Regarded as the best boxer of his time, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has been on the pound-for-pound lists from 2000-2015, compiling a record of 49-0, 26, KO’s.  He announced his retirement in September 2015, following his unanimous decision victory over Andre Berto. However, he is putting on the gloves once again in August of this year to face MMA star Conor McGregor in what is considered to be more of circus show than a meaningful boxing match.  But aside from this particular event, it is likely that Mayweather’s time in the ring has come to an end.  It has been a tremendous career with numerous wins over A-level fighters, and he is one of the few boxers in history to walk away while he was still on top.  The list below ranks Mayweather’s top 10 victories from 10 to 1, with an honorable mention.  These bouts were selected based on the quality of the opponent Mayweather faced, Mayweather’s overall performance in the fight, and the magnitude of the event.

This list was put together by me, St. Louis-based middleweight Vaughn Alexander (10-0, 7 KOs), and Vaughn’s trainer and older brother, Lamar.  

 

HONORABLE MENTION - Mayweather vs Genaro Hernandez (TKO8, Oct. 3, 1998)- At age 21, Mayweather won his first world title, and Genaro Hernandez was no paper champion. Until he lost to Mayweather, Hernandez was on quite a roll: two separate reigns at 130 pounds separated only by a move up to 135 where he lost to Oscar De La Hoya. Included in Hernandez's resume prior to the Mayweather loss were wins over Azumah Nelson, Carlos Hernandez, Jorge Paez, Anatoly Alexandrov, Raul Perez and Daniel Londas, all of whom held world titles at some point in their careers. 

10. Mayweather vs Jesus Chavez (RTD 9, Nov. 10, 2001)– Given Mayweather’s wins over high profile boxers like Manny Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez, his victory over Jesus Chavez is seldom mentioned.  But those who followed Mayweather’s career from the beginning remember how sharp he looked facing a tough, willing fighter like Chavez who had never been stopped before, and who only had one previous loss which came early in his career.  Chavez was in his prime and he was regarded as one of the best junior lightweights in the world, but Mayweather proved his greatness with this dismantling.

 

9. Mayweather vs Juan Manuel Marquez (UD 12, Sept. 19, 2009) – Mayweather’s win over Marquez has gained credibility over the years.  At the time of this fight, Marquez was regarded as a blown up lightweight fighting at welterweight.  But Marquez was a legitimate factor in all of his welterweight fights following this, especially his 2012 knockout victory over Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather handled Marquez with ease, knocking him down en route to a one-sided unanimous decision victory. 

 

8. Mayweather vs Shane Mosley (UD 12, May 1, 2010) – A lot of people will make the argument that Mosley was past his prime when Mayweather beat him, which he was.  But going into this fight, Mosley was coming off of knockout victories over Ricardo Mayorga and Antonio Margarito.  Mosley rocked Mayweather in the second round of this bout and seemed to have “Money” in trouble, but Mayweather recovered fast, showing tremendous focus and mental strength as he went on to dominate the rest of the fight.

 

7. Mayweather vs Ricky Hatton (TKO 10, December 8, 2007) – At the time of this fight, Ricky Hatton was undefeated, riding high with stoppage victories over Kostya Tszyu and Jose Luis Castillo. Hatton was known to live an unhealthy life outside the ring, blowing up in weight due to overeating and alcohol consumption.  In previous bouts, Hatton was already showing wrinkles in his game, but Mayweather still deserves a lot of credit for giving him his first loss.

 

6. Mayweather vs Arturo Gatti (RTD 6, June 25, 2005) – Many in boxing regarded this as a legitimate matchup, despite the fact that Gatti was well past his best, plus he was never an A-level boxer in the first place.  That being said, Mayweather put on one of the most profound displays of speed and skills that boxing fans have ever seen. The beating Gatti took from Mayweather caused him to slip dramatically.  He bounced back with a TKO victory over Thomas Damgaard, but he went on to lose back to back fights to Carlos Baldomir and Alfonso Gomez via TKO, which led to his retirement.

 

5. Mayweather vs Miguel Cotto (UD 12, May 5, 2012) – Cotto was on a three-fight winning streak against good opposition before facing Mayweather, and he gave everything he had in this fight.  He bloodied Mayweather’s nose and won more rounds than some might have expected, but Mayweather was more skillful, adaptive, and athletic.  This was a great fight, and it’s one of the few fights that demonstrate Mayweather’s ability to handle adversity.

 

4. Mayweather vs Oscar De La Hoya (SD 12, May 5, 2007) – This is the fight where Mayweather became a superstar, going from “Pretty Boy” Floyd to “Money” Mayweather.  De La Hoya was one of the best fighters of his time, only losing to fighters who were great. In 2007, De La Hoya’s career in the ring was winding down, but this fight is high on the list because of the exposure Mayweather got and what it did for his career. Officially, it was a split decision, but Mayweather clearly won this fight.

 

3. Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao (UD 12, May 2, 2015) – This was supposed to be the fight of the century, comparable to Ali-Frazier I and Leonard-Hearns I.  From a commercial standpoint, it was bigger than those fights, though the action was not aesthetically pleasing.  Mayweather out-boxed Pacquiao with relative ease, doing just enough to win but nothing more.  One could make the argument that Pacquiao was damaged goods following his 2012 knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez.  But Mayweather’s victory over Pacquiao has gained more credibility, given Pacquiao’s respectable 2016 wins over Timothy Bradley and Jessie Vargas.

 

2. Mayweather vs Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (MD 12, Sept. 14, 2013) – Canelo was fairly young and inexperienced when he faced Mayweather, though many still considered him the future of boxing.  That observation has proven to be accurate.  Following the Mayweather fight, Canelo racked up victories over Alfredo Angulo, Erislandy Lara, James Kirkland, Miguel Cotto, Amir Khan, Liam Smith, Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., and he is now heading into a September fight with world middleweight champion Gennedy Golovkin, viewed by many as 50-50.  Canelo was younger, bigger, and stronger than Mayweather in their 2013 mega fight, but Mayweather completely dominated the action, regardless of judge CJ Ross’s ridiculous scorecard of 114-114.

 

1. Mayweather vs Diego Corrales (TKO 10, Jan. 20, 2001)– In 2000, Mayweather and Corrales were both on the pound-for-pound lists.  When they faced each other in January the following year, it was a massive fight that many perceived as 50-50.  Mayweather exceeded the expectations that night, dropping Corrales five times en route to a TKO victory.  Mayweather went on to beat fighters who were better than Diego Corrales and he took part in events that were much bigger than this, but nothing else in his career did as much to define him as a fighter.

 

Doveed Linder is the author of RINGSIDE: INTERVIEWS WITH 24 FIGHTERS AND BOXING INSIDERS, a collection of in depth interviews with various fighters, trainers, corner men, promoters, and officials, including “Sugar” Ray Leonard, Roy Jones, Jr., Angelo Dundee, Emanuel Steward, Larry Merchant, Bob Arum, Steve Smoger, and Jackie Kallen.  The foreword was written by Boxingtalk publisher Greg Leon.  This book is now available on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Ringside-Interviews-Fighters-Boxing-Insiders/dp/1476664412