Floyd Mayweather Jr.: Power Ranking His Career Victories

There have been boxers described as brilliant technicians and great defenders. Then there's Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather is currently 41-0 with 25 knockouts.

It takes a special kind of fighter to survive over forty opponents a boast a record of no defeats. Now the 34-year-old Mayweather returns to the ring Saturday September 17, 2011 on HBO pay-per-view against 24-year-old Victor Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KOs).

While Ortiz boasts his own set of talents, this article is about Mayweather and everything he's accomplished in his nearly 15-year career.

All 41 of his fights have been listed, discussed in great detail, and ranked from Mayweather's worst performance to his best performance.

So without further ado, here's Mayweather's 41 greatest victories so far. 

41. Mayweather's Pro Debut Against Roberto Apodaca

Ready to go for the kill at a moment's notice in his pro debut, Mayweather struck fast, and made his opponent pay hard for his mistakes.

Apodaca never had a chance. A left body shot took him down in the first round. A flurry finished him off in the second round.

The amount of skill and precision applied in just his first fight as a professional is amazing, and only a small sign of what was to come.

40. Mayweather vs Reggie Sanders

Here is a traditional boxing display from Mayweather (1-0, 1 KO) across four rounds in his second pro fight.

He fights with very few combinations, boxes well, doesn't vigorously go for the knockout, and the crowd boos.

What's interesting is that he stalks Reggie Sanders (1-1, 0 KOs) for the majority of the fight, something rarely seen from today's Mayweather, but more common near the start of his career in 1996.

All in all, a brilliant, yet uneventful display of talent.

39. Mayweather's Destruction of Jerry Cooper

Jerry Cooper (6-3, 3 KOs) proved to be little more than another tally in the win column for Mayweather (2-0, 1 KO) on January 18 1997.

Cooper went down twice in the first round. The first knockdown came from a quick jab to the body. The second came from a long ferocious flurry that sent Cooper sprawling through the ropes.

When Cooper got up to beat the second 10-count, the referee asked him if he was okay. The lack of response from Cooper left the referee no choice but to waive off the fight.

When the bell awoke Cooper, he sluggishly spoke the quote of the evening: "I'm alright."

No you weren't buddy, no you weren't.

38. Mayweather Leaves Edgar Ayala Motionless with a Big Left

February 1 1997, Edgar Ayala made his pro debut....against the wrong fighter.

The two fighters were mostly sizing each other up, with Mayweather (3-0, 2 KOs) landing a few a bodyshots and hammering at Ayala's body.

Ayala seemed alright through most of it until Round 2 when Mayweather landed a big left out of nowhere that put him down instantly, proving that gravity does exist and looks quite painful. 

37. Mayweather Battles and Beats the Tough Justin Juuko

May 22 1999, Mayweather has ridden the wave of a beautiful knockout of Genaro Hernandez and second round TKO of Angel Manfredy, only to let his momentum be slowed by a unanimous decision over journeyman Carlos Rios. Justin Juuko (33-2-1) becomes his crossroads opponent.

Juuko came with the promise of some challenge because of his great size for a super featherweight and his high activity, said to average 70-80 punches a round.

Mayweather handles his activity well, but Juuko increases his punch output over time. Mayweather switches up from orthodox to southpaw in the second round, from jabs to flurries, and everything else in between.

Juuko doesn't quite figure him out, but he keeps coming and lands a few body shots. The fight seemed like a closer than expected one that would go to the scorecards, until Mayweather unexpectedly hurt Juuko with a right that sent him sprawling across the canvas on his back.

Juuko looked shocked, hurt and confused. The referee counted him out, and Mayweather was back in the knockout business.

36. Mayweather Blasts Tony Duran

In less than a minute, Tony Duran (12-15-1, 8 KOs) left the building courtesy of a straight right from Mayweather (6-0, 5 KOs) on May 5 1997. Not much else to say.

35. Mayweather Fights Victoriano Sosa off Him

Victoriano Sosa (35-2-2, 26 KOs) wasn't the fastest or strongest contender at lightweight (135 lbs), but he was a solid foe.

He didn't quite rush Mayweather, but his size and reach didn't allow the Grand Rapids native to be the aggressive force he had been in the past.

Unlike some of Mayweather's past big foes, Sosa had enough strength and speed to put Mayweather on the defensive and catch him during his rare careless moments.

