to the testing rests with which independent agency will administer these tests. The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) cannot do it because they will not amend its procedures to accommodate the blood testing schedule we have outlined. USADA, under its guidelines, would have the right to administer random blood tests as many times as they want up to weigh-in day and that is ludicrous. Freddie Roach told Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times on December 22 that he would prefer for Pacquiao to give his final blood sample a week before the bout and no later than 72 hours before. On December 28, 2009, video from an episode of HBO's Pacquiao-Hatton: 24/7 surfaced on the internet showing Pacquiao giving blood in the weeks leading up to his May 2, 2009, bout with Ricky Hatton. Documents confirmed that the video was recorded on April 8, 2009, 24 days prior to the fight and past the 30-day cut-off date that Pacquiao had demanded for a Mayweather fight. Both sides agreed to enter into mediation on January 7, 2010, in hopes of coming to an agreement on the blood testing issue. Retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein, who successfully resolved a prior dispute between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, would again act as mediator. Two days later, after hours of negotiating during mediation, Arum declared that the fight was officially off after Mayweather refused to agree to a 24-day cut-off date. Mayweather revealed that he offered a 14-day cut-off date to Team Pacquiao, but it was rejected. Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe declared on January 18, 2010, that random blood and urine testing will be implemented in all of Mayweather's future fights, regardless of the opponent. On February 13, 2010, in an exclusive interview with David Mayo of The Grand Rapids Press, Mayweather said, "I gave him [Pacquiao] a chance, up to 14 days out. But my new terms are all the way up to the fight. They can come get us whenever, all the way up to the fight, random drug test. That's what it is."[136] After the failed negotiations, both fighters moved on to instead face other opponents. On March 13, 2010, Pacquiao defeated Joshua Clottey via unanimous decision, and on May 1, 2010, Mayweather beat Shane Mosley by a unanimous decision. Pacquiao was quoted by the Manila Bulletin on May 20, 2010, as saying, "As long as they're not getting a large amount of blood, I am willing to give out blood as close to two weeks before the fight." On the same day, Mayweather revealed that he would be taking the rest of 2010, and possibly 2011, off. On June 10, 2010, Oscar De La Hoya said negotiations for a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight were close to being finalized. Speaking to Spanish-language sport show República Deportiva, De La Hoya briefly talked about the current status of negotiations and, with a grin on his face, said that the two sides were extremely close to making the biggest fight in boxing a reality. "These negotiations have been real difficult for various reasons, but we're really close to finalizing the contracts, even though they've been complicated," he commented. "Today, I can't really talk about the negotiations, but we're really close." A week later, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer refuted De La Hoya's comments. "I saw those quotes as well, and I had no idea what Oscar was talking about. And I called him up and asked him about them, and he said that he was misquoted," Schaefer explained to Lem Satterfield of FanHouse. Arum declared on June 30, 2010, that there were no longer any issues and the decision was up to Mayweather. "That's all been resolved," Arum stated to Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports regarding the dispute over random blood and urine drug testing. Arum would also tell the Las Vegas Review-Journal, "There's no longer any issues....The question is whether Mayweather is willing to fight this year." He would reiterate that comment to the Manila Bulletin, stating, "It's now up to Mayweather if he wants to fight." On July 13, 2010, Arum issued a July 16 midnight deadline for Mayweather. "Mayweather has until the end of the week. He could wait until the last minute. If it's Friday [July 16] and it's 11 p.m., and he says we have a deal, we have a deal," Arum would explain to Dan Rafael of ESPN. On July 15, 2010, Top Rank's website unveiled an official countdown to the deadline entitled "Money" Time: Mayweather's Decision. As soon as the deadline for Mayweather's response expired, Arum held a conference call. Arum revealed to the media that the negotiations he had been referring to consisted of a series of conversations with HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg. He also revealed that there was no actual direct communication with any representative from Team Mayweather or Golden Boy Promotions:     I had a couple of conversations with Ross [Greenburg] and I laid out all the terms that would be acceptable to our side and I also informed him about the concession that Manny had made regarding drug testing. He got back to me in a couple of weeks and told me that he had had discussions with Al Haymon, representing Floyd Mayweather, and that everything looked good and we were nearing a resolution...The subsequent conversations with Ross detailed to me conversations he had with Al Haymon. Nowhere was the name Richard Schaefer or Golden Boy mentioned, although I read, as you all did, Oscar's statement that a deal was close, so I assumed from that Haymon was keeping Schaefer and Golden Boy abreast of the situation. Mayweather in 2011 During a Q & A session following his opening statement, Arum further explained, "We have never talked to anybody on the Mayweather side and all conversations on our part were through Ross Greenburg and he reported on all conversations on the Mayweather side from Al Haymon." On July 19, 2010, Ellerbe denied that negotiations ever took place and nothing was ever agreed on. Ellerbe stated:     Here are the facts: Al Haymon, Richard Schaefer and myself speak to each other on a regular basis and the truth is no negotiations have ever taken place nor was there ever a deal agreed upon by Team Mayweather or Floyd Mayweather to fight Manny Pacquiao on November 13. Either Ross Greenburg or Bob Arum is not telling the truth, but history tells us who is lying. Three days later, Schaefer backed Ellerbe's statement that negotiations never took place. When asked via e-mail for his response to Ellerbe's denial that negotiations ever took place, Greenburg would respond to ESPN's Dan Rafael with the following reply: "As always we have no comment." Regarding comments he made suggesting that contracts for the mega-fight were close to being finalized, De La Hoya told BoxingScene.com on July 26, 2010:     I think I said it because I get the question asked so many times that, obviously, I was fed up and tired of it and I just said like, yeah, yeah, it's gonna get made. So it was a quick answer that I should have obviously thought about. But, obviously, negotiations weren't going on. Nothing was going on. Also on July 26, Greenburg released a statement saying that he had been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2, 2010. "I had been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2, carefully trying to put the fight together. Hopefully, someday this fight will happen. Sports fans deserve it," Greenburg revealed in a prepared statement sent out to select members of the media. Schaefer again supported Ellerbe's denial of negotiations, and challenged both Greenburg and Arum to take lie detector tests. "I think it's unfortunate that Ross made that statement. I fully stand behind the statement I made. I have not negotiated with Ross and I am not aware of any negotiations that have taken place," Schaefer told ESPN.[139] On July 8, 2011, ESPN reported that Pacquiao was willing to agree to random drug testing—but not by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). "We have agreed in the Pacquiao camp to unlimited random testing done by a responsible, neutral organization," Arum told Yahoo.     We don't believe USADA is a neutral organization. I don't think anybody's test is as vigorous as the test administered by the Olympic Organization. And we can arrange for the Olympic Organization to handle the test under the supervision of the Athletic commission respective of the state where the fight is going to be held.[140] However, the following day, Pacquiao's top adviser, Michael Koncz, stated that Pacquiao had never agreed to testing until fight day. "Will we give blood five days, seven days before the fight? You know, that's something I have to talk to Manny about, but we have nothing to hide," Koncz said. ESPN reported on January 20, 2012, that Mayweather called Pacquiao on the telephone and spoke directly with him in the Philippines. "He ask about a 50/50 split and I told him no that can't happen, but what can happen is you can make more money fighting me then [sic] you have made in your career," Mayweather said.[141] Mayweather offered to pay him a flat fee of $40 million for a proposed fight but would not allow him to share in the revenue. Pacquiao said, "I spoke to Floyd...and he offered me an amount," Pacquiao said. "He didn't talk about the pay-per-views here and that's it. I can't agree with that. I told him I agree with 55 and 45 (split)."[142] Pacquiao appeared on the ESPN program First Take on September 20, 2012, and said he had no problem with the drug-testing issue. "No problem," Pacquiao said. "Whatever he wants to do." Pacquiao said he was willing to be tested even on the night of the fight. "No problem," he said. "Even the night of the fight. No problem." On December 20, 2013, The Daily Telegraph reported that Mayweather said Pacquiao's association with promoter Bob Arum is the reason why the bout will not happen. "We all know the Pacquiao fight, at this particular time, will never happen, and the reason why the fight won't happen is because I will never do business with Bob Arum again in life, and Pacquiao is Bob Arum's fighter," Mayweather said.[143] Return to the ring Mayweather vs. Ortiz Main article: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Victor Ortiz Mayweather smiling and flashing "V" for victory with his right hand Mayweather photographed at the Mayweather–Ortiz press conference on June 28, 2011 On June 7, 2011, Mayweather announced via Twitter that he was set to fight WBC welterweight champion and The Ring #2-ranked welterweight Victor Ortiz on September 17. Ortiz was Mayweather's first challenger in 16 months.[144] The fight took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. From round one, Mayweather used his speed, skills and accurate right hand to tag Ortiz repeatedly. Mayweather seemed in control through the first three rounds, judges' scores were 30–27, 30–27, and 29–28 for Mayweather, in the fourth round Ortiz had some success, landing a few shots and stinging Mayweather before bulling him into the corner. He then rammed Mayweather in the face with an intentional headbutt, opening a cut on the inside and outside of Mayweather's mouth. Referee Joe Cortez immediately called time out and docked Ortiz a point for the blatant foul. Ortiz, apparently acknowledging his wrongdoing, hugged Mayweather in the corner and even appeared to kiss him. Cortez motioned the fighters back together to resume the fight, without putting them in a neutral corner. Both fighters touched gloves, and Ortiz gave Mayweather another hug. At that moment, Cortez was not looking at the fighters. As Ortiz let go, Mayweather took advantage of Ortiz not having his hands up and unloaded a left hook which wobbled Ortiz. Ortiz then looked at the referee, and Mayweather connected with a flush right hand to Ortiz's face. Ortiz fell to the canvas, and was unable to beat Cortez's count as the crowd of 14,687 jeered Mayweather.[145][146][147] After the fight Ortiz claimed that he was merely obeying the referee's instructions when he was "blindsided" by Mayweather, who defended his actions by saying that "In the ring, you have to protect yourself at all times".[148] Mayweather vs. Ortiz was purchased by 1.25 million homes with a value of $78,440,000 in pay-per-view revenue. These numbers make the event the second-highest-grossing non-heavyweight pay-per-view event of all time. Mayweather has appeared in the three biggest non-heavyweight pay-per-view events in the sport's history: Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya ($136,853,700), Mayweather vs. Ortiz ($78,440,000), and Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley ($78,330,000).[149] Return to light middleweight Mayweather vs. Cotto Main article: Floyd Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto Mayweather's adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, announced on November 2, 2011, that Mayweather would return to the ring on May 5, 2012, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. After negotiations with Manny Pacquiao failed again, on February 1, 2012, it was confirmed that Mayweather would be moving up in weight to fight WBA super welterweight champion and The Ring #1-ranked light middleweight Miguel Cotto. The WBC put their super welterweight diamond belt at stake.[150] On the evening of Saturday, May 5, Mayweather defeated Cotto in 12 rounds by a unanimous decision, improving his record to 43–0.[151] Mayweather used movement and outboxed Cotto in the middle of the ring for the first few rounds. Beginning in rounds three and four Cotto cut the ring off from Mayweather, forcing the latter to fight from the ropes. However, Mayweather seemed to outfight Cotto from the ropes with his combinations and by rolling with most of Cotto's punches. Cotto had more success in the middle rounds, landing his jab and body shots on Mayweather and effectively trapping him on the ropes. The later rounds were controlled by Mayweather, who boxed more in the center of the ring late in the fight. In the 12th round Mayweather's uppercut stunned and hurt Cotto, but Cotto was able to fight until the end. The judges scored the fight a unanimous decision for Mayweather by scores of 118–110, 117–111, and 117–111. After the fight, Mayweather said Cotto was the toughest fighter he ever faced. CompuBox had Mayweather outlanding and outworking Cotto in the fight by a significant margin. Mayweather landed 26 percent of his total punches (179 out of 687), compared with 21 percent (105 out of 506) for Cotto. In power punches, Mayweather landed 128 of 382 (34 percent), compared with 75 of 329 (23 percent) for Cotto.[152] Mayweather earned the biggest guaranteed purse in boxing history ($32 million) when he fought Cotto, according to contracts filed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.[153] The Mayweather-Cotto fight generated $94 million in PPV revenue from 1.5 million purchases, making it the second-biggest non-heavyweight fight in history (after Mayweather's fight with Oscar De La Hoya).[154] Jail term and repercussions On June 1, 2012, Mayweather reported to the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas to serve his jail term for domestic abuse. After serving two months, he was released from prison on August 3, 2012.[155][156] On February 4, 2015, Mayweather, who was planning to do a tour in Australia, was denied a visa on the basis of his criminal record and jail term.[157] Mandatory title defense at welterweight Mayweather vs. Guerrero Main article: Floyd Mayweather vs. Robert Guerrero Mayweather returned to the ring on May 4, 2013, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena to face the WBC interim welterweight champion, Ring No. 3 ranked welterweight, and the WBC's mandatory challenger Robert Guerrero. This was Mayweather's first fight since being released from jail, and was the first time Mayweather has fought on Showtime PPV after a long relationship with HBO. Mayweather was guaranteed $32 million for the fight.[158] The fight took place in front of 15,880 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Prior to the fight, Guerrero had not lost in 8 years. The first couple rounds were fairly even, with Mayweather attempting to counter and time Guerrero, while Guerrero was attempting to drive Mayweather to the ropes and make it a rough fight. After the first couple rounds, Mayweather was in complete control, almost hitting Guerrero at will with right hand leads, counters, hooks, and effectively timing Guerrero the rest of the fight. Mayweather won the fight on all three scorecards 117–111. Mayweather outlanded Guerrero 195 punches to 113, which included a rare 60% connect on his power shots.[159] Although no official tallies are reported, according to Showtime Sports executive Stephen Espinoza, the fight had exceeded 1 million purchases in PPV.[160] Third return to light middleweight Mayweather vs. Álvarez Main article: Floyd Mayweather vs. Saúl Álvarez Mayweather confirmed via Twitter that a deal was reached to face Ring No. 10 ranked pound for pound, WBC and WBA Super welterweight champion Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez in a championship bout on September 14, 2013, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.[161] A catchweight of 152 pounds was established for the fight.[162] Mayweather received a boxing record $41.5 million for the Alvarez fight, according to Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's confidant.[163] In front of a sold out crowd of 16,746 at the MGM Garden, Mayweather defeated Álvarez by majority twelve-round decision. In a fight that many thought was going to be Mayweather's toughest, he outclassed the younger Álvarez. Many observers at ringside thought Mayweather won all twelve rounds. Judge C. J. Ross scored the fight 114–114, a draw. Judge Dave Moretti had it 116–112, and Craig Metcalfe scored it 117–111. Judge Ross retired after this fight. Speaking of the controversial scorecard, Mayweather said, "I can't control what the judges do." Compubox stats showed Mayweather's dominance in the fight, landed 232 of 505 punches (46%) and 117 connected of 526 thrown (22%) for Álvarez, who earned a base purse of $5 million.[164][165][166][167] Welterweight unification Mayweather vs. Maidana I Main article: Floyd Mayweather vs. Marcos Maidana Despite interest in a bout with Amir Khan, Mayweather announced that he would fight 30 year old Marcos Maidana (35–3, 31 KOs) on May 3, 2014, in a unification bout at MGM Grand Garden Arena, with Mayweather's WBC and The Ring welterweight titles at stake, as well as Maidana's WBA (Super) welterweight title.[168] Maidana won the WBA tite in December 2013 against Mayweather's friend, Adrien Broner. Mayweather tweeted the news the day after his 37th birthday. The Barclays Center in Brooklyn also made a case to showcase the fight. Mayweather explained why he chose Maidana, "Marcos Maidana's last performance immediately brought him to my attention. He is an extremely skilled fighter who brings knockout danger to the ring. I think this is a great fight for me and he deserves the opportunity to see if he can do what 45 others have tried to do before him – beat me." Maidana was a 12-to-1 underdog going into the fight.[169] In front of a sold-out crowd of 16,268, in what was one of his toughest fights, Mayweather won the bout via majority decision, with scores of 114–114, 117–111, and 116–112. Maidana came out aggressive and maintained that stance throughout the fight forcing Mayweather to engage. CompuBox revealed that Mayweather was hit more times than any of his previous 38 bouts that have been covered by them. Mayweather landed 230 of his 426 punches thrown (54%) while Maidana landed 221 of 858 (26%). Many times in the fight Maidana threw shots at different angles, forcing Mayweather against the ropes. According to Mayweather in the post fight interview, Maidana's aggressive approach made him change his style of fighting.[170] Maidana was guaranteed a purse of $1.5 million, which would also include TV revenue from his native Argentina and PPV share. Mayweather earned a minimum $32 million. There were calls for an immediate rematch. Mayweather said, "He put pressure on me and that's when I decided to fight differently," Mayweather said. "I stood there and fought him. He's a good fighter, I take nothing away from him [...] This was a tough, competitive fight. This is what fans want to see. "I want to give fans an exciting fight. Normally, I box and move. Tonight, I gave fans an exciting fight." Maidana felt he won the fight, believing he gave Mayweather his toughest fight ever. Speaking through a translator, he said, "I definitely think I won. Floyd had never been hit by a man before. I had to change the gloves [after a last-minute problem with his original gloves on Friday] and I still gave him a great fight. He did dominate some rounds but the majority, I dominated them."[171] The fight generated around 900,000 PPV buys, although exact figures were not released by Showtime. The revenue of PPV sale amounted to $58 million.[172] Mayweather vs. Maidana II Main article: Floyd Mayweather vs. Marcos Maidana II On July 10, 2014, Mayweather made the announcement that a rematch with Maidana (35–4, 31 KOs) was confirmed. The fight was to take place on September 13, 2014, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, with Mayweather's WBA (Super), WBC and The Ring welterweight titles at stake, as well as Mayweather's WBC light middleweight title. The fight was billed as "Mayhem".[173][174][175] In front of 16,144 at the MGM Grand, Mayweather defeated Maidana via unanimous decision. Unlike the first fight, Mayweather came out better prepared for Maidana's style. The final judges' scores were 115–112, 116–111, and 116–111. ESPN scored it wider for Mayweather at 119–108. Mayweather did not allow Maidana to land any overhand right, with the punch stats showing Maidana connecting 128 of 572 shots (22%). Mayweather had 51% connect rate landing 166 of 326.