Floyd Joy Sinclair, better known as Floyd Mayweather Junior (after his father) is one of those athletes you get the privilege of watching once in a lifetime. While most may remember him from his dominant reign in the field of Boxing which lasted more than a decade, he has more to his name than just that.
He is a former Olympic Bronze Medallist and has even had a brief stint with the World Wrestling Entertainment. Not to mention, he won the 1995 US National Amateur Boxing Featherweight Championship and was also ESPN’s 2007 Fighter of the Year. He was also ranked number 1 in Forbes List of Highest Paid Athletes in the year 2012.
As far as his boxing career is concerned, Mayweather grew up idolizing another boxing legend- Mike Tyson. He would go to the local gym with his father to train where he would watch Tyson sparring and practice from the ringside.
He is perhaps aptly known as Money Mayweather seeing that he held the Guinness Records for the Highest Career Pay-Per-View sales for a Boxer and also the record for Most Expensive Boxing Championship Belt.
Early Life
It’s perhaps not that hard to believe that this legend like so many others had a humble beginning. Mayweather recounts that he had a bit of a rough childhood with his father Floyd Mayweather Sr. (a boxer himself) being a drug dealer. He says that his father preferred his sister over him. It was this absence of a father that pushed him to have a boxing career. Perhaps the urge to surpass his father in terms of success in this sports is what drove him.
However, Floyd Mayweather Sr. gives a contradictory account of his son’s childhood. According to t him, he did sell drugs. But he never did so at the expense of his child’s future. The need for a living and survival was key to his rise and surpassing the likes of Mike Tyson, whom we adored as a child. And despite having a shaky start, we can say that “Pretty Boy Floyd did big!”
Training Regimen
In a sport that has even caused deaths, Floyd Mayweather has fought very hard to survive and remain unbeaten. He credits this partly to his training regimen. For the most part of his career after he turned pro, Floyd Mayweather had his father Floyd Mayweather Sr. and at times his uncle Roger Mayweather as his trainer, mentor, and manager.
According to Money Mayweather, he used to get up 2:30 Pm. Yeah, you read that right, 2:30 PM. He says that it is essential for the body to rest and be at the peak before the fight and if he were to follow the common regimen, it would be beneficial.
Gruesome Training and pushing yourself constantly, that’s how you attain a physique and strength that Floyd Mayweather has. Running contributed a lot. Mayweather would go running 7-8 miles before arriving at the gym to train. At the gym, he states, he would ensure that he is hydrated before, during and after the training. As far as pushing himself, his body was concerned Floyd would either take 15 min rounds and then hydrate or go 40 min non-stop without a break.
Coach Terry Chapendama believes that there are three levels of training before someone becomes a dominant boxer. According to him, there is development training camp where novice boxers are taken through the world rankings, there is the level where those who have already attained that fundamental state of mind gear up for further training and then there is the Floyd Mayweather Level or the reactivation camp.
It can be seen how such rigorous sparring and training made sure that the last fight Money Mayweather lost was at the 1996 Olympics only and never again.
Career
Mayweather has had a very successful career in boxing, to say the least. He has surpassed his idols and set and broken records throughout his career. One particular record that comes to mind when you think of Floyd Mayweather is his 50-0 Unbeaten Record in Boxing which includes the likes of Manny Pacquio and even “The Notorious Mystic Mac” Connor McGregor.
In his stellar performance inside the squared circle, he has fought in Super Featherweight, Lightweight, Lightweight Welterweight, Welterweight, Light Middleweight divisions. Few of his fights which one cannot miss include those with Genaro Hernandez (Mayweather’s First Boxing Title Win), Oscar De La Hoya (the record number of buys for this Pay-per-view held at MGM Grand still stands), Miguel Cotto (perhaps the only fight where, despite winning, Pretty Boy Mayweather struggled a bit), Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (Mexico’s Unbeaten vs. US’s Unbeaten), Manny Pacquiao and Jose Luiz Castillo.
Floyd Mayweather had the honor of retiring undefeated. His first stint as a boxer was from 1996 to 2007. He made a comeback from retirement and competed from 2009 to 2015. Mayweather again made a comeback when he defeated a then debuting Irish UFC Champion, Connor Macgregor.
Mayweather has had an illustrious career with straight 50 wins. Out of which, 27 were by knockout. He is a 12-time World Champion across 5 different weights and is considered as one of the very best to grace the boxing ring.
Floyd Mayweather has appeared on shows like Dancing with the Stars and World Wrestling Entertainment. He has a rap song titled “Yep” to his credit and owns a boxing club.
After his final retirement following his fight with McGregor, Mayweather stated that boxing is behind him. Mayweather, in the annual Technology trade show, CES, held in Las Vegas, said that he wants to launch a state-of-the-art Gym which would include VR simulations and even plans to make these available to home users.
Apart from that Floyd Mayweather also owns a Strip Club in Las Vegas and invests in real estate. Who knows what the future holds for such a former prizefighter.
But one thing is for sure, what he sets his eyes on, Floyd Mayweather conquers.
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