title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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".


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. "The Ring" stopped awarding belts to world champions in the 1990s, but began again in 2002. 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).


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: Mayweather became the first 1996 U.S. Olympian to win a world title. 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". 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: By the end of 1998 Mayweather was ranked by "The Ring" as the #8-ranked pound-for-pound best boxer in the world, 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).


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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". 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.).


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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. 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 and cruised to a unanimous decision.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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."


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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".


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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 136 lbs. 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. 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...


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: Corrales landed 60 of 205 punches, and landed no more than nine punches in a single round. Mayweather landed 220 of 414 punches. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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".


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: "I really want to fight Prince Naseem..." Mayweather continued, "but hopefully I can face the winner of Casamayor (vs.) Freitas". Although neither fight materialized, 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...?"


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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" and the BBC reported on "... a near flawless performance...". The "New York Daily News" reported that "Floyd Mayweather Jr., displaying blazing speed and punishing power..." and "Sports Illustrated" reported "... a fistic masterpiece".


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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 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. Chávez stated after the fight, "He's [Mayweather] the champ! And now I become his number-one fan".


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: Mayweather commented after the fight, "Although it will take some time to make the match, I want to fight Kostya Tszyu". 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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 138 lbs to Castillo's 147 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. 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; the New York "Daily News" scorecard also had Mayweather winning, 116–112.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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".


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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..." 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". 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. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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".


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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 ; 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. Taylor threw and landed more jabs, however.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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".


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: The smaller Mayweather was again outweighed by Castillo on the night of the fight; Castillo weighed 147 lbs, to Mayweather's 138. 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; HBO unofficial scorer Harold Lederman and fellow analyst Larry Merchant both scored it 115–113 for Mayweather.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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".


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. "Mayweather can flat-out fight", Corley's trainer Don Turner said. "He's like magic. He makes you move into the punches." Shortly after this fight Mayweather would reach #1 on the "USA Today" pound-for-pound rankings, with middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins at #2.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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". Mayweather entered the ring being carried on a chariot to the song "Another One Bites the Dust". 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. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. CompuBox had Mayweather out-landing Gatti 168–41, with Gatti landing only 10 power punches (anything other than a jab). 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: After his fight with Gatti, Mayweather moved up to the welterweight division. On November 19, 2005, Mayweather fought a non-title bout at 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. The suspension stipulated that Roger could train Mayweather in the gym, but could not work the corner during fights. On April 17, 2006, the IBF ordered a rematch between Mayweather and Judah; however, the NSAC suspended Judah for one year on May 8 and Mayweather vacated the IBF title on June 20.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. However, Oscar De la Hoya postponed his decision until 2007, leaving Mayweather to obtain Mayweather Promotions and choose his next opponent. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. After the fight, Mayweather proposed a match with Oscar De La Hoya.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: After his fight with De La Hoya, Mayweather decided to relinquish his WBC light-middleweight championship, 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."


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: Mayweather controlled the fight from the beginning, knocking Hatton out in the 10th round to retain the welterweight championship. 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. Official scorecards read 88–82, 89–81, and 89–81 at the time of stoppage, all in favor of Mayweather.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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. Both Mayweather and Mosley agreed to Olympic-style testing for this bout.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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."


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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."


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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".


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: On December 28, 2009, a 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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."


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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".


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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."


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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."


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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."


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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)."


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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."


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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".


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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).


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: On the evening of Saturday, May 5, Mayweather defeated Cotto in 12 rounds by a unanimous decision, improving his record to 43–0. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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. 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).


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: Although no official tallies are reported, according to Showtime Sports executive Stephen Espinoza, the fight had exceeded 1 million purchases in PPV.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. A catchweight of 152 pounds was established for the fight. Mayweather received a boxing record $41.5 million for the Alvarez fight, according to Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's confidant. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. Maidana won the WBA title 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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."


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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".


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: Mayweather fought Manny Pacquiao on May 2, 2015 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, after several negotiations spread over years. 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. The vast majority of media outlets (16/18) scored the bout in his favor. 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. Bob Arum revealed Pacquiao's injury to have been a persistent one dating back to 2008. 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. 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 , 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." 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: Early industry sources reported the fight drew 550,000 buys. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: Keith Thurman noted, "Amazing speed ... he showed tremendous skill and talent." Mayweather announced his retirement in the ring after defeating Berto, walking away from the sport with an undefeated record of 49–0. The WBC declared his welterweight and super welterweight titles vacant in November 2015.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: On March 7, 2017, Mayweather urged McGregor to sign the contract, hinting that a fight was really in the works. On March 10, 2017, Mayweather stated that only a fight with McGregor would make him come out of retirement. 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. On May 18, 2017, McGregor reportedly agreed to all of Mayweather's updated terms and signed the contract.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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. According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Mayweather would earn a guaranteed purse of $100 million and McGregor was guaranteed $30 million.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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%).