[176] A bizarre moment occurred in round 8, whilst in a headlock, Maidana appeared to have bitten Mayweather's left hand. Mayweather explained this in the post fight, "I didn't know what it was. Something happened and then my fingers were numb. After the eighth round my fingers were numb. I could only use my other hand. He bit me. I realized he bit me. We were tangled in the middle of the ring and all of a sudden I felt something on my left hand." Maidana denied the bite, "Maybe he thinks I'm a dog, but I never bit him. He was rubbing my eyes that round. He may have had his glove in my mouth, but I never bit him." After round 9, Maidana appeared to be confused as he started walking towards the wrong corner. Mayweather immediately ran towards him to point to his corner, much to the amusement of the crowd. Maidana was unhappy with the final verdict and thought he won the fight, "If the judges want to give the fight to fighters that run, they can give it to him. I was attacking all the time. Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought that I was the aggressor. I kept my plan to be aggressive but he kept holding and pushing. I don't want to waste my time with a third fight. I trained with all my heart to get this type of result. This is not fair. There's not reason for another fight." For the sequel, Mayweather earned a minimum of $32 million and Maidana earned a career high $3 million.[177][178][179] The fight did well on PPV, a reported 925,000 households bought the fight, generating $60 million. The live gate grossed nearly $15 million, putting it at number 5 in the top 35 boxing gates.[180] Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Main article: Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao Mayweather during the official weigh-in, 2015 Mayweather fought Manny Pacquiao on May 2, 2015 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, after several negotiations spread over years.[181] Mayweather dictated the pace early, controlling range with the jab. His deft movement and pivoting made Pacquiao consistently miss, landing only 19% of his punches. Mayweather was able to counter Pacquiao with his right hand throughout the fight and won via unanimous decision with the scorecards reading 118–110, 116–112, and 116–112.[182] The vast majority of media outlets (16/18) scored the bout in his favor.[183][184] In the days following the fight, many observers felt the match failed to live up to expectations. Pacquiao told the media after the match that he was limited in the fight due to an injured right arm. Sports Illustrated reported that Pacquiao fought through a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder, which will require surgery.[185] Bob Arum revealed Pacquiao's injury to have been a persistent one dating back to 2008.[186] Additionally Pacquiao's camp had not requested a cortisone injection, which is allowed by the US Anti-Doping Agency, but rather a last-minute toradol injection, which was declined by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.[187] Mayweather, who originally had no plans for a rematch with Pacquiao, told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith in a text that he would be open to a rematch after Pacquiao recovers from shoulder surgery, however as of May 9, 2015, Mayweather stated "Did I text Stephen A. Smith and say I will fight him again? Yeah, but I change my mind. At this particular time, no, because he's a sore loser and he's a coward."[188][189] On July 6, 2015, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) stripped Mayweather of his welterweight championship because he was not permitted to hold titles in multiple weight classes, and because he failed to pay a sanctioning fee.[190] Second retirement Mayweather vs. Berto Main article: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Andre Berto Mayweather confirmed through Instagram that he would defend the WBC, WBA (Super), and The Ring welterweight titles against WBA interim champion Andre Berto on September 12, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The announcement received some backlash due to Berto being (3–3) in his last 6 fights. Many felt he wasn't a credible opponent. Welterweight contender Amir Khan was said to be disappointed with the selection.[191] Berto believed Mayweather chose him as his final opponent due to personal reasons, which could date back to when he won the National Golden Gloves tournament.[192] Showtimes, Stephen Espinoza revealed the reason why Mayweather never chose Amir Khan, was because Khan would have been observing Ramadan before the fight and therefore wouldn't be "at the top of his game". The reason to why he decided not to fight then IBF titleholder Kell Brook was a business decision, with Brook not being known in the US compared to Berto.[193][194][195] Mayweather was able to pinpoint holes in Berto's guard and find a home for the jab early. He landed sharp counters and feint hooks while controlling range for the vast majority of the bout. Berto pushed the pace, but his aggressiveness fell short as Mayweather was highly mobile and closed the distance consistently.[196] Mayweather hurt his left hand at the end of the ninth round but remained comfortable throughout the rest of the fight, winning via unanimous decision 117–111, 118–110, and 120–108. Mayweather dominated the fight, landing an impressive 56% [232/410] punches thrown, compared to Berto's underwhelming number of 17% [83/495] punches landed. Mayweather earned a purse of $32 million and Berto earned a career-high $4 million.[197][198] Early industry sources reported the fight drew 550,000 buys.[199] Later sources indicated the number could have been as low as 400,000 buys, generating $28 million. This was the lowest number of buys Floyd had generated in over 10 years. The fight also gathered a crowd of 13,395, also a decreased figure compared to Mayweather previous fights.[200] Keith Thurman noted, "Amazing speed ... he showed tremendous skill and talent."[196] Mayweather announced his retirement in the ring after defeating Berto, walking away from the sport with an undefeated record of 49–0.[201] The WBC declared his welterweight and super welterweight titles vacant in November 2015.[202] Return and third retirement Mayweather vs. McGregor Main article: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor The idea of a Mayweather comeback floated around April 2016, as rumors of Mayweather Promotions filing for trademarks of "TBE 50" and "TMT 50" hinted that Mayweather might have been targeting that 50th win. This was confirmed by posts from the U.S. Patent and Trademark website.[203] Around May 2016, another rumor started that a crossover fight between Mayweather and MMA star Conor McGregor was in the works. On May 7, 2016, Mayweather confirmed that he was the one who started the rumors regarding the potential clash.[204] Mayweather followed it through with an Instagram post of an unofficial teaser poster showcasing both fighters. Dana White dismissed all the rumors and stated that Mayweather had yet to contact him in case he wanted the fight to push through, since McGregor was in contract with the UFC.[205] On January 13, 2017, White continued his stance against a Mayweather-McGregor boxing matchup and insisted that, because of McGregor's contract, it would never happen and even went as far as offering Mayweather to box McGregor in the UFC for $25 million.[206] On March 7, 2017, Mayweather urged McGregor to sign the contract, hinting that a fight was really in the works.[207] On March 10, 2017, Mayweather stated that only a fight with McGregor would make him come out of retirement.[208] On March 16, 2017, Dana White backpedaled on his stance against Mayweather fighting McGregor and said that he would not deprive McGregor of making a massive payday.[209][210] On May 18, 2017, McGregor reportedly agreed to all of Mayweather's updated terms and signed the contract.[211] On June 14, 2017, after months of negotiations, both fighters announced via their Twitter accounts that they would fight on August 26, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.[212] On August 24, 2017, it was announced that Mayweather and McGregor would be facing off for the WBC Money Belt, specifically made for the fight.[213] According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Mayweather would earn a guaranteed purse of $100 million and McGregor was guaranteed $30 million.[214] In front of a crowd of 14,623, Mayweather won via TKO in the 10th round, surpassing Rocky Marciano and setting the record for the longest active unbeaten streak in a professional career at 50–0. In the opening round, Mayweather, as per previous fights, started slow to work out McGregor's tactics. In his post-fight interview, he revealed it was part of the game plan to let McGregor punch himself out in the early rounds. McGregor won the first round on all three judges' scorecards; the same case could have been made for the opening three rounds. McGregor was warned a few times through the fight for hitting behind the head, but no points were deducted by referee Robert Byrd. By the fourth round, McGregor began to tire and breathe heavily with his mouth open. Mayweather started to take control and landed with his right hands. For the next few rounds, McGregor came out throwing shots in the opening 30 seconds, but immediately tired, giving Mayweather enough time to carry on landing clean shots and winning the rounds. By round 9, McGregor had almost nothing left. Although he didn't look hurt, he was very fatigued and his face started showing redness. Two of the judges scored the round 10–8 for Mayweather. In round 10, McGregor staggered across the ring and was in a bad way against the ropes as Mayweather landed some hard shots. With McGregor barely on his feet after a few unanswered punches, the referee waved the fight off. The time of stoppage was 1 minute and 5 seconds of round 10.[215] At the time of stoppage, the scorecards read 87–83, 89–82, and 89–81, all in favor of Mayweather. McGregor was praised by Dana White at the post-fight press conference for landing 111 punches of 430 thrown (26%) on Mayweather, more than what Pacquiao or any of Mayweather's previous nine opponents had landed. Mayweather was more than twice as accurate, however, landing 170 of 320 punches thrown (53%).[216] Mayweather said of the fight, "This was my last fight. Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, for sure I chose the right dance partner to dance with. Conor McGregor, you are a hell of a champion." He added, "He's a tough competitor and I think we gave the fans what they wanted to see. I owed them for the Pacquiao fight. I must come straight ahead and give the fans a show, and that's what I gave them." McGregor felt the fight was stopped prematurely, but nevertheless respected the decision and admitted he was tired.[217] Mayweather agreed with the stoppage, and explained that he avoided inflicting more damage on McGregor to protect him from brain damage, saying "He has a career. You know, he still has a career. ...(It could've been) very damaging."[218] Nevada State Athletic Commission announced the live gate for the event was $55,414,865.79 from 13,094 tickets sold and 137 complimentary tickets given out. It was the second-largest gate ever for a combat sporting event, behind only the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight, which grossed just over $72 million from a paid attendance of 16,219 in 2015.[219] Sky Sports announced the fight garnered over a million PPV buys in the UK and grossed in excess of £20 million, surpassing the record set in April 2017 when Anthony Joshua defeated Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 at the Wembley Stadium. This also meant the fight generated more buys in the UK than Mayweather-Pacquiao which took place in 2015.[220] Mayweather reportedly earned over $300 million from the fight, while McGregor earned around $100 million.[221][222][223][224] Exhibition bouts Mayweather vs. Nasukawa In September 2018, during the electronic music festival Ultra Japan, both Mayweather and Pacquiao posted videos of encounters at the festival, which implicated the possibility of a rematch. It is unknown if any formal negotiations occurred.[225][226][227][228][229] On September 19, 2018, Mayweather stated in an interview that, despite references to "this year" in the videos, he planned to hold a fight in Japan before any possible rematch with Pacquiao.[230] On October 18, 2018, Pacquiao told the Daily Mirror that a rumoured rematch with Mayweather would occur in 2019, as Mayweather was planning to fight an unnamed opponent on December 31, 2018.[231][232] On November 5, 2018, the Japanese MMA promotion Rizin Fighting Federation announced that Mayweather would face undefeated kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa at Rizin 14 on December 31, 2018, under unspecified rules. Of the bout, Mayweather stated in a press conference that "it wasn't easy to make this happen, but we told the people anything is possible, so now we're here and we wanna make sure that we give the people in Tokyo what they wanna see — blood, sweat and tears."[233] However, two days later, Mayweather denied that he would be fighting Nasukawa. He explained that he had been booked for a non-televised exhibition for "a small group of wealthy spectators" during the event, but that he was caught off-guard by the announcement that he would face Nasukawa—claiming that he was unaware of the fighter until the press conference, and stating that "for the sake of the several fans and attendees that flew in from all parts of the world to attend this past press conference, I was hesitant to create a huge disturbance by combating what was being said and for that I am truly sorry."[234] On November 16, 2018, Mayweather confirmed that a three-round exhibition boxing match against Nasukawa would indeed happen after the initial misunderstanding had been resolved.[235][236] The fight took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan on December 31 and ended on a TKO in the first round, when Nasukawa's corner waved off the fight after he had been knocked down three times.[237] After the fight, Mayweather clarified that he is still retired and only did the fight to entertain fans.[238] The match and its ending, however, were controversial, and drew condemnation and accusations of match-fixing.[239][240] Mayweather reportedly earned $9 million for the fight.[241] Mayweather vs. Paul Main article: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Logan Paul On December 6, 2020, it was announced that Mayweather would face internet personality Logan Paul in an exhibition bout on February 20, 2021.[242][243] The fight was postponed, and took place on June 6, 2021 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.[244] On May 6, 2021, Mayweather and Paul met for the first time at a press conference at Hard Rock Stadium, where the latter's brother, Jake Paul, became involved in an angry brawl with Mayweather when he removed Mayweather's hat from his head.[245] A visibly irate Mayweather was captured on video saying, The bout consisted of constant clinching initiated by Paul and went the full distance to the sound of boos from the crowd, with no winner being announced.[247] Mayweather had started tentatively and defensively, reluctant to throw often and avoiding most of Paul's shots. Toward the end of the first round, Paul unleashed a wild flurry, but most of his punches were blocked by Mayweather's guard. The second round was similar to the first, with Mayweather content with the slow pace of the fight. He finally turned up the offense in the third, opening up with some clean left hooks that rocked Paul's head back, as well as mixing in his trademark pull counter with the right hand.[248] From the fourth round onward, Paul was visibly fatigued and took every opportunity to utilize his weight advantage by tying the smaller Mayweather up in the clinch after every exchange. Despite Paul's constant attempts at neutering Mayweather's offense, the latter continued to dictate the pace of the fight and land the cleaner, more effective punches. Toward the end of the eighth and final round, Paul showboated when it became clear that he had done enough to avoid being stopped as most had predicted would be the case,[249] and that he would survive to hear the final bell. Mayweather's superior boxing was reflected by the CompuBox punch stats, with Mayweather having landed 43 punches of 107 thrown (40.2%), compared to Paul's 28 landed of 217 thrown (12.9%).[250] In his post-fight interview, Mayweather praised his opponent, saying "He's better than I thought he was... he's a tough, rough competitor." Paul appeared to harbor some doubt about how seriously Mayweather had taken the fight, saying "I'm going to go home thinking, 'Did Floyd let me survive?'"[248] When asked about the prospect of making a return to professional boxing, Mayweather replied, "I'm not coming back to the sport of boxing, absolutely not." He did not completely rule out participating in exhibition bouts in the future, saying "As far as me doing another exhibition, probably not".[251] Entertainment career WWE Mayweather, wearing sunglasses, white T-shirt and chains, in wrestling ring with red ropes Mayweather during his brief tenure in WWE Mayweather appeared at WWE's No Way Out pay-per-view event on February 17, 2008, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was involved in a storyline altercation with Big Show when Mayweather jumped a security barricade and attacked Big Show to help Rey Mysterio, whom Show had threatened to chokeslam. Mayweather originally assumed a babyface role in the story lines, which met with some resistance from fans.[252] The attack resulted in Big Show receiving a broken nose. The following night on Raw, Big Show challenged Mayweather to a one-on-one No Disqualification match at WrestleMania XXIV, which Mayweather accepted. At WrestleMania, Mayweather defeated Big Show in a knockout with brass knuckles to maintain his unbeaten record.[253] Mayweather was reportedly paid $20 million for the fight.[254] 1 million PPV buys were reported for WrestleMania XXIV, grossing $23.8 million in revenue. Mayweather was guest host for Raw in Las Vegas on August 24, 2009.[255] He interfered with a tag-team match, which resulted in a loss for the Big Show (again a heel) and his partner Chris Jericho as Mayweather gave MVP brass knuckles to knock Jericho out, giving MVP and his new tag-team partner Mark Henry the win and a shot at the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles at WWE Breaking Point against Jeri-Show. He then celebrated with Henry and MVP, turning face. Later that night, he was involved in a backstage segment with Vince McMahon, D-Generation X, and Carlito, helping McMahon prepare for his six-man tag team match against The Legacy and DX. During the segment, McMahon knocked out Carlito.[256] Dancing with the Stars Mayweather appeared on the fifth season of Dancing with the Stars; his partner was Ukrainian-American professional ballroom dancer Karina Smirnoff. On October 16, 2007, Smirnoff and Mayweather were the fourth couple to be eliminated from the competition, finishing in ninth place.[257] Personal life Mayweather resides in a 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m2), five-bedroom, seven-bath, custom-built mansion in Las Vegas, Nevada.[258] In 2008, he recorded a rap song titled "Yep" that he used for his entrance on WrestleMania XXIV in his match against Big Show.[259] He owns a boxing gym, the "Mayweather Boxing Club, in the Chinatown Plaza in Las Vegas.[260] In 2011, he paid for the funeral of former super lightweight world champion and former opponent Genaro Hernandez, who died of cancer after a three-year battle.[261] Mayweather has four biological children and one adopted son. He has three children with former reality star Josie Harris, and one with television star Melissa Brim.[262] Controversies Domestic violence and battery convictions In 2002, Mayweather was charged with two counts of domestic violence and one count of misdemeanor battery. He received a six-month suspended sentence and two days of house arrest and was ordered to perform 48 hours of community service.[263] In 2004, Mayweather was given a one-year suspended jail sentence, ordered to undergo counseling for "impulse control" and pay a $1,000 fine (or perform 100 hours of community service) after being convicted of two counts of misdemeanor battery against two women.[264] In 2005, Mayweather pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge after hitting and kicking a bouncer, receiving a 90-day suspended jail sentence.[265][266] On September 9, 2010, it was reported that Mayweather was being sought by police for questioning after his former girlfriend, Josie Harris, filed a domestic battery report against him. Harris accused Mayweather of battery in the past, but those charges were dropped in July 2005 after Harris testified that she had lied and that Mayweather had not battered her.[266] Mayweather was taken into custody September 10, 2010, but was released after posting $3,000 bail. Mayweather was initially charged with felony theft (stemming from the disappearance of Harris's mobile phone); on September 16 two felony coercion charges, one felony robbery charge, one misdemeanor domestic-battery charge and three misdemeanor harassment charges were added.[267] On December 21, 2011, a judge sentenced Mayweather to serve 90 days in the county jail for battery upon Harris in September 2010. Mayweather reached a deal with prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery in exchange for prosecutors dropping the felony battery charge. Mayweather also pleaded no contest to two counts of misdemeanor harassment, stemming from threats to his children. In addition to the 90-day sentence Mayweather was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service, a 12-month domestic-violence program and to pay a fine of $2,500.[268] On June 1, Mayweather began serving his county jail sentence,[269] and was released on August 3, 2012.