Mayweather would emerge the clear winner by unanimous decision, but this is definitely not one of his prettier wins.

34. Mayweather Thwarts the Aggression of Jesus Chavez

July 12 1997, Jesus Chavez (22-16, 12 KOs) fought aggressively in spurts of Rounds 1 and 2 against Mayweather (8-0, 6 KOs).

Chavez attempted to show some caution only to become a punching bag.

By Round 3, Chavez was on his backwards bicycle as Mayweather became the aggressor.

Mayweather scores a knockdown in both Rounds 4 and 5 before the referee saves Chavez from a further beating.

This becomes Mayweather's first knockout performance to last past the second round.

33. Mayweather Gives Kino Rodriguez Left Hooks Galore

In this fight, Kino Rodriguez (9-9-2, 2 KOs) came quick and fast as if to smother the young Mayweather (4-0, 3 KOs).

The young Olympian quickly showed Rodriguez that he was too fast and too powerful for that to work. He took Rodriguez out in the first round with a series of thudding left hooks to the brain.

32. Mayweather Serves Bobby Giepert Two Helpings of Canvas

Giepert (19-8, 5 KOs) stepped in the ring looking defensive but couldn't defending much.

Mayweather (5-0, 4 KOs) consistently got through Giepert's defense to snap back the young man's head with rights galore and the occasional body shot to quickly soften him up.

A quick right put Giepert down and he didn't look like he wanted to get up. Moments later, a series of rights put him down on his side in pain.

Referee Joe Cortez sees a fighter with no fight left and says, "That's it!" to mercifully spare poor Giepert further beating. 

31. Mayweather Knocks out Hector Arroyo

Mayweather (12-0, 10 KOs) prevails against Hector Arroyo (16-4-2, 9 KOs) by way of TKO in Round 5 on January 9 1998.

Arroyo was a solid boxer, but Mayweather still crushed his foe with blazing hooks and uppercuts up top, and hooks to the body en route to a stoppage in Round 5.

Arroyo would go on to have an average career that ended in 2001 after suffering a knockout loss to rising star of the time, Vivian Harris.

30. Mayweather Beats the Tough Gustavo Fabian Cuello

He's tough and puts together some decent combinations, but 26-year-old Gustavo Cuello (20-7) couldn't land anything meaningful all night long.

He threw from odd angles with a certain level of persistence and consistency, yet none of his efforts proved to be enough to stop the rising super featherweight star.

Even with a point taken away for hitting on the break in Round 3, Mayweather (15-0, 13 KOs) still walked away with the dominant unanimous decision victory on his warpath toward his first world championship in 1998.

29. Mayweather Goes Whitaker on Larry O'Shields

June 14 1997, Larry O'Shields (12-3-1, 5 KOs) is the first real contender Mayweather (7-0, 6 KOs) has faced at this point in his career.

This one goes the six-round distance, but not without a few flashy dance moves from Mayweather.

He knew the danger of O'Shields and here we see a cautious Mayweather evade and hit.

He understands even this early in his career not to overstep his safety to go for the knockout.

He doesn't yet use the potshots of the current Mayweather, but he does use great head movement and full-body weaving that appears reminiscent of the great Pernell Whitaker to earn the unanimous decision. 

28. Mayweather Tramples over Louie Leija in El Paso, TX

September 6 1997, Mayweather's first 10-round fight airs on HBO.

Though scheduled for 10 rounds, Mayweather (9-0, 7 KOs) makes quick work of the respectable but limited Louie Leija (18-3-1, 14 KOs) by taking him out in two rounds, putting him down twice in each round.

Mayweather's power is abundant in this match. Super featherweight was the best weight for Mayweather's power as he walked in the fight with nine wins, and only two of them seeing the distance. Leija became his eighth knockout.

27. Mayweather Chews and Spits out Felipe Garcia

Felipe Garcia (20-18-1, 11 KOs) was a true journeyman when Mayweather (10-0, 8 KOs) faced him at super featherweight, but Mayweather still respected the veteran.

Mayweather balanced his growing cautiousness with occasionally vicious counters and quick three-piece flurries.

Garcia handed Mayweather possibly the best offense he had faced at the time. Garcia also had a decent defense with a pretty good bob and weave routine, despite hovering around age 40 at the time. 

The fight was scheduled for eight and surprisingly made it to six rounds. Garcia's chin took cleans shots from a powerful young Mayweather all night long.