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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."


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: Mayweather reportedly earned over $300 million from the fight, while McGregor earned around $100 million.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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. 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."


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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."


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. After the fight, Mayweather clarified that he is still retired and only did the fight to entertain fans. The match and its ending, however, were controversial, and drew condemnation and accusations of match-fixing. Mayweather reportedly earned $9 million for the fight.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: On December 6, 2020, it was announced that Mayweather would face internet personality Logan Paul in an exhibition bout on February 20, 2021. The fight was postponed, and took place on June 6, 2021 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. 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. A visibly irate Mayweather was captured on video saying, "I'll kill you motherfucker! Are you crazy? I'll fuck you up, motherfucker. I don't play motherfucking games. I'll fuck you up."


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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. 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, 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%).


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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?'" 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".


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: On May 21, 2022 Mayweather fought an eight round exhibition boxing bout with one of his former sparring partners, Don Moore, in Abu Dhabi. Mayweather was in full control of the fight including scoring a knockdown to Moore with a punch to the body in the eighth round. Moore survived the knockdown and would go the full distance, there was no scoring and it ended without an official verdict.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: On June 13, 2022 Mayweather announced he would be returning for another exhibition bout. The fight would be at the Rizin event scheduled on September 25, 2022 at the Saitama Super Arena. His opponent was confirmed to be Japanese mixed martial artist and YouTuber, Mikuru Asakura. Mayweather won by TKO in the 2nd round.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: On September 25, 2022 Mayweather announced he would be facing YouTuber Deji Olatunji, the younger brother of KSI. The fight being scheduled for November 13, 2022 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. Mayweather defeated Deji via technical knockout in the 6th round.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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 storylines, which met with some resistance from fans. 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. Mayweather was reportedly paid $20 million for the fight. 1 million PPV buys were reported for WrestleMania XXIV, grossing $23.8 million in revenue.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: Mayweather was guest host for "Raw" in Las Vegas on August 24, 2009. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: In 2008, he recorded a rap song titled "Yep" that he used for his entrance on WrestleMania XXIV in his match against Big Show.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: In 2005, Mayweather pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge after hitting and kicking a bouncer, receiving a 90-day suspended jail sentence.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. 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.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. On June 1, Mayweather began serving his county jail sentence, and was released on August 3, 2012.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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. The case remains pending .


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: 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., 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." As part of the settlement, Mayweather undertook to forgo any endorsement or promotional agreement with a securities participant for three years.


title: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

text: In January 2022, in a class-action lawsuit filed against the cryptocurrency company EthereumMax that alleged the company is a pump and dump scheme, Mayweather was named as a defendant along with media personality Kim Kardashian, former NBA player Paul Pierce, and other celebrities for promoting the EthereumMax token on their social media accounts. In December 2022, Central California U.S. District Court Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald dismissed the lawsuit on the basis that the claims were insufficiently supported given heightened pleading standards for fraud.


title: V (singer)

text: Kim Tae-hyung (; born December 30, 1995), also known professionally as V, is a South Korean singer and a member of the boy band BTS. V has released three solo tracks under the band's name: "Stigma" in 2016, "Singularity" in 2018, and "Inner Child" in 2020, all of which have charted on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart. In 2019, V released his first independent song, the self-composed digital track "Scenery". He also appeared on the "" (2016) soundtrack alongside bandmate Jin.


title: V (singer)

text: V was born Kim Tae-hyung on December 30, 1995, in the Seo District of Daegu, and grew up in Geochang County. He is the eldest of three children, with a younger brother and sister. V first aspired to be a professional singer in elementary school. With his father's support, he began taking saxophone lessons in early middle school as a means of pursuing the career. V eventually became a trainee for Big Hit Entertainment after passing an audition in Daegu.


title: V (singer)

text: After graduating from Korean Arts High School in 2014, V enrolled in Global Cyber University—he graduated in August 2020 with a major in Broadcasting and Entertainment. As of 2021, he is enrolled at Hanyang Cyber University, pursuing a Master of Business Administration in Advertising and Media.


title: V (singer)

text: Pre-debut, he was the "secret member" of BTS. Fans were unaware of his existence as his agency wished to keep him a surprise. He stated the concept had made him feel uneasy and lonely as he thought it was because he might get cut from the team. On June 13, 2013, he made his debut as a member of BTS on Mnet's "M Countdown" with the track "No More Dream" from their debut single album, "2 Cool 4 Skool". He was first credited for music composition in "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1" when he co-wrote and co-produced the song "Hold Me Tight". He also contributed to writing lyrics for the song "Fun Boyz", co-composed by bandmate Suga. For the song "Run", V's melody was used with Jungkook's original lyrics for the next album "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2". Furthermore, he contributed to music composition and lyrics for a solo song called "Stigma" from the album "Wings". V has also released, unofficially, a cover of "Hug Me" with bandmate J-Hope as well as a cover of "Someone Like You" by Adele.