[270] Sued for defamation In May 2015, following his bout against Pacquiao, Josie Harris sued Mayweather for $20 million for defamation, claiming that Mayweather lied during an interview with Katie Couric in April. During that interview, he called her a drug abuser while discussing the 2010 domestic-violence incident which ended up with Mayweather going to jail for two months.[271] The case remains pending as of September 19, 2017.[272] Stripped of WBO welterweight title On Monday, July 6, 2015, Mayweather was stripped of his WBO Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) title for noncompliance with the regulations of the organization. Mayweather won the WBO Welterweight title when he beat Manny Pacquiao in the May 2 bout. However, the WBO rules say that boxers cannot hold world titles in multiple weight classes, and Mayweather already held two junior middleweight championship titles when he won the welterweight title.[273] Mayweather had until 4:30 p.m. EST on July 3 to vacate the two other belts and pay a $200,000 sanctioning fee. He did not comply, and the WBO vacated the title on July 6, 2015.[274] 2018 SEC settlement In November 2018, together with DJ Khaled, Mayweather agreed to a total settlement of $750,000 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for failing to disclose payments accepted from issuers of initial coin offerings, including a personal $100,000 promotional payment from beleaguered cryptocurrency firm Centra Tech Inc.,[275] whose co-founders were indicted for fraud in May 2018. According to the SEC, "they are its first cases involving charges for violating rules on touting investments in so-called initial coin offerings, or ICOs."[275] As part of the settlement, Mayweather undertook to forgo any endorsement or promotional agreement with a securities participant for three years.[276] Professional boxing record Professional record summary 50 fights     50 wins     0 losses By knockout     27     0 By decision     23     0 No.     Result     Record     Opponent     Type     Round, time     Date     Age     Location     Notes 50     Win     50–0     Conor McGregor     TKO     10 (12), 1:05     Aug 26, 2017     40 years, 183 days     T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     49     Win     49–0     Andre Berto     UD     12     Sep 12, 2015     38 years, 200 days     MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Retained WBA (Unified), WBC, and The Ring welterweight titles 48     Win     48–0     Manny Pacquiao     UD     12     May 2, 2015     38 years, 67 days     MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Retained WBA (Unified), WBC, and The Ring welterweight titles; Won WBO welterweight title 47     Win     47–0     Marcos Maidana     UD     12     Sep 13, 2014     37 years, 201 days     MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Retained WBA (Unified), WBC, and The Ring welterweight titles; Retained WBC light middleweight title 46     Win     46–0     Marcos Maidana     MD     12     May 3, 2014     37 years, 68 days     MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Retained WBC and The Ring welterweight titles; Won WBA (Unified) welterweight title 45     Win     45–0     Canelo Álvarez     MD     12     Sep 14, 2013     36 years, 202 days     MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Retained WBA (Super) light middleweight title; Won WBC and The Ring light middleweight titles 44     Win     44–0     Robert Guerrero     UD     12     May 4, 2013     36 years, 69 days     MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Retained WBC welterweight title; Won vacant The Ring welterweight title 43     Win     43–0     Miguel Cotto     UD     12     May 5, 2012     35 years, 71 days     MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Won WBA (Super) light middleweight title 42     Win     42–0     Victor Ortiz     KO     4 (12), 2:59     Sep 17, 2011     34 years, 205 days     MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Won WBC welterweight title 41     Win     41–0     Shane Mosley     UD     12     May 1, 2010     33 years, 66 days     MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     40     Win     40–0     Juan Manuel Márquez     UD     12     Sep 19, 2009     32 years, 207 days     MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     39     Win     39–0     Ricky Hatton     TKO     10 (12), 1:35     Dec 8, 2007     30 years, 287 days     MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Retained WBC and The Ring welterweight titles 38     Win     38–0     Oscar De La Hoya     SD     12     May 5, 2007     30 years, 70 days     MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Won WBC light middleweight title 37     Win     37–0     Carlos Baldomir     UD     12     Nov 4, 2006     29 years, 253 days     Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Retained IBO welterweight title; Won WBC, IBA, and The Ring welterweight titles 36     Win     36–0     Zab Judah     UD     12     Apr 8, 2006     29 years, 43 days     Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Won IBF and vacant IBO welterweight titles 35     Win     35–0     Sharmba Mitchell     TKO     6 (12), 2:06     Nov 19, 2005     28 years, 268 days     Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon, U.S.     34     Win     34–0     Arturo Gatti     RTD     6 (12), 3:00     Jun 25, 2005     28 years, 121 days     Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.     Won WBC super lightweight title 33     Win     33–0     Henry Bruseles     TKO     8 (12), 2:55     Jan 22, 2005     27 years, 333 days     American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida, U.S.     32     Win     32–0     DeMarcus Corley     UD     12     May 22, 2004     27 years, 88 days     Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.     31     Win     31–0     Phillip N'dou     TKO     7 (12), 1:08     Nov 1, 2003     26 years, 250 days     Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.     Retained WBC and The Ring lightweight titles 30     Win     30–0     Victoriano Sosa     UD     12     Apr 19, 2003     26 years, 54 days     Selland Arena, Fresno, California, U.S.     Retained WBC and The Ring lightweight titles 29     Win     29–0     José Luis Castillo     UD     12     Dec 7, 2002     25 years, 286 days     Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Retained WBC and The Ring lightweight titles 28     Win     28–0     José Luis Castillo     UD     12     Apr 20, 2002     25 years, 55 days     MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Won WBC and vacant The Ring lightweight titles 27     Win     27–0     Jesús Chávez     RTD     9 (12), 3:00     Nov 10, 2001     24 years, 259 days     Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California, U.S.     Retained WBC super featherweight title 26     Win     26–0     Carlos Hernández     UD     12     May 26, 2001     24 years, 91 days     Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.     Retained WBC super featherweight title 25     Win     25–0     Diego Corrales     TKO     10 (12), 2:19     Jan 20, 2001     23 years, 331 days     MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Retained WBC super featherweight title 24     Win     24–0     Emanuel Augustus     TKO     9 (10), 1:06     Oct 21, 2000     23 years, 240 days     Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.     23     Win     23–0     Gregorio Vargas     UD     12     Mar 18, 2000     23 years, 84 days     MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Retained WBC super featherweight title 22     Win     22–0     Carlos Gerena     RTD     7 (12), 3:00     Sep 11, 1999     22 years, 199 days     Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Retained WBC super featherweight title 21     Win     21–0     Justin Juuko     KO     9 (12), 1:20     May 22, 1999     22 years, 87 days     Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     Retained WBC super featherweight title 20     Win     20–0     Carlos Rios     UD     12     Feb 17, 1999     21 years, 358 days     Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.     Retained WBC super featherweight title 19     Win     19–0     Angel Manfredy     TKO     2 (12), 2:47     Dec 19, 1998     21 years, 298 days     Miccosukee Resort and Gaming, Miami, Florida, U.S.     Retained WBC super featherweight title 18     Win     18–0     Genaro Hernández     RTD     8 (12), 3:00     Oct 3, 1998     21 years, 221 days     Las Vegas Hilton, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.     Won WBC super featherweight title 17     Win     17–0     Tony Pep     UD     10     Jun 14, 1998     21 years, 110 days     Etess Arena, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.     16     Win     16–0     Gustavo Cuello     UD     10     Apr 18, 1998     21 years, 53 days     Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.     15     Win     15–0     Miguel Melo     TKO     3 (10), 2:30     Mar 23, 1998     21 years, 27 days     Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, U.S.     14     Win     14–0     Sam Girard     KO     2 (10), 2:47     Feb 28, 1998     21 years, 4 days     Bally's, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.     13     Win     13–0     Hector Arroyo     TKO     5 (10), 1:21     Jan 9, 1998     20 years, 319 days     Grand Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.     12     Win     12–0     Angelo Nuñez     TKO     3 (8), 2:42     Nov 20, 1997     20 years, 269 days     Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.     11     Win     11–0     Felipe Garcia     KO     6 (8), 2:56     Oct 14, 1997     20 years, 232 days     Qwest Arena, Boise, Idaho, U.S.     10     Win     10–0     Louie Leija     TKO     2 (10), 2:33     Sep 6, 1997     20 years, 194 days     County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas, U.S.     9     Win     9–0     Jesus Roberto Chavez     TKO     5 (6), 2:02     Jul 12, 1997     20 years, 138 days     Grand Casino, Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.     8     Win     8–0     Larry O'Shields     UD     6     Jun 14, 1997     20 years, 110 days     Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.     7     Win     7–0     Tony Duran     TKO     1 (6), 1:12     May 9, 1997     20 years, 74 days     The Orleans, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     6     Win     6–0     Bobby Giepert     TKO     1 (6), 1:30     Apr 12, 1997     20 years, 47 days     Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     5     Win     5–0     Kino Rodriguez     TKO     1 (6), 1:44     Mar 12, 1997     20 years, 16 days     DeltaPlex Arena, Walker, Michigan, U.S.     4     Win     4–0     Edgar Ayala     TKO     2 (4), 1:39     Feb 1, 1997     19 years, 343 days     Swiss Park Hall, Chula Vista, California, U.S.     3     Win     3–0     Jerry Cooper     TKO     1 (4), 1:39     Jan 18, 1997     19 years, 329 days     Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.     2     Win     2–0     Reggie Sanders     UD     4     Nov 30, 1996     19 years, 280 days     Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.     1     Win     1–0     Roberto Apodaca     TKO     2 (4), 0:37     Oct 11, 1996     19 years, 230 days     Texas Station, North Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.     Exhibition boxing record Professional record summary 2 fights     1 win     0 losses By knockout     1     0 Non-scored     1 No.     Result     Record     Opponent     Type     Round, time     Date     Age     Location     Notes 3     N/A     N/A     Don Moore     N/A     N/A     May 14, 2022     45 years, 79 days     Burj Al Arab, Dubai, U.A.E.     2     N/A     1–0 (1)     Logan Paul     N/A     8     Jun 6, 2021     44 years, 102 days     Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida, U.S.     Non-scored bout 1     Win     1–0     Tenshin Nasukawa     TKO     1 (3), 2:20     Dec 31, 2018     41 years, 310 days     Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan     Titles in boxing Major world titles     WBC super featherweight champion (130 lbs)     WBC lightweight champion (135 lbs)     WBC super lightweight champion (140 lbs)     IBF welterweight champion (147 lbs)     WBC welterweight champion (147 lbs) (2×)     WBA (Super) welterweight champion (147 lbs)     WBO welterweight champion (147 lbs)     WBC light middleweight champion (154 lbs) (2×)     WBA (Super) light middleweight champion (154 lbs) Minor world titles     IBO welterweight champion (147 lbs)     IBA welterweight champion (147 lbs) The Ring magazine titles     The Ring lightweight champion (135 lbs)     The Ring welterweight champion (147 lbs) (2×)     The Ring light middleweight champion (154 lbs) Honorary titles     WBC Emeritus light middleweight champion[277]     WBC Diamond light middleweight champion     WBC 24K Gold champion[278]     WBC Supreme champion     WBC Emerald champion[279]     WBA Man of Triumph Gold champion[280][281]     WBC Money champion[282] Pay-per-view bouts Boxing United States No.     Date     Fight     Billing     Buys     Network     Revenue 1     June 25, 2005     Gatti vs. Mayweather     Thunder & Lightning     340,000[283]     HBO     $16,500,000 2     April 8, 2006     Mayweather vs. Judah     Sworn Enemies     374,000[284]     HBO     $16,800,000 3     November 4, 2006     Mayweather vs. Baldomir     Pretty Risky     325,000     HBO     $16,300,000 4     May 5, 2007     De La Hoya vs. Mayweather     The World Awaits     2,400,000[285]     HBO     $136,000,000 5     December 8, 2007     Mayweather vs. Hatton     Undefeated     920,000[286]     HBO     $50,000,000 6     September 19, 2009     Mayweather vs. Márquez     Number One/Número Uno     1,100,000[287]     HBO     $55,600,000 7     May 1, 2010     Mayweather vs. Mosley     Who R U Picking?     1,400,000[288]     HBO     $78,300,000 8     September 17, 2011     Mayweather vs. Ortiz     Star Power     1,250,000[289]     HBO     $78,440,000 9     May 5, 2012     Mayweather vs. Cotto     Ring Kings     1,500,000[290]     HBO     $94,000,000 10     May 4, 2013     Mayweather vs. Guerrero     May Day     1,000,000[291]     Showtime     $60,000,000 11     September 14, 2013     Mayweather vs. Canelo     The One     2,200,000[292]     Showtime     $150,000,000 12     May 3, 2014     Mayweather vs. Maidana     The Moment     900,000[293]     Showtime     $58,000,000 13     September 13, 2014     Mayweather vs. Maidana II     Mayhem     925,000[294]     Showtime     $60,000,000 14     May 2, 2015     Mayweather vs. Pacquiao     Fight of the Century     4,600,000[295]     Showtime/HBO     $400,000,000 15     September 12, 2015     Mayweather vs. Berto     High Stakes     400,000[296]     Showtime     $28,000,000 16     August 26, 2017     Mayweather vs. McGregor     The Money Fight     4,300,000[297]     Showtime     $370,000,000 17     June 6, 2021     Mayweather vs. Paul     Bragging Rights     1,000,000[298]     Showtime     $50,000,000 Total     24,959,000         $1,717,940,000 United Kingdom Date     Fight     Network     Buys     Source(s) December 8, 2007     Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Ricky Hatton     Sky Box Office     1,150,000     [299] May 2, 2015     Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao     Sky Box Office     942,000     [300][301] August 26, 2017     Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor     Sky Box Office     1,007,000     [302][303] Total sales     3,099,000     WWE Date     Event     Venue     Location     Fight     Buys March 30, 2008     WrestleMania XXIV     Florida Citrus Bowl     Orlando, Florida     Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Big Show     1,058,000[304] Filmography Films Year     Title     Role     Notes 2003     More than Famous     Himself     2007     The World Awaits: De La Hoya vs. Mayweather     Himself     Documentary 2014     Think Like a Man Too     Himself     Cameo appearance 2017     When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story     Punch     TBA     All-Star Weekend     Himself     Cameo appearance Television series Year     Series     Role     Notes 2005     Countdown to Gatti-Mayweather     Himself     Documentary 2006     Soul of a Champion     Himself     Documentary Countdown to Baldomir-Mayweather     Himself     Documentary 2007     24/7: De La Hoya/Mayweather     Himself     24/7: Mayweather/Hatton     Himself     2009     Countdown to Mayweather–Marquez     Himself     Documentary 24/7: Mayweather/Marquez     Himself     2010     24/7: Mayweather/Mosley     Himself     2011     24/7: Mayweather/Ortiz     Himself     2012     24/7: Mayweather/Cotto     Himself     Ridiculousness     Himself     Season 2, Episode 2 2013     30 Days In May     Himself     Documentary Mayweather     Himself     Documentary All Access: Mayweather vs. Guerrero     Himself     All Access: Mayweather vs. Canelo     Himself     2014     All Access: Mayweather vs. Maidana     Himself     All Access: Mayweather vs. Maidana II     Himself     2015     Inside Mayweather vs. Pacquiao     Himself     Documentary At Last: Mayweather vs. Pacquiao     Himself     Documentary All Access: Mayweather vs. Berto     Himself     2017     All Access: Mayweather vs. McGregor     Himself     2017     6IX RISING     Himself     Documentary (Focus on Friyie's entrance song for Mayweather)[305] Video Games Year     Title     Role     Notes 1999     Knockout Kings 2000     Himself     Playable fighter 2000     Knockout Kings 2001     Himself     Playable fighter 2002     Knockout Kings 2002     Himself     Playable fighter 2002     Knockout Kings 2003     Himself     Playable fighter 2005     Fight Night Round 2     Himself     Playable fighter Honors and awards     1993 Michigan State Golden Gloves Champion, 106 Lbs[306]     1993 National Golden Gloves Champion, 106 Lbs[307]     1994 Michigan State Golden Gloves Champion, 112 Lbs[306]     1994 National Golden Gloves Champion, 112 Lbs; Outstanding Boxer Award[307]     1995 National PAL Champion, 125 Lbs; Outstanding Boxer Award[308]     1995 United States national amateur boxing featherweight champions, 125 Lbs     1995 Competed at Featherweight at the World Amateur Boxing Championships[309]     1996 Michigan State Golden Gloves Champion, 125 Lbs[306]     1996 National Golden Gloves Champion, 125 Lbs[307]     1996 Qualified as a Featherweight for the United States Olympic Team     1996 Atlanta Olympics Featherweight Bronze medalist     1998 and 2007 International Boxing Award Fighter of the Year[310]     1998 and 2007 The Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year     2002 World Boxing Hall of Fame Fighter of the Year[308]     2005 and 2007 World Boxing Council Boxer of the Year[311][312]     2005–08 The Ring 'number one' pound for pound     2007 Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year     2007 ESPN Fighter of the Year[313]     2007 Forbes Magazine, Ranked "Number 14" Richest Celebrity Paydays[314]     2007 New York Daily News Fighter of the Year[315]     2007 World Boxing Council Event of the Year (The World Awaits)[312]     2007 World Boxing Council Knockout of the Year (against Ricky Hatton)[312]     2007, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013 Best Fighter ESPY Award[316]     2007, 2008 and 2010 The Ring Magazine Event of the Year[317]     2008 Sports Illustrated, The 50 Highest-Earning American Athletes (ranked 4th)[318]     2008 Yahoo Sports, Ranked "Number 6" Most Powerful People in Boxing[319]     2009 The Ring Magazine Comeback of the Year[320]     2009–10 BoxRec, BBC Sport and Yahoo! Sports 'number one' pound for pound[321]     2010 Yahoo! Sports Boxing's Most Influential (ranked 70th)[322]     2010 Forbes magazine Celebrity 100 (ranked 31st)[323]     2010 Forbes Magazine, The World's 50 Top-Earning Athletes (ranked 2nd)[324]     2010 Sports Illustrated, The 50 Highest-Earning American Athletes (ranked 3rd)[325]     2012 Forbes Magazine #1 of the world's 100 highest paid athletes.[326]     2012 Sports Illustrated #1 fortunes 50.     2013 The Ring 'number one' pound for pound.[327]     2013 Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year[328]     2015 Spike TV The Best Ever Award[329]     2015 Forbes, Ranked "Number One" as The World's Highest-Paid Celebrities.[330]     2015 Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year[331]     2016 Guinness World Records Most bouts undefeated by a world champion boxer in a career (49)[332]     2016 Guinness World Records Highest career pay-per-view sales for a boxer ($1.3 billion)[332]     2016 Guinness World Records Most expensive boxing championship belt ($1 Million)[333]     2018 Forbes magazine #1 of the world's 100 highest paid entertainers[334]     2019 Forbes magazine highest paid athlete of the decade     2010 - 2019 Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Decade     2010 - 2019 World Boxing Association Boxer of the Decade     2010 - 2019 Yahoo Sports Fighter of the Decade     2010 - 2019 World Boxing News Fighter of the Decade" (wikipedia.org) "Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr., CLH (locally [pɐkˈjaʊ]; born December 17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer.[5] Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time.[6][7][8][9][10] He has been serving as a senator of the Philippines since 2016. Pacquiao is the only eight-division world champion in the history of boxing and has won twelve major world titles.[11][12] He was the first boxer to win the lineal championship in five different weight classes,[13][14][15] the first boxer to win major world titles in four of the eight "glamour divisions" (flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight),[16][17][18] and is the only boxer to hold world championships across four decades (1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s).[19] In July 2019, Pacquiao became the oldest welterweight world champion in history at the age of 40,[20] and the first boxer in history to become a recognized four-time welterweight champion after defeating Keith Thurman to win the WBA (Super) welterweight title.