However, Garcia's head snapped back at the end of Round 6 before his body began a slow tilting decent to the canvas like a tree freshly chopped down after repeated whacking with an ax .

Garcia collapsed, unable to even sit up for the 10-count. Garcia hadn't been knocked out in almost three years by the time this match took place on October 14 1997. 

26. Mayweather Demolishes Sam Girard

Sam Girard (17-4-1, 9 KOs) was able to whack at the body of Mayweather (13-0, 11 KOs) for a short period in Round 1, but Mayweather's speed and Girard's tiring body from the beatdown he received left him jabbing air and rope by Round 2.

Mayweather's countering ability was on full alert in this fight. He patiently waited for Girard to make a mistake and then strike! He waited some more and then strike!

The patience paid off rather quickly. Girard went down in Round 1 and then twice in Round 2 before the referee put a halt to the show.

25. Mayweather Thuds His Fist Against the Head of Angelo Nunez

Mayweather (11-0, 9 KOs) was on a stepladder to success in 1997. Angelo Nunez (14-11-3, 4 KOs) was the next step November 20 of that year.

Nunez had faced the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, the only person before Mayweather to knock him out.

While the match started out decent for Nunez, about midway through the first round, Mayweather begin to thunderclap Nunez's head with shots heard by those across the street from the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Nunez shook those off and kept it moving. But in Round 2, he later suffered a deep cut under his right eyebrow.

Referee warned him, Mayweather took notice and honed in on the eyebrow in Round 3. It didn't take long for blood to flow into Nunez's eye, and the referee had to stop the fight to save the warrior.

Mayweather walked away with talk and hype building toward him one day facing WBC world super featherweight champion Genaro Hernandez while Nunez walked away from the ring entirely, retiring from boxing immediately after the fight.

24. Mayweather Slaps Carlos Baldomir with Pink Gloves

Between 2004-06, Carlos Baldomir (43-9-6, 13 KOs) was on a seemingly unstoppable and inspiring roll toward Mayweather (36-0, 24 KOs).

He beat two welterweight contenders before shocking the world with a victory over Zab Judah and Arturo Gatti. 

Judah was expected to be Mayweather's rival in 2006. Baldomir rearranged those plans with a unanimous decision victory.

Mayweather still went through with his battle with Judah, but then set his sights on beating Baldomir for making the money from the Judah fight smaller with his surprising victory over Judah.

Mayweather landed only eight punches in the first round and blood sprouted from Baldomir's eye. 

It looked like Mayweather would press the action for a stoppage by cut, but he did not.

Mayweather boxed carefully and cruised to a unanimous decision, leading to a very one-sided fight from a statistical standpoint, and effectively ended Baldomir's last string of impressive victories.

Though the victory was a dominant one, many felt disgusted at Mayweather's lack of pressing action especially against a target that he made look so easy to hit.

Despite the entertainment value being low, the victory was impressive. Mayweather would land a fight with big moneymaker Oscar De La Hoya in his next fight.

23. Mayweather Beats Miguel Melo in a Very Good Fight

Miguel Melo (8-1, 6 KOs) was the first fighter in a while to have less fights on his record than Mayweather (14-0, 12 KOs.

Despite his deceptively short professional record, Melo actually had well over 200 fights in his amateur career. His amateur career trumps Mayweather's amateur record of 84-6 as far as experience goes.

Despite all that experience, on March 23 1998, Mayweather scored a third round TKO over Melo in a fight that included some fiery and brave exchanges.

22. Mayweather Makes Gregorio Vargas Look Awfully Slow

Gregorio Vargas (40-6-1, 28 KOs) was a 29-year-old tough Mexican boxer Mayweather (22-0, 17 KOs) faced March 18 2000 on his first trip to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The MGM is a boxing temple in the eyes of many where Mayweather would go on to perform pugilistic pilgrimage for many years to come.

Vargas became his first religious sacrifice by way of unanimous decision. Vargas consistently stalked Mayweather, but couldn't land anything effective.

The speed Mayweather remained slippery and cautious of his tough foe, throwing the occasional left jab or right straight before dodging a very slow attempt at counter-punching by Vargas.

The punch output of Mayweather grew significantly in Round 4 and onward as Mayweather realized the lack of a true threat Vargas posed.

