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30 little-known facts about Floyd Mayweather Jr.

By Zachary Alapi

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 14: Floyd Mayweather Jr. reacts to the crowd during the Floyd Mayweather Jr. v Conor McGregor World Press Tour event at SSE Arena on July 14, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 14: Floyd Mayweather Jr. reacts to the crowd during the Floyd Mayweather Jr. v Conor McGregor World Press Tour event at SSE Arena on July 14, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) /
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9. Mayweather has only contested two rematches as a pro

The primary reason Floyd Mayweather Jr. has only contested two rematches as a pro is due to his dominance. Hardly any Mayweather fight warrants a return contest, and while some blame can be placed on Mayweather’s carefully curated opponent selection, it’s impossible to operate at his level without facing elite competition. As WBC lightweight champion, Mayweather fought Jose Luis Castillo in consecutive bouts in 2002; at welterweight, Mayweather defended his unified titles against the rugged Marcos Maidana on two occasions.

Many believe that Jose Luis Castillo deserved to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. when they first fought on April 20, 2002. In the fight, which Mayweather won via scores of 116-111 and 115-111 (twice), Castillo held a 203 to 157 edge in total punches landed, as well as a 173 to 66 advantage in power shots. While punch stats don’t tell the entire story, Harold Lederman, unofficially judging the fight for the HBO broadcast, scored the bout 115-111 for Castillo. In the rematch, which took place in December of 2002, Mayweather out-landed and narrowly out-boxed Castillo to claim a unanimous decision win.

Later in his career, in the midst of his lucrative Showtime deal, Mayweather fought Argentine brawler Marcos Maidana in consecutive bouts that exceeded expectations. In their first fight, Maidana set the CompuBox records for punches landed (221) and thrown (858) against Mayweather but had to settle for a majority decision loss. BoxRec’s encyclopedia entry for the fight also lists the scores of a variety of ringside reporters, all of whom scored the bout for Mayweather (other than BoxingScene.com’s Cliff Rold, who had a 114-114 card). In the rematch, Maidana wobbled Mayweather with a hard right hand at the end of round three, but the result, a Mayweather unanimous decision, was decisive.

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