[21] As of 2015, Pacquiao's fights had generated $1.2 billion in revenue from his 25 pay-per-view bouts.[22] According to Forbes, he was the second highest paid athlete in the world in 2015.[23] Pacquiao entered politics in 2010 when he was elected as the representative of Sarangani. He held this post for six years until he was elected and assumed office as a senator in 2016. He became the president of his party PDP–Laban in 2020 (which is disputed since 2021).[24][25] On September 19, 2021, Pacquiao officially declared his candidacy for President of the Philippines in the 2022 Philippine presidential election.[26] His plan to expand his political career led to his retirement from professional boxing 10 days later.[27] Outside of boxing and politics, Pacquiao was the head coach and a player for the Philippine Basketball Association team Kia/Mahindra for three seasons from 2014 to 2017, before founding the semi-professional Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. He has also starred in films and has presented television shows. In music, he has released multiple PARI-certified platinum albums and songs; his cover of "Sometimes When We Touch" peaked at 19 in the United States on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart after a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[28] He is also an Evangelical Christian preacher, philanthropist, and entrepreneur.... Early life and education Pacquiao was born in Kibawe, Bukidnon and raised in General Santos, Philippines. He is the son of Rosalio Pacquiao and actress Dionisia Dapidran.[29] His parents separated when he was in sixth grade, after his father had an affair.[29] He is the fourth of six siblings, one of whom, Alberto "Bobby" Pacquiao, is also a politician and former professional boxer. At the age of 14, Pacquiao moved to Manila and lived on the streets, worked as a construction worker and had to pick between eating or sending money to his mother.[30] Pacquiao completed his elementary education at Saavedra Saway Elementary School in General Santos City, but dropped out of high school due to extreme and abject poverty.[31] In February 2007, Pacquiao took and passed a high school equivalency exam, and was awarded with a high school diploma by the Department of Education.[32] Boxing career Main articles: Boxing career of Manny Pacquiao and professional boxing record Overview Manny Pacquiao has an amateur record of 60–4 and a record of 62–8–2 as a professional, with 39 wins by knockout. Boxing historian Bert Sugar ranked Pacquiao as the greatest southpaw fighter of all time.[33] In 2020, Pacquiao topped the Ranker's list of best boxers of the 21st century.[34][35] Pacquiao made history by being the first boxer ever to win world titles in eight weight divisions, having won twelve major world titles, as well as being the first boxer to win the lineal championship in five different weight classes. Pacquiao is also the first boxer in history to win major world titles in four of the original eight weight classes of boxing, also known as the "glamour divisions" (flyweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight), and the first boxer ever to become a four-decade world champion, winning world championships across four decades (1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s). Pacquiao was long rated as the best active boxer in the world, pound for pound, by most sporting news and boxing websites, including ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Sporting Life, Yahoo! Sports, About.com, BoxRec and The Ring, beginning from his climb to lightweight until his losses in 2012.[36][37] He is also the longest reigning top-ten active boxer on The Ring's pound for pound list from November 2003 to April 2016.[38] Pacquiao has generated approximately 20.1 million in pay-per-view (PPV) buys and $1.2 billion in revenue from his 25 PPV bouts. According to Forbes, he was the second highest paid athlete in the world in 2015. On September 29, 2021, Pacquiao announced his retirement from boxing, in a post on social media.[39] Early years Pacquiao was introduced to boxing at the age of 12 by his maternal uncle Sardo Mejia. According to his autobiography, Pacquiao said watching Mike Tyson's defeat of James "Buster" Douglas in 1990 with his Uncle Sardo as an experience that, "changed my life forever." Mejia began training his nephew in a makeshift home gym. After 6 months of training, Pacquiao began boxing in a park in General Santos eventually traveling to other cities to fight higher-ranked opponents. By age 15, he was considered the best junior boxer in the southern Philippines and he moved to Manila.[40] In January 1995, at the age of 16, he made his professional boxing debut as a junior flyweight.[41] Pacquiao stated of his early years, "Many of you know me as a legendary boxer, and I'm proud of that. However, that journey was not always easy. When I was younger, I became a fighter because I had to survive. I had nothing. I had no one to depend on except myself. I realized that boxing was something I was good at, and I trained hard so that I could keep myself and my family alive."[42][better source needed] On December 4, 1998, at the age of 19, he won his first major title, the World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight title.[41] Pacquiao with his trainer Freddie Roach Notable fights Over the course of his decorated career, Pacquiao has defeated 22 world champions: Chatchai Sasakul, Lehlohonolo Ledwaba, Jorge Eliécer Julio, Marco Antonio Barrera (twice), Érik Morales (twice), Óscar Larios, Jorge Solís, Juan Manuel Márquez (twice), David Díaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley, Brandon Ríos, Timothy Bradley (twice), Chris Algieri, Jessie Vargas, Lucas Matthysse, Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman.[43] Pacquiao's most recent bout was against Yordenis Ugás in August 2021.[44] Pacquiao also participated in an exhibition match against former world champion Jesus Salud in August 2002 which he won.[45] Ranking and awards Pacquiao was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), World Boxing Council (WBC), and World Boxing Organization (WBO). In 2006, 2008, and 2009, he was awarded Ring magazine, ESPN and BWAA's Fighter of the Year, and in 2009 and 2011 he won the Best Fighter ESPY Award.[46] BoxRec ranks him as the greatest Asian fighter of all time.[47] In 2016, Pacquiao ranked No. 2 on ESPN's list of top pound for pound boxers of the past 25 years[48] and he ranks No.5 in BoxRec's ranking of the greatest pound for pound boxers of all time.[49] Pacquiao signed with Bob Arum's Top Rank from 2015 to 2017 and Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) promotion on 2018[50] alongside Paradigm Sports on 2020 until his retirement.[51] Manny Paquiao is a holder of six guinness book world records. He has the most consecutive boxing world title fight victories at different weights at 15, between 2005 and 2011;[52] he is named the oldest welterweight boxing world champion when he claimed the WBA Welterweight title aged 40 years 215 days on July 20, 2019;[53] he has the most boxing world titles won in different weight divisions with eight, when he defeated Antonio Margarito (USA) to win the WBC Super Welterweight title on November 13, 2010.[54] He has also held sanctioned belts in the WBC Flyweight, Super Featherweight and Lightweight divisions, plus The Ring Featherweight, IBF Super Bantamweight, IBO and The Ring Light Welterweight and WBO Welterweight.[55] He recorded the highest selling pay-per-view boxing match in a Welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on May 2, 2015,[56] and the highest revenue earned from ticket sales for a boxing match from ticket sales title fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on May 2, 2015.[57] Earnings Forbes listed Pacquiao as the world's equal sixth highest paid athlete, with a total of $40 million or ₱2 billion pesos from the second half of 2008 to the first half of 2009. Tied with him on the sixth spot was NBA player LeBron James and golfer Phil Mickelson.[58] Pacquiao was again included in Forbes' list of highest paid athletes from the second half of 2009 to the first half of 2010; he was ranked eighth with an income of $42 million.[59] Pacquiao also won the 2009 ESPY Awards for the Best Fighter category, beating fellow boxer Shane Mosley and Brazilian mixed martial arts fighters Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva.[60] ESPN Magazine reported that Pacquiao was one of the two top earning athletes for 2010, alongside American Major League Baseball player Alex Rodriguez. According to the magazine's annual salary report of athletes, Pacquiao earned $32 million (approximately PhP 1.38 billion) for his two 2010 boxing matches against Clottey and Margarito.[61] National amateur boxing Manny Pacquiao has never represented the Philippines in international amateur competition such as the Southeast Asian Games or the Summer Olympics. Pacquiao became the first Filipino Olympic non-participant to be Team Philippines' flag-bearer during the August 8 opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium. Swimmer Miguel Molina, 2005 Southeast Asian Games' Best Male Athlete, yielded the honor to Pacquiao, upon the request of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the national sports officials on the Philippines at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[62] He had the opportunity to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, when professional boxers under the age of 40 were allowed to compete in the games for the first time.[63] However Pacquiao, decided not to compete to focus on his duties as an incumbent Senator.[64] Basketball career Pacquiao with the Mahindra Enforcer in 2016 On April 17, 2014, Pacquiao, a life-long passionate basketball fan, announced his intention to join the Philippine Basketball Association as the playing coach of Kia Motors Basketball team, an incoming expansion team for the PBA's 2014–15 season. As the team's head coach, he asked other teams to not draft him before Kia,[65] and picked himself 11th overall in the first round of the 2014 PBA draft,[66] being the oldest rookie to be ever drafted in the league's history.[67] Pacquiao played basketball as part of his training before his matches and prior to his PBA stint, Pacquiao was named an honorary member of the Boston Celtics and established friendships with basketball Hall of Famers Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and NBA superstar Steph Curry when they visited him on his trainings & on dugouts.[68] NBA player Karl-Anthony Towns cites Pacquiao as a legend and an influence and visited him along with Klay Thompson at training.[69] On September 4, 2014, Pacquiao trained with the Golden State Warriors at their training facility in preparation for his PBA stint.[70] On February 18, 2015, Pacquiao played briefly and scored one point when the Sorento pulled an 95–84 upset against Purefoods that tapped former NBA player Daniel Orton as their import for the conference, when asked about playing against Pacquiao he said that Pacquiao as a basketball player was a "mockery of the game and a joke". Orton was summoned and fined by PBA commissioner Chito Salud and was replaced immediately by his team.[71][72][73] On October 25, 2015, Pacquiao made his first field goal in the PBA in a 108–94 loss against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.[74][75] On August 21, 2016, Pacquiao scored a career-high four points in a 97–88 victory against the Blackwater Elite, also sinking the first three-point field goal in his career.[76] In 2018, although being rumored to transfer to Blackwater, Pacquiao officially announced his retirement from the league after playing just ten games in three seasons and scoring less than fifteen career points. He played one game for the Senate Defenders in a televised-amateur league for government employees and scored 12 points on that same year. He went on to start a career as a sports executive, when he founded the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, a prominent semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines and announced that he is planning to own an NBA team after boxing retirement.[77][78] Political career House of Representatives On February 12, 2007, Pacquiao announced his campaign for a seat in the Philippine House of Representatives to represent the 1st District of South Cotabato province running as a candidate of the Liberal Party faction under Manila mayor Lito Atienza.[79] Pacquiao, said he was persuaded to run by the local officials of General Santos, hoping he would act as a bridge between their interests and the national government.[79] Ultimately Pacquiao was forced to run under the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (KAMPI), a pro-Arroyo political party by the courts. Pacquiao was defeated in the election by incumbent Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), who said, "More than anything, I think, people weren't prepared to lose him as their boxing icon."[80] In preparation for his political career in the Filipino House of Representatives, Pacquiao enrolled in the Certificate Course in Development, Legislation, and Governance at the Development Academy of the Philippines – Graduate School of Public and Development Management (DAP-GSPDM).[81] Manny Pacquiao and Jinkee Pacquiao with U.S. Senators Harry Reid and Daniel Inouye On November 21, 2009, Pacquiao announced that he would run again for a congressional seat, but this time in Sarangani province, the hometown of his wife Jinkee.[82] In May 2010, Pacquiao was elected to the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress of the Philippines, representing the province of Sarangani. He scored a landslide victory over the wealthy and politically well-entrenched Chiongbian clan that had been in power in the province for more than thirty years. Pacquiao got 120,052 votes while his opponent for the seat, Roy Chiongbian, got 60,899 votes.[83] In 2013 he was re-elected to the 16th Congress of the Philippines.[84] He ran unopposed. Additionally, his wife, Jinkee, was also elected as vice-governor of Sarangani, while his younger brother, Rogelio was defeated by incumbent Rep. Pedro Acharon of Team PNoy in second district race in South Cotabato which includes General Santos. Because of other commitments, Pacquiao only attended one Congress session on the congress' final leg and was criticized for being the top absentee among lawmakers. Despite his poor attendance and low number of bills filed, he still announced his candidacy for Senator in the 2016 elections.[85] Senate Senator Manny Pacquiao, as chair of the Senate Committee on Sports, discusses a proposal seeking to establish a Philippine Boxing Commission. On October 5, 2015, Pacquiao formally declared that he was running for senator under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) party of vice-president Jejomar Binay.[86] On May 19, 2016, Pacquiao was formally elected as a senator by the Commission on Elections. Pacquiao garnered over 16 million votes, landing 7th among 12 new members of the Senate.[87][88] As a senator, he notably aligned himself with the Duterte government, facilitating on September 18, 2016, the ouster of Leila de Lima from the chairmanship of the Senate Justice committee and criticized de Lima's presentation on September 21 of the same year of an alleged member of the Davao Death Squad.[89][90] He has been vocal about De Lima's alleged links with a purported drug lord, Kerwin Espinosa, an allegation that led to De Lima's arrest and detention.[91][92] De Lima has been a member of the opposition in the Senate of the 17th and 18th Congress of the Philippines and a critic of Duterte; prior to her arrest, she had been investigating the Davao Death Squad as well as suspected extrajudicial killings within Duterte's War on Drugs.[92] Meanwhile, in another Senate hearing, Pacquiao defended then-Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte from allegations of having a part, along with the vice mayor's alleged drinking buddy Charlie Tan and Kenneth Dong, in a 2017 seized ₱6.4-billion shipment of illegal drugs from Xiamen, China into the Philippines.[93] As of 2018, Pacquiao has filed a total of 31 Senate bills[94] during the 17th Congress. And in a bill filed alongside Senator Bato dela Rosa and Bong Go, he backed the return of capital punishment into the lexicon of Philippine criminal law.[95][96] In June 2019, the Philippine Senate released a data showing Pacquiao as having the worst attendance record among all senators in the 17th Congress, reflecting a struggle Pacquiao had since he was a congressman.[97] 2022 presidential campaign Main article: 2022 Manny Pacquiao presidential campaign Pacquiao during an election motorcade in Marikina, February 2022 In December 2020, Pacquiao became Acting President of the ruling party PDP-Laban after Koko Pimentel resigned. After speculations spread around a possible Pacquiao run for president, backed by the senator's own expression of interest in a presidential bid for the 2022 presidential election, Pacquiao began to be critical of the Duterte administration.[100] In June 2021, he expressed belief that Duterte's response towards China's claims in the South China Sea was lacking. Duterte rebuked Pacquiao for the statement, saying the latter lacked knowledge in foreign policy. The President also responded to a claim attributed to Pacquiao that the Duterte administration is more corrupt than those by his predecessors; Duterte challenged Pacquiao to name certain individuals or agencies, otherwise he will launch a negative campaign against the senator in the 2022 elections.[100] Alfonso Cusi's faction through a vote decided that Pacquiao is no longer party president of PDP-Laban on July 17. Melvin Matibag, the deputy secretary-general of PDP-Laban, defended the vote, saying it was organized because the term limits of the party's officials had already expired.[101] Pacquiao is still regarded by his faction as party president.[25] Pacquiao officially announced his presidential bid on September 19, 2021, during the National Assembly of the PDP-Laban, organized by his faction.[102] On October 1, he formally registered his candidacy under the Cebu-based party PROMDI.[103][104] This was in accordance with the "MP3 Alliance" established by PDP Laban under Pacquiao's faction with PROMDI, and the People's Champ Movement.[105] Cusi's faction in response to Pacquiao's filing of his candidacy under PROMDI decided that he is no longer a member of PDP-Laban.[106] His platforms include solving corruption and a promise of nationwide housing projects for the poor. Since the campaign period started on February, he had struggled in the presidential surveys with low ratings ranking fourth to fifth among the candidates, dropping to as low as 1.8 percent on the March 2022 poll by Publicus Asia and 8 percent on Pulse Asia with his disapproval rating going up.[107] In March 2022, amid recent news about fellow presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos unsettled tax dues amounting to 200 billion pesos, Pacquiao openly challenged Marcos to a one-on-one debate[108] and made remarks against critics saying "he's not intelligent enough to be president" saying that "the most dumb in this country are those who are going to vote for a plunderer".[109] Entertainment career Acting and hosting career Pacquiao in 2009 With growing fame, Pacquiao became a celebrity and was obligated to start his acting and hosting career with guest appearances on ABS-CBN shows. He signed a contract as an actor & host with ABS-CBN short-after. In December 2005, Pacquiao took his first lead role in Violett Films' Lisensyadong Kamao (Licensed Fist). The film is titled so because (according to director Tony Bernal), being a boxer, Pacquiao is licensed to use his hands.[110] In 2008, Pacquiao starred with Ara Mina and Valerie Concepcion in Anak ng Kumander (Child of a Commander). The movie was not a commercial success and was panned by critics.[110] Pacquiao starred in the superhero/comedy film entitled Wapakman, which was released on December 25, 2009, as an entry to the 2009 Metro Manila Film Festival.[111] Like his previous films, Wapakman was not commercially successful.[112] Upon the expiration of his contract with ABS-CBN, Pacquiao signed with GMA Network as an actor and host in September 2007. On December 17, 2007, he taped his first episode of the networks infotainment show Pinoy Records.[113] His other projects with the network included Totoy Bato and the sitcom Show Me Da Manny, where he appeared as Marian Rivera's onscreen loveteam, and in which his mother, Dionisia, also appeared. He also hosted his own game show Manny Many Prizes where he gave out prizes to his audience. In 2020, he was cast to portray General Miguel Malvar in the upcoming biopic film Malvar: Tuloy ang Laban about the Philippine hero, which gained mixed reactions from the Malvar family. Gabriel, grandson of General Malvar's youngest child Pablo, worries that Pacquiao's fame might overshadow his movie character. While Villegas, son of Malvar's daughter Isabel, supports the casting.[114] Music career Pacquiao recorded songs to use as entrance music for his fights and released them on two albums that were certified platinum locally in the Philippines. Most of the Tagalog songs of Pacquiao were composed by Lito Camo who wrote Pacquiao's biggest hit and primarily known song "Para Sayo ang Laban Na 'To". On November 3, 2009, Pacquiao covered "Sometimes When We Touch", originally by Dan Hill,[115] on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, marking his first singing performance on American TV. He went back to the late-night talk show on March 3, 2010, to cover another song, "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You".[116] He would later record Dan Hill's hit in April 2011 as a single which reached number 19 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[28] It made Pacquiao one of the few Southeast Asians to enter a US Billboard chart.