Mayweather planted his feet and started going more toe-to-toe with caution, relying more on his impressive reflexes to dodge or parry incoming shots.

One of the highlights of the fight that greatly shows Mayweather's speed advantage comes in Round 5.

Vargas has Mayweather in a corner. He swings and misses all his shots. Mayweather during that time lands a four-punch combo from the corner as he avoids shots and slips from the corner to the center of the ring.

Vargas continues to plod forward in vain, searching for Mayweather and only touching air.

21. Mayweather Bulldozes Through the Body of Henry Bruseles

Mayweather (32-0, 21 KOs) starts 2005 off with a knockout victory against Henry Bruseles (21-2-1, 13 KOs), a frequent sparring partner of Miguel Cotto and a pupil of Cotto's trainer/father.

Bruseles was meant to test Mayweather. Not many felt Bruseles, despite his decent skills, stood a chance. Team Cotto just wanted to see if Mayweather was beatable.

Turns out, at least at junior welterweight, Mayweather wasn't beatable.

Bruseles gets whacked with body shots left and right throughout the night until he gets dropped twice in Round 8, prompting his concerned corner to throw in the towel.

Unfortunately, Cotto would never get to face Mayweather. One has to wonder if this fight had anything to do with that.

20. Mayweather's Straight Right Hand Sends Sharmba Mitchell Straight Down

Mayweather (34-0, 23 KOs) makes his welterweight debut against Sharmba Mitchell (56-4, 30 KOs). Mitchell was relatively fast, moving his head and double-jabbing away at Mayweather.

Mayweather proved to be quicker and more technically sound, breaking down the body of Mitchell over the course of the first three rounds, leading to Mitchell taking a knee in Round 3 from a straight right hand.

In Round 6, the straight right hand hit the body and Mitchell hit the canvas with his knee. He squirmed and felt that burn as the referee counted him out.

Mitchell wasn't a bum at welterweight. He'd beaten other worthy contenders such as Ben Tackie and Vince Phillips.

This win affirmed viewers that Mayweather could knock out a welterweight, could handle the weight well, and deliver an impressive performance at the new weight.

19. Mayweather Makes Carlos Rios Question His Occupation

Carlos Rios (44-2-1, 29 KOs) gave a show in 1999 against the young WBC world super featherweight champion Mayweather (19-0, 15 KOs) on February 17.

Rios came ready to fight all night long. This bout with Mayweather would have to go the full 12-round distance for the first time in Mayweather's career.

Rios was too tough to land the same great speedy combinations Mayweather had got away with before.

Rios would dig into Mayweather's body if he screwed up, so Mayweather boxed carefully in what became a great boxing chess match. In the end, Mayweather picked up the unanimous decision victory.

Some fighters are only knockout artist, who go limp with answers as to how to survive a full 12 rounds. Some fighters aren't going to be knocked out on that given night someone fights them.

Mayweather knew that early in his career, applied it here, and marked another tally in the win column.

18. Mayweather Survives His Touhest Fight Against Jose Luis Castillo

WBC lightweight world champion Jose Luis Castillo (45-4-1) was Mayweather's "true" lightweight debut in 2002. He tested the waters at lightweight against Emmanuel Agustus two years prior, but returned to junior super featherweight shortly thereafter for a clash against Diego Corrales and defend his belt a few times.

Castillo was a strong determined champion with a hard chin. His previous four opponents couldn't make it past the eighth round, including two junior welterweight-sized opponents.

When the fight started, Mayweather was performing as well as usual. He was striking and moving. Jabbing the body, counter-punching Castillo's near misses and even knocked the champion down (though the referee ruled it a slip).

But progressively, Castillo landed more and more bodyshots on Mayweather, catching him flush on his chin on quite a few occasions especially by Round 6 where Castillo knocked Mayweather down (again the referee rules it a slip).

Though I personally feel Mayweather won Rounds 1-4 and Castillo Rounds 5, 6 and 8, scoring the rest of the fight becomes much harder to do.

In the end, I had it seven rounds to Floyd and five rounds for Castillo.

I do agree with anyone who scored the fight 7-5 for Castillo, or Mayweather, or even scored a draw. It was that close.

This is arguably Mayweather's first loss, but Castillo just didn't do enough to get a guaranteed victory. He gave away too many early rounds to expect victory in such a close fight.