title: V (singer)

text: In May 2018, his second solo song, "Singularity" was released as the trailer for BTS' then upcoming third LP, "". The track made its UK radio debut on BBC Radio on October 25. A month after its release, "The Guardian" added "Singularity" to its "Top 50 songs for the month of June 2018" playlist and "Billboard" included it in their Critics' list of the "Top 50 BTS songs" at number 28. Overall, "Singularity" was generally well received by critics and as a result was mentioned on several year end Critics' Choice lists. The "New York Times" ranked it twentieth on its list of "The 65 Best Songs of 2018" alongside "Fake Love", "LA Times" Pop Music Critic Mikael Wood named it the fourth "best and most replay worthy song of 2018", and "Guardian " Music Critic Laura Snapes included it as one of her favourite tracks in their “Best Music of 2018: Albums and Tracks" list.


title: V (singer)

text: On October 24, V became one of the youngest recipients of the prestigious fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit medal, awarded to him by the President of South Korea along with the other members of BTS for their role in the spread of culture.


title: V (singer)

text: V, together with bandmate J-Hope, collaborated with Swedish singer Zara Larsson on a song called "A Brand New Day" for the soundtrack album of their mobile game BTS World. It was released on June 14, 2019, and debuted at number one on the World Digital Song Sales chart. Eight months later, he collaborated with bandmate Jimin for the song "Friends" and he also participated in the composition and writing of his solo song, "Inner Child" on their album .


title: V (singer)

text: In July 2021, V was appointed Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, along with the other members of BTS, to help "lead the global agenda for future generations, such as sustainable growth" and "expand South Korea's diplomatic efforts and global standing" in the international community.


title: V (singer)

text: In 2016, V made his acting debut with a supporting role in KBS2's historical drama "" under his real name. He also collaborated with bandmate Jin on the duet "It's Definitely You" for the show's soundtrack. To celebrate BTS' fourth anniversary, V released "4 O'Clock" on June 8, 2017, a song he co-produced with bandmate RM.


title: V (singer)

text: V released his first independent song, "Scenery", on January 30, 2019, through the BTS SoundCloud page. The ballad was written and composed by V—he also photographed the cover artwork—and produced by Big Hit producer Docskim, with additional contributions from Pdogg and Hiss Noise. It broke SoundCloud records for reaching 100 million streams from 20 million in over fourteen days, the shortest time for the platform. Over the course of the two weeks following its release, "Scenery" broke the daily streaming record nine times. Seven months later, he released his second solo song—it was also his first all-English work—"Winter Bear" through SoundCloud, accompanied by a self-directed music video via BTS' YouTube channel on August 9. He co-produced the track with RM, Hiss Noise, and Adora, and photographed the cover artwork, under his pseudonym "Vante".


title: V (singer)

text: In 2020, V contributed the single "Sweet Night" to the soundtrack of the JTBC drama "Itaewon Class"—it was released on March 13. Produced, written and sung by V, the indie pop song is entirely in English. The song received generally favourable reviews for its composition, vocal performance and warm lyrics, and debuted at number two on "Billboard"'s U.S. Digital Songs chart. On December 25, he released the Christmas-themed song "Snow Flower" featuring Peakboy.


title: V (singer)

text: In 2021, V participated in the original soundtrack for the Studio N drama "Our Beloved Summer", which premiered on December 6. Titled "Christmas Tree", the song debuted at number 79 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and earned V his first solo entry on the chart, following its December 24 release.


title: V (singer)

text: V possesses a baritone singing voice that has received a generally positive critical reception, with particular praise for his vocal range and "husky" tone. He gained wider vocal recognition for his performance of his solo song "Stigma", and was praised for his falsettos that showed off his vocal range and unique musicality. V's tonality on "Singularity", the opening track of BTS' "" (2018), was noted as a prominent "tone setter" on the album by music critic Blanca Méndez. Similarly, Katie Goh of "Vice" deemed it as "one of V's best vocal performances." Karen Ruffini of Elite Daily stated in their article that "V... has no problem producing super soothing, low tones that are a key element in the overall sound for BTS," with Tamar Herman from "Billboard" also noting that V's lower range is a prominent piece of BTS' music. V's musicality is heavily influenced by his love for jazz and classical music. Eric Benet and Ruben Studdard are among his inspirations.


title: V (singer)

text: As a performer, V's style is known for its "duality", or his ability to evoke various emotions on stage. British journalist Rhian Daly, writing for "NME", particularly noted this when discussing V's performance of "Singularity" during the Love Yourself: Speak Yourself World Tour, describing his movements as "precise and deliberate". Crystal Bell from MTV noted V's performances often work with live cameras in concert venues, and how he utilizes them to create subtle expressions during performances.