[28] He also appeared with Will Ferrell and sang a version of John Lennon's "Imagine" for his third guesting on the show.[117] His appearances on the show led to Canadian rapper Drake impersonating him and making fun of his singing by creating a parody. Pacquiao responded by posting another video of himself singing.[118] In 2015, he released an extended play that featured his own recorded entrance song for his fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. and shortly announced his retirement from music, being quoted saying "I love music, but music is not for me".[119][120] The following are Manny Pacquiao's albums from 2006 to 2015: Albums * Laban Nating Lahat Ito (2006), Star Records * Pac-Man Punch (2007), MCA Records * Lalaban Ako Para Sa Pilipino (extended play, 2015), GMA Records In popular culture Main articles: Pacquiao: The Movie and Kid Kulafu A stamp sheet issued by the Philippine Postal Corporation in April 2015 AirAsia Zest plane with Pacquiao-themed livery. Film and television A film based on Pacquiao's life, Pacquiao: The Movie, was released on June 21, 2006, featuring Filipino actor Jericho Rosales as Manny Pacquiao and was directed by Joel Lamangan.[121] The film flopped at the box office, grossing a total of only P4,812,191 (approximately US$99,322), as confirmed by Lamangan. Another film, based on Pacquiao's early life in boxing, Kid Kulafu, was released on April 15, 2015, featuring young actor Robert Villar as Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao. The film dramatizes the life of the Filipino boxing superstar during his childhood. A documentary entitled "Manny", which featured Pacquiao's early life as well as his boxing and political career, was released with Liam Neeson as the narrator.[122] Video games Pacquiao has featured in the Fight Night boxing video game franchise as a playable character.[123] The playable character Paquito, in the mobile game, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang was also inspired from Pacquiao. A skin was also made available for Paquito which changes the character's appearance to that of the real life boxer.[124] Filipino game developer Ranida Games announced in 2021 that a mobile game revolving around Pacquiao's boxing career Fighting Pride: The Manny Pacquiao Saga is in the works.[123] Magazines Pacquiao was one of Time's 100 most influential people for the year 2009, for his exploits in boxing and his influence among the Filipino people.[125] Pacquiao was also included by Forbes in its annual Celebrity 100 list for the year 2009, joining Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie and fellow athletes Woods and Bryant.[126] Pacquiao has also appeared on the cover of Time magazine Asia for their November 16, 2009, issue. According to their five-page feature story, "(Pacquiao is) a fighter with enough charisma, intelligence and backstory to help rescue a sport lost in the labyrinth of pay-per-view. Global brands like Nike want him in their ads." They also added, "Pacquiao has a myth of origin equal to that of any Greek or Roman hero. He leaves the Philippines to make it even bigger, conquering the world again and again to bring back riches to his family and friends."[127] Pacquiao became the eighth Filipino to grace the cover of the prestigious magazine, after former Philippine presidents Manuel L. Quezon, Ramon Magsaysay, Ferdinand Marcos, Corazon Aquino, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III and Filipino actress and environmentalist Chin Chin Gutierrez. Pacquiao was also featured on the cover of Reader's Digest Asia, where a seven-page story was written about the Filipino boxing superstar. The issue came out in November 2008, before Pacquiao's epic match against De La Hoya. Music Pacquiao is also mentioned in some hip hop tracks including Kool A.D.'s song entitled "Manny Pacquiao" on his mixtape, 51. A few notable ones are Pitbull's "Get It Started", A$AP Rocky's "Phoenix", Bad Meets Evil and Bruno Mars' "Lighters", Eminem and Skylar Grey's "Asshole", Future's "Never Gon' Lose", Migos' "Chinatown", Nicki Minaj and Ciara's "I'm Legit" and Rick Ross's "High Definition", Jelo Acosta's "Just Like Manny P" to name a few.[128] Others Pacquiao became the first Filipino athlete to appear on a postage stamp.[129] A video clip of Pacquiao greeting his followers for New Year's Eve was used as a meme in the Internet.[130] Controversies Taxation issues On November 26, 2013, a few days after Pacquiao's victory over Brandon Ríos, the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued a freeze order on all of Pacquiao's Philippine bank accounts due to his alleged failure to pay ₱2.2 billion in taxes for earnings he made in his fights in the United States from 2008 to 2009. A day after the bank account freeze, the BIR also issued an order to freeze all of Pacquiao's Philippine properties, whereupon Pacquiao presented documents to the press showing the income tax for non-resident alien payment by his promoter to the BIR's US counterpart, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), as well as a letter from Bob Arum.[131] In April 2017, Pacquiao, now a senator, approached Philippine authorities in an attempt to settle the case. The BIR had maintained that taxes were due even if all taxes had been paid to the IRS in the first place.[132] Homosexuality comments In February 2016, Pacquiao, in a video statement posted by TV5, made a comment on the issue of same-sex marriage. Pacquiao, in vernacular, described people in same-sex marriages as behaving worse than animals because, he said, animals generally do not have same-sex mating.[133] LGBT celebrities criticized the statements of the senatorial candidate. Pacquiao later apologized and stated that while, as a Christian, he is still against same-sex marriage, which he said is against Biblical teachings, he did not condemn gay people themselves.[134] Nike ended their longtime partnership with Pacquiao, stating his comments against gay people were abhorrent.[135] The Grove at Farmers Market in Los Angeles also banned Pacquiao from the shopping mall.[136] Towards the end of the video, Pacquiao clarified that he is not condemning gay people.     ...but I am not condemning them, just the marriage which is a sin against God.     — Continuation of Manny Pacquiao's stand on same-sex marriage in a video statement by TV5 posted later on February 19, 2016.[137] Personal life Pacquiao married Jinkee Jamora on May 10, 1999.[3] Together, they have five children, Emmanuel Jr. (Jimuel), Michael Stephen, Mary Divine Grace (Princess) who is a popular YouTube vlogger with millions of subscribers and started the Pacquiao family's network of YouTube content, Queen Elizabeth (Queenie) and Israel. His first son, Jimuel, also rose to celebrity fame as an amateur boxer, model & actor,[138] while his second son, Michael, is a rapper, who has amassed tens of millions of streams with his songs.[139] His daughter, Queenie, was born in the United States. He resides in his hometown of General Santos, South Cotabato, Philippines.[140] As the congressman representing the lone district of Sarangani from 2010 to 2016, he officially resided in Kiamba, Sarangani, the hometown of his wife. Upon his election to the Senate of the Philippines, he returned his official residence to General Santos, as Senators are elected on a nationwide basis, rather than by district. Pacquiao has a YouTube channel with 500,000 subscribers as of June 2021. The Pacquiao family constantly posts content about their activities together in their own separate YouTube channels. His daughter, Mary and his wife Jinkee both have one million subscribers and his sons Jimuel and Michael each have fewer than 600,000.[141] On June 25, 2010, Pacquiao completed a 10-day crash course on Development Legislation and Governance at the Graduate School of Public and Development Management of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP).[142] Pacquiao was officially enrolled for two semesters at Notre Dame of Dadiangas University (NDDU) in the Academic Year 2007-2008 under the bachelor's degree of business administration major in marketing management program, however, Pacquiao was not able to finish the program and NDDU did not grant him a college degree.[143] On December 11, 2019, Pacquiao graduated from University of Makati with a bachelor's degree in political science; majoring in local government administration through the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP) of the Philippine Councilors League-Legislative Academy (PCCLA) which allows qualified Filipinos to complete a collegiate-level education via informal education system.[144][145] Raised Catholic,[146] Pacquiao is currently practicing and preaching Evangelical Protestantism.[147][148][149] Pacquiao said he once had a dream where he saw a pair of angels and heard the voice of God—this dream convinced him to become a devout believer.[150] Pacquiao enlisted as a military reservist and was promoted with the rank of colonel in the Reserve Force of the Philippine Army.[151] Prior to being promoted to full colonel after finishing his General Staff Course (GSC) schooling, he held the rank of lieutenant colonel for being a member of the Philippine Congress as per the AFP's regulations for reservist officers. He first entered the army's reserve force on April 27, 2006, as a sergeant. Later, he rose to Technical Sergeant on December 1 of the same year. On October 7, 2007, he became a Master Sergeant, the highest rank for enlisted personnel. On May 4, 2009, he was given the special rank of Senior Master Sergeant and was also designated as the Command Sergeant Major of the 15th Ready Reserve Division.[152][153] Awards and recognitions International     2000–2009 Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Decade[154]     2000–2009 HBO Fighter of the Decade[155]     2001–2010 World Boxing Council Boxer of the Decade[156]     2001–2010 World Boxing Organization Best Pound-for-Pound Fighter of the Decade[157]     2006, 2008 and 2009 Boxing Writers Association of America's Fighter of the Year[158]     2006, 2008 and 2009 ESPN Fighter of the Year[159]     2006, 2008 and 2009 The Ring Fighter of the Year     2007 World Boxing Hall of Fame Fighter of the year     2008 Sports Illustrated Boxer of the Year[160]     2008 Yahoo! Sports Fighter of the Year[161]     2008 and 2009 ESPN Star's Champion of Champions[162]     2008 and 2009 World Boxing Council Boxer of the Year[163][164]     2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 The Ring No.1 Pound-for-Pound (year-end)     2009 ESPN Knockout of the Year (in Round 2 against Ricky Hatton)[165]     2009 and 2011 ESPY Awards Best Fighter[166]     2009 and 2015 Forbes magazine World's Highest-Paid Athletes (ranked 6th and 2nd)[167][168]     2009 Sports Illustrated Fighter of the Year[169]     2009 The Ring Knockout of the Year (in Round 2 against Ricky Hatton)     2009 TIME 100 Most Influential People (Heroes and Icons Category)[170]     2009, 2010, 2012 and 2015 Forbes magazine Celebrity 100 (The World's Most Powerful Celebrity) (ranked 57th, 55th, 33rd and 2nd)[171]     2010 World Boxing Organization Fighter of the Year[172]     2010 Yahoo! Sports Boxing's Most Influential (ranked 25th)[173]     2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015 The Ring Magazine Event of the year     2011 Las Vegas Walk of Stars Awardee[174]     2011 Guinness World Records Most boxing world titles in different weight divisions (8 times; since November 13, 2010)[175]     2012 Laredo Asian Association Special Recognition Award[176]     2013 On The Ropes Boxing Awards Comeback Fighter of the Year[177]     2013 The Ring magazine Comeback of the Year[178]     2014, 2015 and 2016 Reader's Digest Asia Pacific Most Trusted Sports Personality[179][180]     2014 On The Ropes Boxing Awards Fighter of the Year[181]     2014 PublicAffairsAsia HP Gold Standard Award for Communicator of the Year[182]     2015 Asia Society's Asia Game Changer of the Year[183]     2016 Forbes magazine Boxing's MVPs (ranked 4th)[184]     2019 Forbes magazine Highest Paid Athletes of the Decade (ranked 8th)[185]     2019 World Boxing News Fighter of the year[186] National     2000–2009 Philippine Sportswriters Association Athlete of the Decade[187]     2000–2009 Gabriel "Flash" Elorde Memorial Boxer of the Decade[188]     2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 Gabriel "Flash" Elorde Memorial Boxer of the Year[189][190]     2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2008 PSA Sportsman of the Year     2003 Presidential Medal of Merit     2003 and 2010 Congressional Medal of Achievement / Distinction / Honor     2006 Order of Lakandula with the rank of "Champion for Life" (Kampeon Habambuhay)[191]     2006 Eastwood City Walk of Fame Awardee     2006 36th GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Awards People's Hero Award[192]     2008 Gabriel "Flash" Elorde Memorial Hall of Fame Awardee[193]     2008 Philippine Legion of Honor with the rank of "Officer" (Pinuno)[194]     2008 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Honorary Award for Sports Excellence[195]     2009 Gabriel "Flash" Elorde Memorial Best Pound For Pound Boxer Award[196]     2009 25th Philippine Movie Press Club Star Awards for Movies Newsmaker of the Year[197]     2009 Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Datu (Grand Cross with Gold Distinction)     2009 Southwestern University – honorary Doctorate of Humanities (Honoris Causa as accorded by the Commission on Higher Education)[198][199]     2010–2019 Philippine Sportswriters Association Athlete of the Decade[200]     2011 Gabriel "Flash" Elorde Memorial "Quintessential Athlete" Award     2012 Gabriel "Flash" Elorde Memorial "Man of Others" Award[201]     2013, 2016 and 2018 Gabriel "Flash" Elorde Memorial Award of Distinction[202][203][204]     2015 MEGA Man Magazine Man of the Year[205]     2017 Bawas Bisyo Youth for Sin Tax Movement Anti-smoking champion[206]     2018 League of Municipalities of the Philippines – Cebu "Cebuano Heritage Award for Manny Pacquiao"[207]     2019 50th GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Awards Global Achievement by a Filipino Award[208]     2020 Clean Air Philippines Movement, Inc. (CAPMI) "Clean Air Champion" award[209]     2021 Philippine Sportswriters Association Chooks-to-Go Fan Favorite "Manok ng Bayan" Award[210][211] Electoral history 2007 Philippine House of Representatives election at South Cotabato's 1st district Party     Candidate     Votes     %     NPC     Darlene Antonino-Custodio     139,061     64.49     Liberal     Manny Pacquiao     75,908     35.51 Valid ballots     214,969     100.00     NPC hold 2010 Philippine House of Representatives election at Sarangani Party     Candidate     Votes     %     PCM     Manny Pacquiao     120,052     66.35     SARRO     Roy Chiongbian     60,899     33.65 Valid ballots     180,591     97.57 Invalid or blank votes     4,499     2.43 Total votes     180,951     100.00     PCM gain from SARRO 2013 Philippine House of Representatives election at Sarangani Party     Candidate     Votes     %     ±%     UNA     Manny Pacquiao     144,926         Margin of victory             Rejected ballots     47,085         Turnout     192,011     100         UNA hold     Swing         Filmography Film Year     Title     Role     Notes 2000     Di Ko Kayang Tanggapin     Dong     2001     Basagan ng Mukha     Dodong     Mahal Kita... Kahit Sino Ka Pa!     Dong     2005     Lisensyadong Kamao     Ambrocio "Bruce" Lerio     2008     Pangarap Kong Jackpot     Abel     Segment "Sa Ngalan ng Busabos" Brown Soup Thing     Cousin Manny     Anak ng Kumander     Kumander Idel     Story 2009     Wapakman     Magno Meneses/Wapakman     35th Metro Manila Film Festival entry 2015     Manny     Himself     Documentary film TBA     Freedom Fighters     Col. Macario Peralta, Jr.     TBA     Malvar     Gen. Miguel Malvar     Television Year     Title     Role     Network 2005     Kamao: Matira Ang Matibay     Host     ABS-CBN 2007–2010     Pinoy Records     Host     GMA Network 2009     Totoy Bato     Emmanuel 2009–2011     Show Me Da Manny     Manuel "Manny" Santos 2011–2012     Manny Many Prizes     Host 2013     Para sa 'Yo ang Laban na Ito     Host 2014–2015     MP Featuring Sport Science     Host 2017–2019     Stories for the Soul     Host 2019     ASAP Natin To'     Performer     ABS-CBN TV documentary film Year     Title     Role     Notes 2004     No Fear: The Manny Pacquiao Story     Himself     Video documentary – VIVA Films 2004     The People's Champion     Video documentary – VIVA Films 2006     Countdown to Pacquiao-Morales 3     TV documentary – HBO 2007     Countdown to Pacquiao-Barrera 2     TV documentary – HBO 2008     Countdown to Pacquiao-Marquez 2     TV documentary – HBO 2008     24/7: De La Hoya/Pacquiao     TV documentary – HBO 2009     24/7: Pacquiao/Hatton     TV documentary – HBO 2009     Team Pacquiao     TV documentary – GMA Network 2009     3 Kings: Viloria, Pacquiao, Donaire     TV documentary – C/S 9 2009     24/7: Pacquiao/Cotto     TV documentary – HBO 2010     Manny Pacquiao     TV documentary – BIO Channel 2010     Road to Dallas: Pacquiao vs. Clottey     TV documentary – HBO 2010     24/7: Pacquiao/Margarito     TV documentary – HBO 2011     Fight Camp 360°: Pacquiao vs. Mosley     TV documentary – Showtime 2011     24/7: Pacquiao/Marquez     TV documentary – HBO 2012     I Am Bruce Lee     TV documentary – History 2012     The Fighters     TV documentary – CNN 2012     24/7: Pacquiao/Bradley     TV documentary – HBO 2012     24/7: Pacquiao/Marquez 4     TV documentary – HBO 2013     24/7: Pacquiao/Rios     TV documentary – HBO 2014     24/7: Pacquiao/Bradley 2     TV documentary – HBO 2014     24/7: Pacquiao/Algieri     TV documentary – HBO 2015     Inside Mayweather vs. Pacquiao     TV documentary – Showtime 2015     At Last: Mayweather vs. Pacquiao     TV documentary – HBO 2015     Pacman: Laban Kung Laban     TV documentary – ABS-CBN 2019     All Access: Pacquiao vs. Broner     TV documentary – Showtime 2019     PBC Fight Camp: Pacquiao vs. Thurman     TV documentary – Fox Basketball stats Legend   GP     Games played       GS     Games started      MPG      Minutes per game  FG%      Field-goal percentage      3P%      3-point field-goal percentage      FT%      Free-throw percentage  RPG      Rebounds per game      APG      Assists per game      SPG      Steals per game  BPG      Blocks per game      PPG      Points per game      Bold      Career high PBA season-by-season averages Correct as of February 18, 2018[212][213] Year     Team     GP     MPG     FG%     3P%     FT%     RPG     APG     SPG     BPG     PPG 2014–15     Kia Picanto/Carnival     4     6.1     .000     .000     .500     .5     .3     .0     .0     .3 2015–16     Mahindra Enforcer     5     5.3     .200     .250     .500     .4     .2     .0     .0     1.2 2016–17     Mahindra Floodbuster     1     8.6     .750     .000     .000     1.0     .0     .0     .0     6.0 Career     10     5.9     .125     .125     .400     .5     .2     .0     .0     1.3 UNTV Cup season-by-season averages Correct as of February 2, 2019[214] Year     Team     GP     MPG     FG%     3P%     FT%     RPG     APG     SPG     BPG     PPG 2018-19     Senate Defenders     1     0     .000     .000     .000     .0     .0     .0     .0     12.0 Career     1     0     .000     .000     .000     .0     .0     .0     .0     12.0 " (wikipedia.org) "Boxing (also known as "western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time in a boxing ring. More generally, the term "boxing" can refer to any combat sport in which two opponents face each other in a fight using their fists, covered by gloves in most cases, and differentiated according to their rules, such as western boxing, French boxing, Chinese boxing, Thai boxing, kickboxing, and the ancient pygmachia.[1][2] While humans have fought in hand-to-hand combat since the dawn of human history, the earliest evidence of a form of boxing can be seen in Sumerian Carvings the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC.[3][4][5][6] The earliest evidence of boxing rules date back to Ancient Greece, where boxing was established as an Olympic game in 688 BC.[3] Boxing evolved from 16th- and 18th-century prizefights, largely in Great Britain, to the forerunner of modern boxing in the mid-19th century with the 1867 introduction of the Marquess of Queensberry Rules. Amateur boxing is both an Olympic and Commonwealth Games sport and is a standard fixture in most international games — it also has its own World Championships. Boxing is overseen by a referee over a series of one-to-three-minute intervals called rounds. A winner can be resolved before the completion of the rounds when a referee deems an opponent incapable of continuing, disqualification of an opponent, or resignation of an opponent. When the fight reaches the end of its final round with both opponents still standing, the judges' scorecards determine the victor. In case both fighters gain equal scores from the judges, a professional bout is considered a draw. In Olympic boxing, because a winner must be declared, judges award the contest to one fighter on technical criteria.... History Ancient history See also: Ancient Greek boxing and History of physical training and fitness A painting of Minoan youths boxing, from an Akrotiri fresco circa 1650 BC. This is the earliest documented use of boxing gloves. A boxing scene depicted on a Panathenaic amphora from Ancient Greece, circa 336 BC, British Museum The earliest known depiction of any form of boxing comes from a Sumerian relief in Iraq from the 3rd millennium BC.[3] A relief sculpture from Egyptian Thebes (c. 1350 BC) shows both boxers and spectators.[3] These early Middle-Eastern and Egyptian depictions showed contests where fighters were either bare-fisted or had a band supporting the wrist.[3] The earliest evidence of use of gloves can be found on Minoan Crete (c. 1500–1400 BC).