Castillo needed a knockout, Mayweather didn't give him what he needed, but Mayweather would go on to grant Castillo a rematch later that year, claiming a hurt shoulder prevented him from being at 100 percent in this fight.

17. Mayweather Returns from Retirement to Dominate Juan Manuel Marquez

Juan Manuel Marquez (53-5-1, 38 KOs) is an amazing Mexican warrior/counter-puncher. But up against the size advantage and counter-punching of Mayweather (39-0, 25 KOs), Marquez had no chance.

Marquez was coming up from the lightweight (135 lbs) division to the welterweight (147 lbs) division and Mayweather was coming back from almost two years of inactivity (21 months).

On September 19 2009, Mayweather showed no clear signs of rust as he patiently picked off Marquez's punches and landed all night long.

Mayweather dominated in what became one of the most statistically one-sided fights of all time. Marquez landed 12 percent of 583 punches, and Mayweather landed 59 percent of 490 total punches.

The only two things that mar this victory's greatness besides Marquez's comeuppance in weight was Mayweather's refusal to meet Marquez at 144 lbs and the fact that Mayweather still couldn't knock out Marquez.

Mayweather has been a safety-first fighter for a long time by the time this fight took place, but seeing that his opponent was so much smaller than him, he still didn't take the necessary risk to close the show.

He was fined $300,000 a pound for weighing in over the catchweight limit in the contract between Marquez and Mayweather. His weight of 146 resulted in a total of $600,000 in fines.

Compared to the millions he made that night, it was chump change.

16. Mayweather Takes Carlos Gerena to School and the Woodshed

From the very first round, it was plain to see that 28-year-old Puerto Rican Carlos Gerena (34-2, 28 KOs) was in for a rough night.

Gerena's four most meaningful punches all came from blatant lowblows Mayweather didn't even bother to annoy the referee about as he furiously went after Gerena.

He returned Gerena's lowblows with two knockdowns. Gerena barely able to move after the first knockdown and then Gerena had to hold on for dear life before being knocked down again at the end of the round.

The bell saved Gerena almost as soon as he got to his feet. Gerena got himself together and came forward the rest of the night taking Mayweather's shots well with an occasional surprise from Mayweather that wobbles him.

At the beginning of Round 5, Mayweather sprinted for the challenger and rocked him. This was a powerful and confident Mayweather during his super featherweight reign.

Mayweather won by TKO in Round 7 when the referee stopped the fight before the bell sounded the eighth round as Mayweather had nailed Gerena with too many quick, hard combinations.

15. Mayweather Gives Emanuel Agustus a Long Beating

Mayweather win No. 24, challenged Emanuel Agustus (22-16-4, 10 KOs). Agustus (named Burton at the time before his parents married) came willing to trade and never let up on the young defensive technician.

This allowed Mayweather to bring out one of his best performances. Agustus ate punches for breakfast, moved forward and threw like tomorrow would not come if he couldn't land.

Mayweather responds with overhand rights, great counters, better defense, playing possum on the ropes, every trick in the book except with an extra dash of offensive fury that makes this one of Mayweather's most entertaining bouts.

Though Augustus could've went the distance off heart and determination, his corner threw in the towel after seeing Agustus eating a lot of crisp shots in Rounds 8 and 9.

The TKO victory in Round 9 was Mayweather's first victory as a lightweight (135 lbs). 

14. Mayweather Beats Carlos Hernandez with One Hand

Carlos Hernandez (33-2-1, 21 KOs) faced Mayweather (25-0, 19 KOs) on May 26 2001. Mayweather was coming off his destruction of an undefeated Diego Corrales.

He was expected to cruise through Hernandez and for the first five rounds, he did. Mayweather boxed him during Rounds 4 and 5 after standing in front of Hernandez and getting the much better end of the trade.

Then in Round 6, Mayweather hurt his left hand and touched the canvas with his left glove to gain a moment to collect himself.

Though Hernandez didn't punch him, a knockdown was still rewarded in Hernandez's favor.

Mayweather survived and just continued to box with his right hand from Round 7 onward, winning a unanimous decision with just one hand.

13. Mayweather Knocks out Knockout King Phillip N'dou

In his last appearance at lightweight (135 lbs), Mayweather put on a tour-de-force.

N'dou (31-1, 30 KOs) held a staggering 97 percent knockout rate! Did he touch Mayweather? No.

