Kings Kisinen: Floyd Mayweather, Jr. American Professional Boxer

Monday, December 5, 2011

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. American Professional Boxer

Floyd Joy Mayweather, Jr. (born Floyd Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American professional boxer. He is a five-division world champion, where he has won seven world titles, as well as the lineal championship in three different weight classes. He is a two-time The Ring "Fighter of the Year" winning the award in 1998 and 2007, and also Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) "Fighter of the Year" in 2007. He is undefeated as a professional boxer.

Currently, Mayweather is the WBC welterweight champion. He is also rated as the best pound for pound boxer in the world by most sporting news and boxing websites, including Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Fox Sports, Yahoo! Sports and About.com.

Boxing has been a part of Mayweather's life since he was in diapers. When other children were throwing baseballs or footballs, he was throwing punches. He never seriously considered any other profession. "I think my grandmother saw my potential first," Mayweather said, smiling. "When I was young, I told her, 'I think I should get a job.' She said, 'No, just keep boxing.' "

"When I was about 8 or 9, I lived in New Jersey with my mother and we were seven deep in one bedroom and sometimes we didn't have electricity", Mayweather says. "When people see what I have now, they have no idea of where I came from and how I didn't have anything growing up."

Mayweather was born in Grand Rapids, Mich., into a family of boxers. His father Floyd Mayweather Sr. was a former welterweight contender who fought Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Leonard and his uncles Jeff Mayweather and Roger Mayweather were all professional boxers, with Roger Floyd’s current trainer winning two world championships.

Mayweather was born with his mother's last name, but his last name would change to Mayweather shortly thereafter. Mayweather's father, Floyd Sr., had a side job - selling drugs. That job made him a mean taskmaster at home. His punishment of little Floyd was often harsh and brutal, according to Mayweather Jr. He says that when he was a baby, his father used him as a shield to keep his brother-in-law from shooting him.

Mayweather fought his first professional bout on October 11, 1996 against fellow newcomer Roberto Apodaca who was knocked out in round 2. Mayweather's trainer at the time was his uncle, Roger Mayweather, because Floyd Mayweather, Sr. was still imprisoned after having been convicted of illegal drug trafficking in 1993. Mayweather, Sr. took over as Mayweather, Jr.'s trainer when he was released from prison (after Mayweather, Jr.'s fourteenth fight a second-round knockout of Sam Girard). From 1996 to early 1998, Mayweather won most of his fights by knockout or TKO.

On June 7, 2011, Mayweather announced via Twitter that he was set to fight WBC Welterweight Champion & The Ring #2 ranked Welterweight, Victor Ortiz on September 17, 2011. Ortiz was Mayweather's first challenger in 16 months. Floyd Mayweather's adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, announced on November 2, 2011, that Mayweather will be returning to the ring on May 5, 2012, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.