[3] Various types of boxing existed in ancient India. The earliest references to musti-yuddha come from classical Vedic epics such as the Ramayana and Rig Veda. The Mahabharata describes two combatants boxing with clenched fists and fighting with kicks, finger strikes, knee strikes and headbutts.[7] Duels (niyuddham) were often fought to the death.[citation needed] During the period of the Western Satraps, the ruler Rudradaman—in addition to being well-versed in "the great sciences" which included Indian classical music, Sanskrit grammar, and logic—was said to be an excellent horseman, charioteer, elephant rider, swordsman and boxer.[8] The Gurbilas Shemi, an 18th-century Sikh text, gives numerous references to musti-yuddha. In Ancient Greece boxing was a well developed sport called pygmachia, and enjoyed consistent popularity. In Olympic terms, it was first introduced in the 23rd Olympiad, 688 BC. The boxers would wind leather thongs around their hands in order to protect them. There were no rounds and boxers fought until one of them acknowledged defeat or could not continue. Weight categories were not used, which meant heavyweights had a tendency to dominate. The style of boxing practiced typically featured an advanced left leg stance, with the left arm semi-extended as a guard, in addition to being used for striking, and with the right arm drawn back ready to strike. It was the head of the opponent which was primarily targeted, and there is little evidence to suggest that targeting the body and the use of kicks was common.[9][10] Boxing was a popular spectator sport in Ancient Rome.[11] Fighters protected their knuckles with leather strips wrapped around their fists. Eventually harder leather was used and the strips became a weapon. Metal studs were introduced to the strips to make the cestus. Fighting events were held at Roman amphitheatres. Early London prize ring rules A straight right demonstrated in Edmund Price's The Science of Defence: A Treatise on Sparring and Wrestling, 1867 Records of Classical boxing activity disappeared after the fall of the Western Roman Empire when the wearing of weapons became common once again and interest in fighting with the fists waned. However, there are detailed records of various fist-fighting sports that were maintained in different cities and provinces of Italy between the 12th and 17th centuries. There was also a sport in ancient Rus called Kulachniy Boy or "Fist Fighting". As the wearing of swords became less common, there was renewed interest in fencing with the fists. The sport would later resurface in England during the early 16th century in the form of bare-knuckle boxing sometimes referred to as prizefighting. The first documented account of a bare-knuckle fight in England appeared in 1681 in the London Protestant Mercury, and the first English bare-knuckle champion was James Figg in 1719.[12] This is also the time when the word "boxing" first came to be used. This earliest form of modern boxing was very different. Contests in Mr. Figg's time, in addition to fist fighting, also contained fencing and cudgeling. On 6 January 1681, the first recorded boxing match took place in Britain when Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle (and later Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica) engineered a bout between his butler and his butcher with the latter winning the prize. Early fighting had no written rules. There were no weight divisions or round limits, and no referee. In general, it was extremely chaotic. An early article on boxing was published in Nottingham, 1713, by Sir Thomas Parkyns, 2nd Baronet, a wrestling patron from Bunny, Nottinghamshire, who had practised the techniques he described. The article, a single page in his manual of wrestling and fencing, Progymnasmata: The inn-play, or Cornish-hugg wrestler, described a system of headbutting, punching, eye-gouging, chokes, and hard throws, not recognized in boxing today.[13] The first boxing rules, called the Broughton's rules, were introduced by champion Jack Broughton in 1743 to protect fighters in the ring where deaths sometimes occurred.[14] Under these rules, if a man went down and could not continue after a count of 30 seconds, the fight was over. Hitting a downed fighter and grasping below the waist were prohibited. Broughton encouraged the use of 'mufflers', a form of padded bandage or mitten, to be used in 'jousting' or sparring sessions in training, and in exhibition matches. Tom Molineaux (left) vs Tom Cribb in a re-match for the heavyweight championship of England, 1811 These rules did allow the fighters an advantage not enjoyed by today's boxers; they permitted the fighter to drop to one knee to end the round and begin the 30-second count at any time. Thus a fighter realizing he was in trouble had an opportunity to recover. However, this was considered "unmanly"[15] and was frequently disallowed by additional rules negotiated by the Seconds of the Boxers.[16] In modern boxing, there is a three-minute limit to rounds (unlike the downed fighter ends the round rule). Intentionally going down in modern boxing will cause the recovering fighter to lose points in the scoring system. Furthermore, as the contestants did not have heavy leather gloves and wristwraps to protect their hands, they used different punching technique to preserve their hands because the head was a common target to hit full out.[dubious – discuss][citation needed] Almost all period manuals have powerful straight punches with the whole body behind them to the face (including forehead) as the basic blows.[17][18][unreliable source?] The British sportswriter Pierce Egan coined the term "the Sweet Science" as an epithet for prizefighting – or more fully "the Sweet Science of Bruising" as a description of England's bare-knuckle fight scene in the early nineteenth century.[19] The London Prize Ring Rules introduced measures that remain in effect for professional boxing to this day, such as outlawing butting, gouging, scratching, kicking, hitting a man while down, holding the ropes, and using resin, stones or hard objects in the hands, and biting.[20] Marquess of Queensberry rules (1867) In 1867, the Marquess of Queensberry rules were drafted by John Chambers for amateur championships held at Lillie Bridge in London for lightweights, middleweights and heavyweights. The rules were published under the patronage of the Marquess of Queensberry, whose name has always been associated with them. File:Leonard Cushing Kinetograph 1894.ogvPlay media The June 1894 Leonard–Cushing bout. Each of the six one-minute rounds recorded by the Kinetograph was made available to exhibitors for $22.50.[21] Customers who watched the final round saw Leonard score a knockdown. There were twelve rules in all, and they specified that fights should be "a fair stand-up boxing match" in a 24-foot-square or similar ring. Rounds were three minutes with one-minute rest intervals between rounds. Each fighter was given a ten-second count if he was knocked down, and wrestling was banned. The introduction of gloves of "fair-size" also changed the nature of the bouts. An average pair of boxing gloves resembles a bloated pair of mittens and are laced up around the wrists.[22] The gloves can be used to block an opponent's blows. As a result of their introduction, bouts became longer and more strategic with greater importance attached to defensive maneuvers such as slipping, bobbing, countering and angling. Because less defensive emphasis was placed on the use of the forearms and more on the gloves, the classical forearms outwards, torso leaning back stance of the bare knuckle boxer was modified to a more modern stance in which the torso is tilted forward and the hands are held closer to the face. Late 19th and early 20th centuries Through the late nineteenth century, the martial art of boxing or prizefighting was primarily a sport of dubious legitimacy. Outlawed in England and much of the United States, prizefights were often held at gambling venues and broken up by police.[23] Brawling and wrestling tactics continued, and riots at prizefights were common occurrences. Still, throughout this period, there arose some notable bare knuckle champions who developed fairly sophisticated fighting tactics. Amateur Boxing Club, Wales, 1963 The English case of R v. Coney in 1882 found that a bare-knuckle fight was an assault occasioning actual bodily harm, despite the consent of the participants. This marked the end of widespread public bare-knuckle contests in England. The first world heavyweight champion under the Queensberry Rules was "Gentleman Jim" Corbett, who defeated John L. Sullivan in 1892 at the Pelican Athletic Club in New Orleans.[24] The first instance of film censorship in the United States occurred in 1897 when several states banned the showing of prize fighting films from the state of Nevada,[25] where it was legal at the time. Throughout the early twentieth century, boxers struggled to achieve legitimacy.[26] They were aided by the influence of promoters like Tex Rickard and the popularity of great champions such as John L. Sullivan. Modern boxing Robert Helenius (on the right) vs. Attila Levin (on the left) at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland on 27 November 2010. The modern sport arose from illegal venues and outlawed prizefighting and has become a multibillion-dollar commercial enterprise. A majority of young talent still comes from poverty-stricken areas around the world.[citation needed] Places like Mexico, Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe prove to be filled with young aspiring athletes who wish to become the future of boxing. Even in the U.S., places like the inner cities of New York, and Chicago have given rise to promising young talent. According to Rubin, "boxing lost its appeal with the American middle class, and most of who boxes in modern America come from the streets and are street fighters".[27] Rules Main article: Marquess of Queensberry Rules The Marquess of Queensberry rules have been the general rules governing modern boxing since their publication in 1867.[28] A boxing match typically consists of a determined number of three-minute rounds, a total of up to 9 to 12 rounds. A minute is typically spent between each round with the fighters in their assigned corners receiving advice and attention from their coach and staff. The fight is controlled by a referee who works within the ring to judge and control the conduct of the fighters, rule on their ability to fight safely, count knocked-down fighters, and rule on fouls. Up to three judges are typically present at ringside to score the bout and assign points to the boxers, based on punches and elbows that connect, defense, knockdowns, hugging and other, more subjective, measures. Because of the open-ended style of boxing judging, many fights have controversial results, in which one or both fighters believe they have been "robbed" or unfairly denied a victory. Each fighter has an assigned corner of the ring, where their coach, as well as one or more "seconds" may administer to the fighter at the beginning of the fight and between rounds. Each boxer enters into the ring from their assigned corners at the beginning of each round and must cease fighting and return to their corner at the signalled end of each round. A bout in which the predetermined number of rounds passes is decided by the judges, and is said to "go the distance". The fighter with the higher score at the end of the fight is ruled the winner. With three judges, unanimous and split decisions are possible, as are draws. A boxer may win the bout before a decision is reached through a knock-out; such bouts are said to have ended "inside the distance". If a fighter is knocked down during the fight, determined by whether the boxer touches the canvas floor of the ring with any part of their body other than the feet as a result of the opponent's punch and not a slip, as determined by the referee, the referee begins counting until the fighter returns to their feet and can continue. Some jurisdictions require the referee to count to eight regardless of if the fighter gets up before. Should the referee count to ten, then the knocked-down boxer is ruled "knocked out" (whether unconscious or not) and the other boxer is ruled the winner by knockout (KO). A "technical knock-out" (TKO) is possible as well, and is ruled by the referee, fight doctor, or a fighter's corner if a fighter is unable to safely continue to fight, based upon injuries or being judged unable to effectively defend themselves. Many jurisdictions and sanctioning agencies also have a "three-knockdown rule", in which three knockdowns in a given round result in a TKO. A TKO is considered a knockout in a fighter's record. A "standing eight" count rule may also be in effect. This gives the referee the right to step in and administer a count of eight to a fighter that the referee feels may be in danger, even if no knockdown has taken place. After counting the referee will observe the fighter, and decide if the fighter is fit to continue. For scoring purposes, a standing eight count is treated as a knockdown. Ingemar Johansson of Sweden KO's heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson, 26 June 1959. In general, boxers are prohibited from hitting below the belt, holding, tripping, pushing, biting, or spitting. The boxer's shorts are raised so the opponent is not allowed to hit to the groin area with intent to cause pain or injury. Failure to abide by the former may result in a foul. They also are prohibited from kicking, head-butting, or hitting with any part of the arm other than the knuckles of a closed fist (including hitting with the elbow, shoulder or forearm, as well as with open gloves, the wrist, the inside, back or side of the hand). They are prohibited as well from hitting the back, back of the head or neck (called a "rabbit-punch") or the kidneys. They are prohibited from holding the ropes for support when punching, holding an opponent while punching, or ducking below the belt of their opponent (dropping below the waist of your opponent, no matter the distance between). If a "clinch" – a defensive move in which a boxer wraps their opponent's arms and holds on to create a pause – is broken by the referee, each fighter must take a full step back before punching again (alternatively, the referee may direct the fighters to "punch out" of the clinch). When a boxer is knocked down, the other boxer must immediately cease fighting and move to the furthest neutral corner of the ring until the referee has either ruled a knockout or called for the fight to continue. Violations of these rules may be ruled "fouls" by the referee, who may issue warnings, deduct points, or disqualify an offending boxer, causing an automatic loss, depending on the seriousness and intentionality of the foul. An intentional foul that causes injury that prevents a fight from continuing usually causes the boxer who committed it to be disqualified. A fighter who suffers an accidental low-blow may be given up to five minutes to recover, after which they may be ruled knocked out if they are unable to continue. Accidental fouls that cause injury ending a bout may lead to a "no contest" result, or else cause the fight to go to a decision if enough rounds (typically four or more, or at least three in a four-round fight) have passed. Unheard of in the modern era, but common during the early 20th Century in North America, a "newspaper decision (NWS)" might be made after a no decision bout had ended. A "no decision" bout occurred when, by law or by pre-arrangement of the fighters, if both boxers were still standing at the fight's conclusion and there was no knockout, no official decision was rendered and neither boxer was declared the winner. But this did not prevent the pool of ringside newspaper reporters from declaring a consensus result among themselves and printing a newspaper decision in their publications. Officially, however, a "no decision" bout resulted in neither boxer winning or losing. Boxing historians sometimes use these unofficial newspaper decisions in compiling fight records for illustrative purposes only. Often, media outlets covering a match will personally score the match, and post their scores as an independent sentence in their report. Professional vs. amateur boxing Roberto Durán (right) held world championships in four weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight Throughout the 17th to 19th centuries, boxing bouts were motivated by money, as the fighters competed for prize money, promoters controlled the gate, and spectators bet on the result. The modern Olympic movement revived interest in amateur sports, and amateur boxing became an Olympic sport in 1908. In their current form, Olympic and other amateur bouts are typically limited to three or four rounds, scoring is computed by points based on the number of clean blows landed, regardless of impact, and fighters wear protective headgear, reducing the number of injuries, knockdowns, and knockouts.[29] Currently scoring blows in amateur boxing are subjectively counted by ringside judges, but the Australian Institute for Sport has demonstrated a prototype of an Automated Boxing Scoring System, which introduces scoring objectivity, improves safety, and arguably makes the sport more interesting to spectators. Professional boxing remains by far the most popular form of the sport globally, though amateur boxing is dominant in Cuba and some former Soviet republics. For most fighters, an amateur career, especially at the Olympics, serves to develop skills and gain experience in preparation for a professional career. Western boxers typically participate in one Olympics and then turn pro, Cubans and other socialist countries have an opportunity to collect multiple medals.[30] In 2016, professional boxers were admitted in the Olympic Games and other tournaments sanctioned by AIBA.[31] This was done in part to level the playing field and give all of the athletes the same opportunities government-sponsored boxers from socialist countries and post-Soviet republics have.[32] However, professional organizations strongly opposed that decision.[33][34] Amateur boxing Main article: Amateur boxing Nicola Adams is the first female boxer to win an Olympic gold medal. Here with Mary Kom of India. Amateur boxing may be found at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, etc. In many other venues sanctioned by amateur boxing associations. Amateur boxing has a point scoring system that measures the number of clean blows landed rather than physical damage. Bouts consist of three rounds of three minutes in the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, and three rounds of three minutes in a national ABA (Amateur Boxing Association) bout, each with a one-minute interval between rounds. Competitors wear protective headgear and gloves with a white strip or circle across the knuckle. There are cases however, where white ended gloves are not required but any solid color may be worn. The white end is just a way to make it easier for judges to score clean hits. Each competitor must have their hands properly wrapped, pre-fight, for added protection on their hands and for added cushion under the gloves. Gloves worn by the fighters must be twelve ounces in weight unless the fighters weigh under 165 pounds (75 kg), thus allowing them to wear ten ounce gloves. A punch is considered a scoring punch only when the boxers connect with the white portion of the gloves. Each punch that lands cleanly on the head or torso with sufficient force is awarded a point. A referee monitors the fight to ensure that competitors use only legal blows. A belt worn over the torso represents the lower limit of punches – any boxer repeatedly landing low blows below the belt is disqualified. Referees also ensure that the boxers don't use holding tactics to prevent the opponent from swinging. If this occurs, the referee separates the opponents and orders them to continue boxing. Repeated holding can result in a boxer being penalized or ultimately disqualified. Referees will stop the bout if a boxer is seriously injured, if one boxer is significantly dominating the other or if the score is severely imbalanced.[35] Amateur bouts which end this way may be noted as "RSC" (referee stopped contest) with notations for an outclassed opponent (RSCO), outscored opponent (RSCOS), injury (RSCI) or head injury (RSCH). Professional boxing Main article: Professional boxing Firpo sending Dempsey outside the ring; painting by George Bellows. Professional bouts are usually much longer than amateur bouts, typically ranging from ten to twelve rounds, though four-round fights are common for less experienced fighters or club fighters. There are also some two- and three-round professional bouts, especially in Australia. Through the early 20th century, it was common for fights to have unlimited rounds, ending only when one fighter quit, benefiting high-energy fighters like Jack Dempsey. Fifteen rounds remained the internationally recognized limit for championship fights for most of the 20th century until the early 1980s, when the death of boxer Kim Duk-koo eventually prompted the World Boxing Council and other organizations sanctioning professional boxing to reduce the limit to twelve rounds. Headgear is not permitted in professional bouts, and boxers are generally allowed to take much more damage before a fight is halted. At any time, the referee may stop the contest if he believes that one participant cannot defend himself due to injury. In that case, the other participant is awarded a technical knockout win. A technical knockout would also be awarded if a fighter lands a punch that opens a cut on the opponent, and the opponent is later deemed not fit to continue by a doctor because of the cut. For this reason, fighters often employ cutmen, whose job is to treat cuts between rounds so that the boxer is able to continue despite the cut. If a boxer simply quits fighting, or if his corner stops the fight, then the winning boxer is also awarded a technical knockout victory. In contrast with amateur boxing, professional male boxers have to be bare-chested.