Mayweather defended along the ropes, and in the corner with a brilliantly fast display of shoulder rolls, weaves, and head movement.

N'dou tried his hardest and then grew tired enough to succumb to Mayweather's on onslaught in Round 7 via knockdown.

As N'dou was getting up, his trainer was on the apron ready to throw in the towel. N'dou paid more attention to that than the count.

Though N'dou got up quickly, he stumbled a little, prompting the referee to stop the fight, resulting in a knockout victory for Mayweather, his last at lightweight before heading up to junior welterweight. 

12. Mayweather Faces DeMarcus Corley in a Near Fight of the Year Candidate

Floyd Mayweather makes his first trip to the junior welterweight (140 lbs) division in 2004 against DeMarcus Corley.

Though this became Mayweather's only fight in 2004, it was a memorable fight. Corley aimed to make this trading war with long exchanges. Mayweather did what he hadn't done in a while, he obliged him and traded.

The speed of Mayweather got the better of many of the exchanges but the southpaw stance of Corley helped him land lefts throughout the fight against Mayweather.

Mayweather took the shots and kept on slugging it out, perhaps inspired by the much heralded Gatti vs. Ward trilogy that came to an end less than a year before he faced Corley.

Though Mayweather was given hell, he gave more hell back. Corley met the canvas officially one time in the 8th and 10th Round, but had "slipped" quite a few times.

The fact Corley "slipped" a lot during the fight might be an indicator of who was receiving more damage in these long vicious exchanges.

At the end of the day, Mayweather picked up a unanimous decision, a bloody nose and an arena filled with inspired fans in Atlantic City that day.

11. Mayweather Defeats His Tallest Foe in Tony Pep

Tony Pep (39-6, 21 KOs) is perhaps Mayweather's biggest foe in terms of physical size, acting as a final barrier between Mayweather and a world title shot against the legendary WBC super featherweight world champion Genaro Hernandez.

Pep stood 6' 1 1/2", towering over the 5'8" Mayweather (16-0, 13 KOs). Considering this fight took place in the super featherweight division where most opponents range from 5'5" to 5'7", Pep is abnormally huge.

Though Pep had the size and reach advantage, Mayweather was the more consistent jabber, able to strike and recoil away with his speed to avoid Pep's retaliation.

Pep's flagpole arms continued to barely miss as Mayweather dug into Pep's body to significantly slow him down. Winning every round against such a bigger and more experienced opponent showed that even greater things awaited the young Mayweather.

10. Mayweather Humiliates Arturo Gatti

Gatti is a tough come-behind type of fighter who can change the outcome of any fight with just one punch.

He's known for his dramatic victories and sensational knockouts. Against Mayweather, nobody could see that happening.

Mayweather poured a beat down so thick, it hurts to watch. Punch after punch rocked Gatti left and right.

Then finally, after the sixth brutal round, his team stopped the fight. Gatti's eye was almost closed and he looked as if he had been mauled by a lion.

9. Mayweather Deals with the High Volume-Punching of Jesus Chavez

November 10 2001, Jesus Chavez (35-1) became Mayweather's final fight at 130 lbs and gave Mayweather triple-digit per round volume-punching.

Chavez threw an average of over a hundred punches in all of the first six rounds, landing on Mayweather more than most fighters were capable of at the time.

But Mayweather persevered and started nailing Chavez with very accurate head shots that were hard enough to snap Chavez's head back in Rounds 8 and 9.

Mayweather kept a consistent jab to the body to slow Chavez down. Another technique Mayweather used to wear Chavez down was to lay up against the ropes and tuck his chin into his right glove.

His right glove would lay against the right side of his face while covering his body with the left glove across his stomach.

The superior defense shown by Mayweather allowed Chavez the chance to wear himself out throwing hundreds of punches into Mayweather's arms each round.

After a very damaging Round 9 where it became evident that Chavez could no longer even defend himself against Mayweather's quickly coming succession of head-snapping blows, Chavez's trainer Ronnie Shields stopped the fight, resulting in a TKO victory for Mayweather.

8. Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya Give Keep the World Waiting...

As nice as both men fought on May 5 2007, this fight which was hyped as "The World Awaits" was not the messiah boxing needed.

The hype for the fight was unprecedented. The HBO promotion via the Emmy-winning first ever 24/7 documentary propelled the fight hype to levels that couldn't be satisfied.