title: V (singer)

text: V coined the phrase "I purple you" during BTS' fanmeeting in November 2016. Ever since then, purple has become a symbol of BTS and their fans. UNICEF also used the phrase for their anti-bullying campaign in collaboration with BTS.


title: V (singer)

text: In 2018, Eugene Investment & Securities Co., Ltd. conducted analytical research on Google search trends relating to the K-pop industry. "V" ranked first on the chart, meaning it was the number one most searched keyword for the past five years in South Korea. In a survey conducted by Gallup Korea, V was chosen as the 4th most-preferred idol of 2019; he was previously ranked 9th in 2018. In 2021, he ranked as the most popular Korean celebrity in Japan for twenty-eight consecutive weeks.


title: V (singer)

text: Various artists have cited him as an influence and role model, such as The Boyz's Younghoon and Hwall, Golden Child's Jaehyun and Jangjun, MVP's Been, Rainz's Byun Hyun-min, Cravity's Serim, Ateez's Yeosang and Mingi, D-Crunch's Jungseung and Dylan, Lucente's Bao, Newkidd's Yunmin, Boy Story's Hanyu, TXT's Beomgyu, Produce X 101 contestant Koo Jungmo, Lee Taeseung and Mahiro Hidaka, and former Wanna One member Park Ji-hoon.


title: V (singer)

text: Since 2018, V has lived in Hannam-dong, Seoul, South Korea with his bandmates. In July 2019, he bought an apartment worth US$4.55 million.


title: V (singer)

text: In October 2018, during the Love Yourself World Tour concert in Paris, V had difficulty singing due to an illness and had to abstain from parts of his singing during the concert. In October 2021 it was announced V would abstain from choreography during their Permission to Dance on Stage concerts due to a calf injury. Instead, he would remain seated while singing his parts.


title: V (singer)

text: All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database, unless otherwise noted.


title: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

text: The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern prime ministers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons, they sit as members of Parliament.


title: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

text: The office of prime minister is not established by any statute or constitutional document, but exists only by long-established convention, whereby the reigning monarch appoints as prime minister the person most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons; this individual is typically the leader of the political party or coalition of parties that holds the largest number of seats in that chamber.


title: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

text: The prime minister is "ex officio" also First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and the minister responsible for national security. Indeed, certain privileges, such as residency of 10 Downing Street, are accorded to prime ministers by virtue of their position as First Lord of the Treasury. In 2019, the office of Minister for the Union was established; Boris Johnson became the first prime minister to hold this title.


title: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

text: The position of prime minister was not created; it evolved slowly and organically over three hundred years due to numerous Acts of Parliament, political developments, and accidents of history. The office is therefore best understood from a historical perspective. The origins of the position are found in constitutional changes that occurred during the Revolutionary Settlement (1688–1720) and the resulting shift of political power from the sovereign to Parliament. Although the sovereign was not stripped of their ancient prerogative powers and legally remained the head of government, politically it gradually became necessary for him or her to govern through a prime minister who could command a majority in Parliament.


title: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

text: By the 1830s, the Westminster system of government (or cabinet government) had emerged; the prime minister had become "primus inter pares" or the first among equals in the Cabinet and the head of government in the United Kingdom. The political position of prime minister was enhanced by the development of modern political parties, the introduction of mass communication and photography. By the start of the 20th century the modern premiership had emerged; the office had become the pre-eminent position in the constitutional hierarchy in relation to the sovereign, Parliament and Cabinet.


title: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

text: Before 1902, the prime minister sometimes sat in the House of Lords, provided that his government could form a majority in the Commons. However, as the power of the aristocracy waned during the 19th century the convention developed that the prime minister should always sit as a Member of Parliament in the lower house, making them answerable only to the Commons in Parliament. The prime minister's authority was further enhanced by the Parliament Act 1911, which marginalised the influence of the House of Lords in the law-making process.


title: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

text: The prime minister is the head of the United Kingdom government. As such, the modern prime minister leads the Cabinet (the Executive). In addition, the prime minister leads a major political party and generally commands a majority in the House of Commons (the lower chamber of Parliament). The incumbent wields both significant legislative and executive powers. Under the British system, there is a unity of powers rather than separation.


title: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

text: In the House of Commons, the prime minister guides the law-making process with the goal of enacting the legislative agenda of their political party. In an executive capacity, the prime minister appoints (and may dismiss) all other Cabinet members and ministers, and co-ordinates the policies and activities of all government departments, and the staff of the Civil Service. The prime minister also acts as the public "face" and "voice" of His Majesty's Government, both at home and abroad. Solely upon the advice of the prime minister, the sovereign exercises many statutory and prerogative powers, including high judicial, political, official and Church of England ecclesiastical appointments; the conferral of peerages and some knighthoods, decorations and other important honours.