[36] Boxing styles Definition of style "Style" is often defined as the strategic approach a fighter takes during a bout. No two fighters' styles are alike, as each is determined by that individual's physical and mental attributes. Three main styles exist in boxing: outside fighter ("boxer"), brawler (or "slugger"), and inside fighter ("swarmer"). These styles may be divided into several special subgroups, such as counter puncher, etc. The main philosophy of the styles is, that each style has an advantage over one, but disadvantage over the other one. It follows the rock paper scissors scenario – boxer beats brawler, brawler beats swarmer, and swarmer beats boxer.[37] Boxer/out-fighter Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali was a typical example of an out-fighter. A classic "boxer" or stylist (also known as an "out-fighter") seeks to maintain distance between himself and his opponent, fighting with faster, longer range punches, most notably the jab, and gradually wearing his opponent down. Due to this reliance on weaker punches, out-fighters tend to win by point decisions rather than by knockout, though some out-fighters have notable knockout records. They are often regarded as the best boxing strategists due to their ability to control the pace of the fight and lead their opponent, methodically wearing him down and exhibiting more skill and finesse than a brawler.[38] Out-fighters need reach, hand speed, reflexes, and footwork. Notable out-fighters include Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Joe Calzaghe, Wilfredo Gómez, Salvador Sánchez, Cecilia Brækhus, Gene Tunney,[39] Ezzard Charles,[40] Willie Pep,[41] Meldrick Taylor, Ricardo "Finito" López, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Roy Jones Jr., Sugar Ray Leonard, Miguel Vázquez, Sergio "Maravilla" Martínez, Wladimir Klitschko and Guillermo Rigondeaux. This style was also used by fictional boxer Apollo Creed. Boxer-puncher A boxer-puncher is a well-rounded boxer who is able to fight at close range with a combination of technique and power, often with the ability to knock opponents out with a combination and in some instances a single shot. Their movement and tactics are similar to that of an out-fighter (although they are generally not as mobile as an out-fighter),[42] but instead of winning by decision, they tend to wear their opponents down using combinations and then move in to score the knockout. A boxer must be well rounded to be effective using this style. Notable boxer-punchers include Muhammad Ali, Canelo Álvarez, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones Jr., Wladimir Klitschko, Vasyl Lomachenko, Lennox Lewis, Joe Louis,[43] Wilfredo Gómez, Oscar De La Hoya, Archie Moore, Miguel Cotto, Nonito Donaire, Sam Langford,[44] Henry Armstrong,[45] Sugar Ray Robinson,[46] Tony Zale, Carlos Monzón,[47] Alexis Argüello, Érik Morales, Terry Norris, Marco Antonio Barrera, Naseem Hamed, Thomas Hearns, Julian Jackson and Gennady Golovkin. Counter puncher Counter punchers are slippery, defensive style fighters who often rely on their opponent's mistakes in order to gain the advantage, whether it be on the score cards or more preferably a knockout. They use their well-rounded defense to avoid or block shots and then immediately catch the opponent off guard with a well placed and timed punch. A fight with a skilled counter-puncher can turn into a war of attrition, where each shot landed is a battle in itself. Thus, fighting against counter punchers requires constant feinting and the ability to avoid telegraphing one's attacks. To be truly successful using this style they must have good reflexes, a high level of prediction and awareness, pinpoint accuracy and speed, both in striking and in footwork. Notable counter punchers include Muhammad Ali, Joe Calzaghe, Vitali Klitschko, Evander Holyfield, Max Schmeling, Chris Byrd, Jim Corbett, Jack Johnson, Bernard Hopkins, Laszlo Papp, Jerry Quarry, Anselmo Moreno, James Toney, Marvin Hagler, Juan Manuel Márquez, Humberto Soto, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Roger Mayweather, Pernell Whitaker, Sergio Martínez and Guillermo Rigondeaux. This style of boxing is also used by fictional boxer Little Mac. Counter punchers usually wear their opponents down by causing them to miss their punches. The more the opponent misses, the faster they tire, and the psychological effects of being unable to land a hit will start to sink in. The counter puncher often tries to outplay their opponent entirely, not just in a physical sense, but also in a mental and emotional sense. This style can be incredibly difficult, especially against seasoned fighters, but winning a fight without getting hit is often worth the pay-off. They usually try to stay away from the center of the ring, in order to outmaneuver and chip away at their opponents. A large advantage in counter-hitting is the forward momentum of the attacker, which drives them further into your return strike. As such, knockouts are more common than one would expect from a defensive style. Brawler/slugger Famous brawler George Foreman A brawler is a fighter who generally lacks finesse and footwork in the ring, but makes up for it through sheer punching power. Many brawlers tend to lack mobility, preferring a less mobile, more stable platform and have difficulty pursuing fighters who are fast on their feet. They may also have a tendency to ignore combination punching in favor of continuous beat-downs with one hand and by throwing slower, more powerful single punches (such as hooks and uppercuts). Their slowness and predictable punching pattern (single punches with obvious leads) often leaves them open to counter punches, so successful brawlers must be able to absorb a substantial amount of punishment. However, not all brawler/slugger fighters are not mobile; some can move around and switch styles if needed but still have the brawler/slugger style such as Wilfredo Gómez, Prince Naseem Hamed and Danny García. A brawler's most important assets are power and chin (the ability to absorb punishment while remaining able to continue boxing). Examples of this style include George Foreman, Rocky Marciano, Julio César Chávez, Roberto Durán, Jack Dempsey, Riddick Bowe ,Danny García, Wilfredo Gómez, Sonny Liston, John L. Sullivan, Max Baer, Prince Naseem Hamed, Ray Mancini, David Tua, Arturo Gatti, Micky Ward, Brandon Ríos, Ruslan Provodnikov, Michael Katsidis, James Kirkland, Marcos Maidana, Vitali Klitschko, Jake LaMotta, Manny Pacquiao, and Ireland's John Duddy. This style of boxing was also used by fictional boxers Rocky Balboa and James "Clubber" Lang. Brawlers tend to be more predictable and easy to hit but usually fare well enough against other fighting styles because they train to take punches very well. They often have a higher chance than other fighting styles to score a knockout against their opponents because they focus on landing big, powerful hits, instead of smaller, faster attacks. Oftentimes they place focus on training on their upper body instead of their entire body, to increase power and endurance. They also aim to intimidate their opponents because of their power, stature and ability to take a punch. Swarmer/in-fighter Henry Armstrong was known for his aggressive, non-stop assault style of fighting. In-fighters/swarmers (sometimes called "pressure fighters") attempt to stay close to an opponent, throwing intense flurries and combinations of hooks and uppercuts. Mainly Mexican, Irish, Irish-American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican-American boxers popularized this style. A successful in-fighter often needs a good "chin" because swarming usually involves being hit with many jabs before they can maneuver inside where they are more effective. In-fighters operate best at close range because they are generally shorter and have less reach than their opponents and thus are more effective at a short distance where the longer arms of their opponents make punching awkward. However, several fighters tall for their division have been relatively adept at in-fighting as well as out-fighting. The essence of a swarmer is non-stop aggression. Many short in-fighters use their stature to their advantage, employing a bob-and-weave defense by bending at the waist to slip underneath or to the sides of incoming punches. Unlike blocking, causing an opponent to miss a punch disrupts his balance, this permits forward movement past the opponent's extended arm and keeps the hands free to counter. A distinct advantage that in-fighters have is when throwing uppercuts, they can channel their entire bodyweight behind the punch; Mike Tyson was famous for throwing devastating uppercuts. Marvin Hagler was known for his hard "chin", punching power, body attack and the stalking of his opponents. Some in-fighters, like Mike Tyson, have been known for being notoriously hard to hit. The key to a swarmer is aggression, endurance, chin, and bobbing-and-weaving. Notable in-fighters include Henry Armstrong, Aaron Pryor, Julio César Chávez, Jack Dempsey, Shawn Porter, Miguel Cotto, Gennady Golovkin, Joe Frazier, Danny García, Mike Tyson, Manny Pacquiao, Rocky Marciano,[48] Wayne McCullough, James Braddock, Gerry Penalosa, Harry Greb,[49][50] David Tua, James Toney and Ricky Hatton. This style was also used by the Street Fighter character Balrog.[citation needed] Combinations of styles All fighters have primary skills with which they feel most comfortable, but truly elite fighters are often able to incorporate auxiliary styles when presented with a particular challenge. For example, an out-fighter will sometimes plant his feet and counter punch, or a slugger may have the stamina to pressure fight with his power punches. Old history of the development of boxing and its prevalence contribute to fusion of various types of martial arts and the emergence of new ones that are based on them. For example, a combination of boxing and sportive sambo techniques gave rise to a combat sambo. Style matchups Louis vs. Schmeling, 1936 There is a generally accepted rule of thumb about the success each of these boxing styles has against the others. In general, an in-fighter has an advantage over an out-fighter, an out-fighter has an advantage over a brawler, and a brawler has an advantage over an in-fighter; these form a cycle with each style being stronger relative to one, and weaker relative to another, with none dominating, as in rock paper scissors. Naturally, many other factors, such as the skill level and training of the combatants, determine the outcome of a fight, but the widely held belief in this relationship among the styles is embodied in the cliché amongst boxing fans and writers that "styles make fights." Brawlers tend to overcome swarmers or in-fighters because, in trying to get close to the slugger, the in-fighter will invariably have to walk straight into the guns of the much harder-hitting brawler, so, unless the former has a very good chin and the latter's stamina is poor, the brawler's superior power will carry the day. A famous example of this type of match-up advantage would be George Foreman's knockout victory over Joe Frazier in their original bout "The Sunshine Showdown". Although in-fighters struggle against heavy sluggers, they typically enjoy more success against out-fighters or boxers. Out-fighters prefer a slower fight, with some distance between themselves and the opponent. The in-fighter tries to close that gap and unleash furious flurries. On the inside, the out-fighter loses a lot of his combat effectiveness, because he cannot throw the hard punches. The in-fighter is generally successful in this case, due to his intensity in advancing on his opponent and his good agility, which makes him difficult to evade. For example, the swarming Joe Frazier, though easily dominated by the slugger George Foreman, was able to create many more problems for the boxer Muhammad Ali in their three fights. Joe Louis, after retirement, admitted that he hated being crowded, and that swarmers like untied/undefeated champ Rocky Marciano would have caused him style problems even in his prime. The boxer or out-fighter tends to be most successful against a brawler, whose slow speed (both hand and foot) and poor technique makes him an easy target to hit for the faster out-fighter. The out-fighter's main concern is to stay alert, as the brawler only needs to land one good punch to finish the fight. If the out-fighter can avoid those power punches, he can often wear the brawler down with fast jabs, tiring him out. If he is successful enough, he may even apply extra pressure in the later rounds in an attempt to achieve a knockout. Most classic boxers, such as Muhammad Ali, enjoyed their best successes against sluggers. An example of a style matchup was the historical fight of Julio César Chávez, a swarmer or in-fighter, against Meldrick Taylor, the boxer or out-fighter (see Julio César Chávez vs. Meldrick Taylor). The match was nicknamed "Thunder Meets Lightning" as an allusion to punching power of Chávez and blinding speed of Taylor. Chávez was the epitome of the "Mexican" style of boxing. Taylor's hand and foot speed and boxing abilities gave him the early advantage, allowing him to begin building a large lead on points. Chávez remained relentless in his pursuit of Taylor and due to his greater punching power Chávez slowly punished Taylor. Coming into the later rounds, Taylor was bleeding from the mouth, his entire face was swollen, the bones around his eye socket had been broken, he had swallowed a considerable amount of his own blood, and as he grew tired, Taylor was increasingly forced into exchanging blows with Chávez, which only gave Chávez a greater chance to cause damage. While there was little doubt that Taylor had solidly won the first three quarters of the fight, the question at hand was whether he would survive the final quarter. Going into the final round, Taylor held a secure lead on the scorecards of two of the three judges. Chávez would have to knock Taylor out to claim a victory, whereas Taylor merely needed to stay away from the Mexican legend. However, Taylor did not stay away, but continued to trade blows with Chávez. As he did so, Taylor showed signs of extreme exhaustion, and every tick of the clock brought Taylor closer to victory unless Chávez could knock him out. With about a minute left in the round, Chávez hit Taylor squarely with several hard punches and stayed on the attack, continuing to hit Taylor with well-placed shots. Finally, with about 25 seconds to go, Chávez landed a hard right hand that caused Taylor to stagger forward towards a corner, forcing Chávez back ahead of him. Suddenly Chávez stepped around Taylor, positioning him so that Taylor was trapped in the corner, with no way to escape from Chávez' desperate final flurry. Chávez then nailed Taylor with a tremendous right hand that dropped the younger man. By using the ring ropes to pull himself up, Taylor managed to return to his feet and was given the mandatory 8-count. Referee Richard Steele asked Taylor twice if he was able to continue fighting, but Taylor failed to answer. Steele then concluded that Taylor was unfit to continue and signaled that he was ending the fight, resulting in a TKO victory for Chávez with only two seconds to go in the bout. Equipment Since boxing involves forceful, repetitive punching, precautions must be taken to prevent damage to bones in the hand. Most trainers do not allow boxers to train and spar without wrist wraps and boxing gloves. Hand wraps are used to secure the bones in the hand, and the gloves are used to protect the hands from blunt injury, allowing boxers to throw punches with more force than if they did not use them. Gloves have been required in competition since the late nineteenth century, though modern boxing gloves are much heavier than those worn by early twentieth-century fighters. Prior to a bout, both boxers agree upon the weight of gloves to be used in the bout, with the understanding that lighter gloves allow heavy punchers to inflict more damage. The brand of gloves can also affect the impact of punches, so this too is usually stipulated before a bout. Both sides are allowed to inspect the wraps and gloves of the opponent to help ensure both are within agreed upon specifications and no tampering has taken place. A mouthguard is important to protect the teeth[51][52] and gums from injury, and to cushion the jaw, resulting in a decreased chance of knockout. Both fighters must wear soft soled shoes to reduce the damage from accidental (or intentional) stepping on feet. While older boxing boots more commonly resembled those of a professional wrestler, modern boxing shoes and boots tend to be quite similar to their amateur wrestling counterparts. Boxers practice their skills on several types of punching bags. A small, tear-drop-shaped "speed bag" is used to hone reflexes and repetitive punching skills, while a large cylindrical "heavy bag" filled with sand, a synthetic substitute, or water is used to practice power punching and body blows. The double-end bag is usually connected by elastic on the top and bottom and moves randomly upon getting struck and helps the fighter work on accuracy and reflexes. In addition to these distinctive pieces of equipment, boxers also use sport-nonspecific training equipment to build strength, speed, agility, and stamina. Common training equipment includes free weights, rowing machines, jump rope, and medicine balls. Boxers also use punch/focus mitts in which a trainer calls out certain combinations and the fighter strikes the mitts accordingly. This is a great exercise for stamina as the boxer isn't allowed to go at his own pace but that of the trainer, typically forcing the fighter to endure a higher output and volume than usual. In addition, they also allow trainers to make boxers utilize footwork and distances more accurately. Boxing matches typically take place in a boxing ring, a raised platform surrounded by ropes attached to posts rising in each corner. The term "ring" has come to be used as a metaphor for many aspects of prize fighting in general. Technique Main article: Boxing styles and technique Stance The modern boxing stance differs substantially from the typical boxing stances of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The modern stance has a more upright vertical-armed guard, as opposed to the more horizontal, knuckles-facing-forward guard adopted by early 20th century hook users such as Jack Johnson.     Upright stance     Semi-crouch     Full crouch In a fully upright stance, the boxer stands with the legs shoulder-width apart and the rear foot a half-step in front of the lead man. Right-handed or orthodox boxers lead with the left foot and fist (for most penetration power). Both feet are parallel, and the right heel is off the ground. The lead (left) fist is held vertically about six inches in front of the face at eye level. The rear (right) fist is held beside the chin and the elbow tucked against the ribcage to protect the body. The chin is tucked into the chest to avoid punches to the jaw which commonly cause knock-outs and is often kept slightly off-center. Wrists are slightly bent to avoid damage when punching and the elbows are kept tucked in to protect the ribcage. Some boxers fight from a crouch, leaning forward and keeping their feet closer together. The stance described is considered the "textbook" stance and fighters are encouraged to change it around once it's been mastered as a base. Case in point, many fast fighters have their hands down and have almost exaggerated footwork, while brawlers or bully fighters tend to slowly stalk their opponents. In order to retain their stance boxers take 'the first step in any direction with the foot already leading in that direction.'[53] Different stances allow for bodyweight to be differently positioned and emphasised; this may in turn alter how powerfully and explosively a type of punch can be delivered. For instance, a crouched stance allows for the bodyweight to be positioned further forward over the lead left leg. If a lead left hook is thrown from this position, it will produce a powerful springing action in the lead leg and produce a more explosive punch. This springing action could not be generated effectively, for this punch, if an upright stance was used or if the bodyweight was positioned predominantly over the back leg.[54] Mike Tyson was a keen practitioner of a crouched stance and this style of power punching. The preparatory positioning of the bodyweight over the bent lead leg is also known as an isometric preload. Left-handed or southpaw fighters use a mirror image of the orthodox stance, which can create problems for orthodox fighters unaccustomed to receiving jabs, hooks, or crosses from the opposite side. The southpaw stance, conversely, is vulnerable to a straight right hand. North American fighters tend to favor a more balanced stance, facing the opponent almost squarely, while many European fighters stand with their torso turned more to the side. The positioning of the hands may also vary, as some fighters prefer to have both hands raised in front of the face, risking exposure to body shots. Punches There are four basic punches in boxing: the jab, cross, hook and uppercut. Any punch other than a jab is considered a power punch. If a boxer is right-handed (orthodox), his left hand is the lead hand and his right hand is the rear hand. For a left-handed boxer or southpaw, the hand positions are reversed. For clarity, the following discussion will assume a right-handed boxer.     Jab     Cross – in counter-punch with a looping     Hook     Uppercut Canelo Álvarez is known as an excellent counterpuncher, being able to exploit openings in his opponents' guards while avoiding punches with head and body movement. He is also known as a formidable body puncher.