Mayweather had already gone out of his comfort zone of the welterweight division to fight De La Hoya in the light middleweight division. He was not going to take any more risk.

He fired mostly one to two shots at a time, and defended well against a surprisingly lively and determined De la Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs). Despite the Golden Boy's efforts, Mayweather walked away with the split-decision victory.

Despite the best efforts of HBO and both fighters to deliver that night, the world is still waiting on the megafight to bring boxing back. 

7. Mayweather Excels with Dominant Victory in the Rematch Against Castillo

Mayweather comes back from a humbling performance against ring-rival Castillo (46-5-1, 42 KOs) in their first fight of 2002 to dominate in their rematch that took place December of that year.

Mayweather controlled the action with a more prevalent right-hand jab and quite a bit more movement.

Mayweather successfully confused, out-hit and out-maneuvered the former sparring partner of the Mexican great Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.

Though the action and drama of their first match is all but dissolved, the brilliance of Mayweather's counter-punching and movement is on full display.

To rematch an opponent that gave him more hell than anyone has before is something only the best do. 

He felt he could come back and deliver a more-convincing performance so he did.

Much was learned from the first match, and every lesson learned showed up in the rematch. 

6. Mayweather and Zab Judah Spark Fire and Controversy

Zab Judah (34-3, 25 KOs) damaged some of the big money guaranteed for his big fight with Mayweather (35-0, 24 KOs) by losing to Carlos Baldomir beforehand.

The fight still went forward, but the amount guaranteed was lesser. Mayweather sought to make him pay, but Judah also sought to earn his redemption.

Judah started the fight out aggressively. His faster hands and stronger punches showed up in the first four rounds.

Mayweather was even knocked down in Round 2 when his glove grazed the canvas, but the referee didn't catch the glove so it was ruled a slip.

The knockdown wouldn't have made much difference as from Round 5 onward, Mayweather had figured Judah out and aimed to give him pain.

Judah's speed became a non-factor against Mayweather's timing and reflexes.

As Mayweather continued his domination at the end of Round 10, Judah hit Mayweather with a blatant low blow that made Mayweather kneel over. Than Judah hit Mayweather in the back of the head, which was a foul.

This sparked a riot as Mayweather's uncle, Roger Mayweather, leaped into the ring followed shortly thereafter by Judah's father, Yoel Judah. Both camps had men in the ring brawling with Las Vegas' police forced to break up and control the riot.

After the riot, both sides were fined and Roger was suspended. Round 11 started, Mayweather was calm and continued to dominate toward a unanimous. Cool, calm, collected, not many fighters can be that in a similar situation.

5. Mayweather Makes Short Work of Angel Manfredy

Angel Manfredy (25-2-1, 20 KOs) was a knockout artist and Mayweather's first fight after facing an experienced world champion in Genaro Hernandez just two months prior.

December 19 1998, Manfredy stalked for two rounds only to get caught by the wrong right-punch counter that stunned him, instantly giving off the sent of pending doom.

Mayweather caught a whiff and proceeded to pounce. After landed nearly 20 punches against Manfredy's face and body in a flurry that lasted long enough for the referee who stopped the fight, giving Mayweather his best second round TKO performance.  

4. Mayweather Wins First World Title Against Genaro Hernandez

"In boxing, you're not going to run into many Mayweather-type fighters. Believe me, this guy is something special."

-George Foreman while commentating for HBO during the eighth round of Mayweather vs Hernandez.

After nearly two years of cleaning out his division, Mayweather (17-0, 13 KOs) finally gets his first world title shot against WBC super featherweight world champion Genaro Hernandez (38-1-1, 17 KOs) on October 3 1998.

The legendary Hernandez had only suffered one loss at the hands of an undefeated Oscar De La Hoya (18-0, 16 KOs) when he moved up to lightweight to face the younger, bigger star.

After suffering a sixth round stoppage, Hernandez moved back down to super featherweight to defeat more challengers, and reclaim a world championship in the division he remained undefeated in until he faced Mayweather.

Mayweather went down in the first round as did Hernandez. Both were mysteriously ruled as slips by the referee, but nonetheless showed both fighters could be caught by something unexpected from the other.

Mayweather boxed cautiously for the first three rounds as Hernandez stood in a defensive stance with his right glove up, patiently waiting for his younger opponent to make a mistake.

The mistake never came. Mayweather's game was perfect. Speed and timing became his biggest weapon, and Hernandez's biggest enemy.

As the fight went beyond the third round, Mayweather began to clip Hernandez with two-three punch combinations, becoming more aggressive.

Eventually by Round 5, Hernandez was backpedaling as Mayweather stalked him, landing uppercuts mean enough to make a Pez dispenser of the Mexican legend.

By Round 7, Hernandez had tried various techniques from patience to laying on the ropes to even attempting to be an aggressor. Now came desperation time. Hernandez came out swinging.

With his head ducked low, he went to Mayweather's body whacking away at his rib cage with both hands thudding off Mayweather's smaller frame.

The fight had ceased to be a beautiful boxing exhibition and turned into a close ugly display of crowded in-fighting.

What was Mayweather's response?

He obliged Hernandez and a brawl proceeded. Mayweather threw flurries like they were Christmas turkeys to the poor.

Though Hernandez caught nearly every shot, he was still giving Mayweather right hooks up top and lefts to the body.

Hellfire and combinations rained from both men, but only Mayweather walked away from the fire unscathed.

Hernandez went to his corner with a cut over his right eye and heavy damage to his face. The tired warrior took heed to the words of his brother and trainer who told him he has one more round to "go for broke".

In the eighth round, Mayweather proved to be too much. His power and speed overwhelmed Hernandez, unable to get off much and too tired and hurt to put much together anyway.

His corner retired him at the end of the round. Mayweather would be anointed his first world championship.

(Here's a look at the inspiring final round and post-fight interview.) 

3. Mayweather Makes Shane Mosley Look His Age

Shane Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KOs) comes in the ring all wound up against Mayweather. The fight is slow, with both fighters feeling each other out until in Round 2...BAM! Mosley wobbles Mayweather.

Is boxing history about to be made on May 1 2010? Will Mayweather lose for the first time in his professional career? Not exactly.

Mayweather rebounds by the end of the round, dominates from the beginning of the very next round to the end of the very last round. Mosley gets no more moments of glory against "Money" Mayweather.

A very dominating performance against a legendary welterweight. Though Mosley at age 38 was five years older, he was still perceived to be a tough challenge, especially after his assault of Antonio Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs) that led to Margarito's first knockout loss.

A virtuoso performance, as well as a show of heart from Mayweather, who didn't go down despite catching flush bombs from one of the hardest punchers in and around the welterweight division.

2. Mayweather Introduces Ricky Hatton to the Ringpost

Hatton was 43-0 with a reputation for pressing the fight against his opponents with a smothering "in-your-face" style.

Many believed Mayweather could be made uncomfortable by Hatton's style. He was. Mayweather was off balance and about to go down at one point in the first round, but as the rounds progressed, Mayweather adjusted and prevailed.

In the 10th round, Mayweather caught Hatton with a check-left hook as he was coming in. Then Mayweather moved out the way and allowed Hatton's still forward projecting body to crash head-first into a ringpost.

Hatton laid sprawled on the canvas for a moment only to get up at the count of eight for a few more moments of hurt before Mayweather put him down again.

Referee Joe Cortez stopped the fight and awarded Mayweather the well-deserved 10th-round TKO.

1. Mayweather Beats Diego Corrales

Two men who are undefeated and in their prime should have a highly-competitive match.

Mayweather (24-0) vs. Corrales (33-0) at the super-feather (130 lbs) level was supposed to be a tossup.

Instead, Mayweather made it a one-sided beatdown to the ground for 10 rounds until Corrales' father finally stepped in to save his brave son, who had endured five vicious knockdowns.

This fight had the unfortunate statistic of being the only fight where a world champion landed only single-digit numbers in 10 rounds.

That is a testament not to just Mayweather's beatdown of Corrales, but his defensive skill while doing it. Mayweather never abandoned defense just so he could knock somebody out.

He showed the world that he could do both, and in HIGHLY-entertaining fashion. 

My Criteria

I chose the fights based on different thing, the level of opposition he faced and how well he dealt with that opposition at that point in his career.

Some opponents Mayweather dealt with pretty well did not make it really high on the list because they were lower-level opposition.

Other opponents that Mayweather had a hard battle with didn't place high because he was expected to deal with them fairly easier than he ended up doing.

So there's room for disagreement and argument over where the fights should've been placed. Feel free to argue.

You can check me out further at JustinDavidTate.com