[55][56]     Jab – A quick, straight punch thrown with the lead hand from the guard position. The jab extends from the side of the torso and typically does not pass in front of it. It is accompanied by a small, clockwise rotation of the torso and hips, while the fist rotates 90 degrees, becoming horizontal upon impact. As the punch reaches full extension, the lead shoulder can be brought up to guard the chin. The rear hand remains next to the face to guard the jaw. After making contact with the target, the lead hand is retracted quickly to resume a guard position in front of the face.         The jab is recognized as the most important punch in a boxer's arsenal because it provides a fair amount of its own cover and it leaves the least space for a counter punch from the opponent. It has the longest reach of any punch and does not require commitment or large weight transfers. Due to its relatively weak power, the jab is often used as a tool to gauge distances, probe an opponent's defenses, harass an opponent, and set up heavier, more powerful punches. A half-step may be added, moving the entire body into the punch, for additional power. Some notable boxers who have been able to develop relative power in their jabs and use it to punish or wear down their opponents to some effect include Larry Holmes and Wladimir Klitschko.     Cross – A powerful, straight punch thrown with the rear hand. From the guard position, the rear hand is thrown from the chin, crossing the body and traveling towards the target in a straight line. The rear shoulder is thrust forward and finishes just touching the outside of the chin. At the same time, the lead hand is retracted and tucked against the face to protect the inside of the chin. For additional power, the torso and hips are rotated counter-clockwise as the cross is thrown. A measure of an ideally extended cross is that the shoulder of the striking arm, the knee of the front leg and the ball of the front foot are on the same vertical plane.[57]         Weight is also transferred from the rear foot to the lead foot, resulting in the rear heel turning outwards as it acts as a fulcrum for the transfer of weight. Body rotation and the sudden weight transfer give the cross its power. Like the jab, a half-step forward may be added. After the cross is thrown, the hand is retracted quickly and the guard position resumed. It can be used to counter punch a jab, aiming for the opponent's head (or a counter to a cross aimed at the body) or to set up a hook. The cross is also called a "straight" or "right", especially if it does not cross the opponent's outstretched jab.     Hook – A semi-circular punch thrown with the lead hand to the side of the opponent's head. From the guard position, the elbow is drawn back with a horizontal fist (palm facing down) though in modern times a wide percentage of fighters throw the hook with a vertical fist (palm facing themselves). The rear hand is tucked firmly against the jaw to protect the chin. The torso and hips are rotated clockwise, propelling the fist through a tight, clockwise arc across the front of the body and connecting with the target.         At the same time, the lead foot pivots clockwise, turning the left heel outwards. Upon contact, the hook's circular path ends abruptly and the lead hand is pulled quickly back into the guard position. A hook may also target the lower body and this technique is sometimes called the "rip" to distinguish it from the conventional hook to the head. The hook may also be thrown with the rear hand. Notable left hookers include Joe Frazier, Roy Jones Jr. and Mike Tyson. Ricardo Dominguez (left) throws an uppercut on Rafael Ortiz (right).[58]     Uppercut – A vertical, rising punch thrown with the rear hand. From the guard position, the torso shifts slightly to the right, the rear hand drops below the level of the opponent's chest and the knees are bent slightly. From this position, the rear hand is thrust upwards in a rising arc towards the opponent's chin or torso.         At the same time, the knees push upwards quickly and the torso and hips rotate anti-clockwise and the rear heel turns outward, mimicking the body movement of the cross. The strategic utility of the uppercut depends on its ability to "lift" the opponent's body, setting it off-balance for successive attacks. The right uppercut followed by a left hook is a deadly combination employing the uppercut to lift the opponent's chin into a vulnerable position, then the hook to knock the opponent out. These different punch types can be thrown in rapid succession to form combinations or "combos." The most common is the jab and cross combination, nicknamed the "one-two combo." This is usually an effective combination, because the jab blocks the opponent's view of the cross, making it easier to land cleanly and forcefully. A large, swinging circular punch starting from a cocked-back position with the arm at a longer extension than the hook and all of the fighter's weight behind it is sometimes referred to as a "roundhouse," "haymaker," "overhand," or sucker-punch. Relying on body weight and centripetal force within a wide arc, the roundhouse can be a powerful blow, but it is often a wild and uncontrolled punch that leaves the fighter delivering it off balance and with an open guard. Wide, looping punches have the further disadvantage of taking more time to deliver, giving the opponent ample warning to react and counter. For this reason, the haymaker or roundhouse is not a conventional punch, and is regarded by trainers as a mark of poor technique or desperation. Sometimes it has been used, because of its immense potential power, to finish off an already staggering opponent who seems unable or unlikely to take advantage of the poor position it leaves the puncher in. Another unconventional punch is the rarely used bolo punch, in which the opponent swings an arm out several times in a wide arc, usually as a distraction, before delivering with either that or the other arm. An illegal punch to the back of the head or neck is known as a rabbit punch. Both the hook and uppercut may be thrown with both hands, resulting in differing footwork and positioning from that described above if thrown by the other hand. Generally the analogous opposite is true of the footwork and torso movement. Defense There are several basic maneuvers a boxer can use in order to evade or block punches, depicted and discussed below.     Slipping     Bobbing     Blocking (with the arms)     Cover-Up (with the gloves)     Clinching     Footwork     Pulling away     Slip – Slipping rotates the body slightly so that an incoming punch passes harmlessly next to the head. As the opponent's punch arrives, the boxer sharply rotates the hips and shoulders. This turns the chin sideways and allows the punch to "slip" past. Muhammad Ali was famous for extremely fast and close slips, as was an early Mike Tyson.     Sway or fade – To anticipate a punch and move the upper body or head back so that it misses or has its force appreciably lessened. Also called "rolling with the punch" or " Riding The Punch.     Bob and weave – Bobbing moves the head laterally and beneath an incoming punch. As the opponent's punch arrives, the boxer bends the legs quickly and simultaneously shifts the body either slightly right or left. Once the punch has been evaded, the boxer "weaves" back to an upright position, emerging on either the outside or inside of the opponent's still-extended arm. To move outside the opponent's extended arm is called "bobbing to the outside". To move inside the opponent's extended arm is called "bobbing to the inside". Joe Frazier, Jack Dempsey, Mike Tyson and Rocky Marciano were masters of bobbing and weaving.     Parry/block – Parrying or blocking uses the boxer's shoulder, hands or arms as defensive tools to protect against incoming attacks. A block generally receives a punch while a parry tends to deflect it. A "palm", "catch", or "cuff" is a defence which intentionally takes the incoming punch on the palm portion of the defender's glove.     The cover-up – Covering up is the last opportunity (other than rolling with a punch) to avoid an incoming strike to an unprotected face or body. Generally speaking, the hands are held high to protect the head and chin and the forearms are tucked against the torso to impede body shots. When protecting the body, the boxer rotates the hips and lets incoming punches "roll" off the guard. To protect the head, the boxer presses both fists against the front of the face with the forearms parallel and facing outwards. This type of guard is weak against attacks from below.     The clinch – Clinching is a form of trapping or a rough form of grappling and occurs when the distance between both fighters has closed and straight punches cannot be employed. In this situation, the boxer attempts to hold or "tie up" the opponent's hands so he is unable to throw hooks or uppercuts. To perform a clinch, the boxer loops both hands around the outside of the opponent's shoulders, scooping back under the forearms to grasp the opponent's arms tightly against his own body. In this position, the opponent's arms are pinned and cannot be used to attack. Clinching is a temporary match state and is quickly dissipated by the referee. Clinching is technically against the rules, and in amateur fights points are deducted fairly quickly for it. It is unlikely, however, to see points deducted for a clinch in professional boxing. Unorthodox strategies     The "rope-a-dope" strategy: Used by Muhammad Ali in his 1974 "the Rumble in the Jungle" bout against George Foreman, the rope-a-dope method involves lying back against the ropes, covering up defensively as much as possible and allowing the opponent to attempt numerous punches. The back-leaning posture, which does not cause the defending boxer to become as unbalanced as he would during normal backward movement, also maximizes the distance of the defender's head from his opponent, increasing the probability that punches will miss their intended target. Weathering the blows that do land, the defender lures the opponent into expending energy while conserving his/her own. If successful, the attacking opponent will eventually tire, creating defensive flaws which the boxer can exploit. In modern boxing, the rope-a-dope is generally discouraged since most opponents are not fooled by it and few boxers possess the physical toughness to withstand a prolonged, unanswered assault. Recently, however, eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao skillfully used the strategy to gauge the power of welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto in November 2009. Pacquiao followed up the rope-a-dope gambit with a withering knockdown. Tyson Fury also attempted this against Francesco Pianeto but didn't pull it off as smoothly.     Bolo punch: Occasionally seen in Olympic boxing, the bolo is an arm punch which owes its power to the shortening of a circular arc rather than to transference of body weight; it tends to have more of an effect due to the surprise of the odd angle it lands at rather than the actual power of the punch. This is more of a gimmick than a technical maneuver; this punch is not taught, being on the same plane in boxing technicality as is the Ali shuffle. Nevertheless, a few professional boxers have used the bolo-punch to great effect, including former welterweight champions Sugar Ray Leonard, and Kid Gavilán as well as current British fighter Chris Eubank Jr. Middleweight champion Ceferino Garcia is regarded as the inventor of the bolo punch.     Bolo punch     Overhand (overcut)     Overhand: The overhand is a punch, thrown from the rear hand, not found in every boxer's arsenal. Unlike the cross, which has a trajectory parallel to the ground, the overhand has a looping circular arc as it is thrown over the shoulder with the palm facing away from the boxer. It is especially popular with smaller stature boxers trying to reach taller opponents. Boxers who have used this punch consistently and effectively include former heavyweight champions Rocky Marciano and Tim Witherspoon, as well as MMA champions Chuck Liddell and Fedor Emelianenko. The overhand has become a popular weapon in other tournaments that involve fist striking. Deontay Wilder heavily favours and is otherwise known for knocking many of his opponents out with one of his right overhands.     Check hook: A check hook is employed to prevent aggressive boxers from lunging in. There are two parts to the check hook. The first part consists of a regular hook. The second, trickier part involves the footwork. As the opponent lunges in, the boxer should throw the hook and pivot on his left foot and swing his right foot 180 degrees around. If executed correctly, the aggressive boxer will lunge in and sail harmlessly past his opponent like a bull missing a matador. This is rarely seen in professional boxing as it requires a great disparity in skill level to execute. Technically speaking it has been said that there is no such thing as a check hook and that it is simply a hook applied to an opponent that has lurched forward and past his opponent who simply hooks him on the way past. Others have argued that the check hook exists but is an illegal punch due to it being a pivot punch which is illegal in the sport. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. employed the use of a check hook against Ricky Hatton, which sent Hatton flying head first into the corner post and being knocked down. Ring corner Boxer Tina Rupprecht receiving instructions from her trainer while being treated by her cutman in the ring corner between rounds. In boxing, each fighter is given a corner of the ring where he rests in between rounds for 1 minute and where his trainers stand. Typically, three men stand in the corner besides the boxer himself; these are the trainer, the assistant trainer and the cutman. The trainer and assistant typically give advice to the boxer on what he is doing wrong as well as encouraging him if he is losing. The cutman is a cutaneous doctor responsible for keeping the boxer's face and eyes free of cuts, blood and excessive swelling. This is of particular importance because many fights are stopped because of cuts or swelling that threaten the boxer's eyes. In addition, the corner is responsible for stopping the fight if they feel their fighter is in grave danger of permanent injury. The corner will occasionally throw in a white towel to signify a boxer's surrender (the idiomatic phrase "to throw in the towel", meaning to give up, derives from this practice).[59] This can be seen in the fight between Diego Corrales and Floyd Mayweather. In that fight, Corrales' corner surrendered despite Corrales' steadfast refusal. Health concerns See also: Dementia pugilistica and The distance (boxing) § Distance change criticisms Knocking a person unconscious or even causing a concussion may cause permanent brain damage.[60] There is no clear division between the force required to knock a person out and the force likely to kill a person.[61] Also, contact sports, especially combat sports, are directly related to a brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, abbreviated CTE. This disease begins to develop during the life of the athlete, and continues to develop even after sports activity has ceased. In March 1981, neurosurgeon Dr. Fred Sonstein sought to use CAT scans in an attempt to track the degeneration of boxers' cognitive functions after seeing the decline of Bennie Briscoe.[62] From 1980 to 2007, more than 200 amateur boxers, professional boxers and Toughman fighters died due to ring or training injuries.[63] In 1983, editorials in the Journal of the American Medical Association called for a ban on boxing.[64] The editor, Dr. George Lundberg, called boxing an "obscenity" that "should not be sanctioned by any civilized society."[65] Since then, the British,[66] Canadian[67] and Australian[68] Medical Associations have called for bans on boxing. Supporters of the ban state that boxing is the only sport where hurting the other athlete is the goal. Dr. Bill O'Neill, boxing spokesman for the British Medical Association, has supported the BMA's proposed ban on boxing: "It is the only sport where the intention is to inflict serious injury on your opponent, and we feel that we must have a total ban on boxing."[69] Opponents respond that such a position is misguided opinion, stating that amateur boxing is scored solely according to total connecting blows with no award for "injury". They observe that many skilled professional boxers have had rewarding careers without inflicting injury on opponents by accumulating scoring blows and avoiding punches winning rounds scored 10-9 by the 10-point must system, and they note that there are many other sports where concussions are much more prevalent.[citation needed] However, the data shows that the concussion rate in boxing is the highest of all contact sports.[70][71][72] In addition, repetitive and subconcussive blows to the head, and not just concussions, cause CTE,[73][74][75][76][77][78] and the evidence indicates that brain damage and the effects of CTE are more severe in boxing.[79][80][81][82][83][84] In 2007, one study of amateur boxers showed that protective headgear did not prevent brain damage,[85] and another found that amateur boxers faced a high risk of brain damage.[86] The Gothenburg study analyzed temporary levels of neurofilament light in cerebral spinal fluid which they conclude is evidence of damage, even though the levels soon subside. More comprehensive studies of neurological function on larger samples performed by Johns Hopkins University in 1994 and accident rates analyzed by National Safety Council in 2017 show amateur boxing is a comparatively safe sport due to the regulations of amateur boxing and a greater control of the athletes,[87] although the studies did not focus on CTE or its long-term effects. In addition, a good training methodology and short career can reduce the effects of brain damage.[88] In 1997, the American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians was established to create medical protocols through research and education to prevent injuries in boxing.[89][90] Professional boxing is forbidden in Iceland,[91] Iran and North Korea. It was banned in Sweden until 2007 when the ban was lifted but strict restrictions, including four three-minute rounds for fights, were imposed.[92] Boxing was banned in Albania from 1965 until the fall of Communism in 1991. Norway legalized professional boxing in December 2014.[93] Possible health benefits ‹ The template below (More citations needed section) is being considered for merging. See templates for discussion to help reach a consensus. ›     This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Like other active and dynamic sports, boxing may be argued to provide some general benefits, such as fat burning, increased muscle tone, strong bones and ligaments, cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance, improved core stability, co-ordination and body awareness, strength and power, stress relief and self-esteem. Some claim that with a careful and thoughtful approach, boxing can be quite beneficial to health. One example is Gemma Ruegg, a two-weight regional champion from Bournemouth in Dorset, who boxed throughout her pregnancy and returned to the ring three weeks after giving birth to her daughter. Earlier, boxing helped her to get rid of alcohol addiction and depression.[94] Boxing Hall of Fame Stamp honoring heavyweight champion Gene Tunney The sport of boxing has two internationally recognized boxing halls of fame; the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF).[95] In 2013, The Boxing Hall of Fame Las Vegas opened in Las Vegas, Nevada founded by Steve Lott, former assistant manager for Mike Tyson.[96] The International Boxing Hall of Fame opened in Canastota, New York in 1989. The first inductees in 1990 included Jack Johnson, Benny Leonard, Jack Dempsey, Henry Armstrong, Sugar Ray Robinson, Archie Moore, and Muhammad Ali. Other world-class figures[97] include Salvador Sanchez, Jose Napoles, Roberto "Manos de Piedra" Durán, Ricardo Lopez, Gabriel "Flash" Elorde, Vicente Saldivar, Ismael Laguna, Eusebio Pedroza, Carlos Monzón, Azumah Nelson, Rocky Marciano, Pipino Cuevas and Ken Buchanan. The Hall of Fame's induction ceremony is held every June as part of a four-day event. The fans who come to Canastota for the Induction Weekend are treated to a number of events, including scheduled autograph sessions, boxing exhibitions, a parade featuring past and present inductees, and the induction ceremony itself. The Boxing Hall of Fame Las Vegas features the $75 million ESPN Classic Sports fight film and tape library and radio broadcast collection. The collection includes the fights of all the great champions including: Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Roberto Durán, Marvin Hagler, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Joe Frazier, Rocky Marciano and Sugar Ray Robinson. It is this exclusive fight film library that will separate the Boxing Hall of Fame Las Vegas from the other halls of fame which do not have rights to any video of their sports. The inaugural inductees included Muhammad Ali, Henry Armstrong, Tony Canzoneri, Ezzard Charles, Julio César Chávez Sr., Jack Dempsey, Roberto Durán, Joe Louis, and Sugar Ray Robinson" (wikipedia.org)
  • Condition: Used
  • Condition: T-shirt is in new condition. Poster has wear. Please see photos and description.
  • Fighter: Floyd Mayweather Jr
  • Size: XL
  • Color: Black
  • Product: Shirt
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: Unknown

PicClick Insights - MAYWEATHER VS PACQUIAO PROMO T-SHIRT & POSTER XL 24X36 boxing memorabilia RARE PicClick Exclusive

  •  Popularity - 15 watchers, 0.0 new watchers per day, 1,771 days for sale on eBay. Super high amount watching. 0 sold, 1 available.
  •  Best Price -
  •  Seller - 1,180+ items sold. 0% negative feedback. Great seller with very good positive feedback and over 50 ratings.

People Also Loved PicClick Exclusive