Reflecting on Floyd Mayweather’s Walks on The Wild Side

By Lyle Fitzsimmons

Some love him. Many do not.

But when it comes to proclaiming excellence, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has usually gotten it right.

Not only have 48 opponents – 46 individuals, two of them twice – tried to defeat him and failed, but a precious very few have prompted any real concern from either the "Pretty Boy" or "Money" camps.

The conventional wisdom is that a two-time welterweight title claimant – namely Andre Berto – won’t prove to be his toughest test. So unless this Saturday fight night at the MGM Grand provides a shock, we'll have to remind ourselves of the rare moments there’s been actual professional duress.

Date: April 20, 2002
Opponent: Jose Luis Castillo
Result: UD 12 (116-111, 115-111, 115-111)
A rugged Mexican who'd held a 135-pound title for two years and had a nine-pound weight advantage in the ring on fight night, Castillo was on the wrong side of a boxing lesson for four rounds before his persistence and strength ultimately forced Mayweather to cede territory and fight his fight.

Post-fight statistics indicated Castillo threw 58 more punches and 46 more, which prompted HBO's unofficial judge, Harold Lederman, to suggest he'd won seven of 12 rounds, with one even.

It was the close call that's launched 20 subsequent blueprints: each insisting that Mayweather can be beaten by a foe who can simply make him fight for three minutes of every round. The two men met again eight months later – Mayweather's first career rematch – with the same unanimous decision result, though many more observers, including Lederman, agreed that Mayweather deserved it.

"I think (the judges) favor him. They didn't call the right decision," Castillo said after the first fight. "He felt my punches. He stood there and tried to trade with me, but I was punching too hard."

Date: April 8, 2006
Opponent: Zab Judah
Result: UD 12 (119-109, 117-111, 116-112)
Back then, Judah was coming in three months after an uninspiring decision loss to unheralded Carlos Baldomir, but nevertheless was in possession of the International Boxing Federation welterweight title belt that Mayweather coveted in his second career appearance at 147 pounds.

Judah worked early with a right jab and scored what appeared to be a knockdown with a right hook in the second as Mayweather lunged and then reeled backward, touching the canvas with his right glove.

Referee Richard Steele ruled it a slip, though, and the momentum turned squarely in Mayweather's favor from the fifth round on – ultimately making the fight known less for its competitiveness and more for the all-out melee that ensued after a Judah low blow in the 10th.

"He's quick. He's got good hands. He was the better guy," Judah said after the fight. "He's a very great defensive fighter. He kept a tight defense."

Date: May 5, 2007
Opponent: Oscar De La Hoya
Result: SD 12 (116-112, 115-113, 113-115)
Back when $130 million in revenue seemed like a big number, the fight between the "Golden Boy" and the "Pretty Boy" – billed as "The World Awaits" – was the most lucrative match of all time. The event prompted the creation of HBO's 24/7 pre-fight series and the fight itself ultimately garnered more than 2.4 million pay-per-view buys, a number that stood as the sport's high watermark until May 2.

Once the bell rang, reigning 154-pound champion De La Hoya started strong and scored well with his left jab in the first few rounds before slowing down near the midway point as Mayweather began to outwork him with more precise activity. Ringside punch stats said De La Hoya threw 587 punches to Mayweather's 481, but Mayweather was the far more accurate fighter – landing 207 (43.0 percent) to De La Hoya's 122 (20.7 percent).

De La Hoya was judged the winner on one scorecard, making him the only fighter – still – to have ever won a fight against Mayweather in the eyes of any official ringside judge.

Freddie Roach, who unsuccessfully trained De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao in Mayweather bids, said: "I thought Oscar won the first six rounds when we fought him, and he kind of blew it after a while because he just got too caught up in the fight."

Date: May 1, 2010
Opponent: Shane Mosley
Result: UD 12 (119-109, 119-109, 118-110)
It doesn't seem like much now. And if all one does is look at the records, the wide unanimous decision Mayweather scored over Shane Mosley five years ago warrants little more than a footnote. But if you were watching the fight, you know better.

A flicking left jab was followed by a booming overhand right about a minute into the second round, promoting HBO's Jim Lampley to say, "That may be the hardest punch that Floyd Mayweather has taken in recent years." Another looping right about 50 seconds later visibly buckled Mayweather's knees and got him as close to a legitimate knockdown as he's been in this century.

He quickly shook off the dizziness, though, and was pressing the action by the end of the round. In fact, in the view of two of the three official judges, the second was the only round Mosley won all night.

"I did have him," Mosley said. "I knew he was about to go down, but he is good at holding and getting away. The bell saved him. In round three he made adjustments, and I give him credit for that. He is king of adjustments."

Date: May 5, 2012
Opponent: Miguel Cotto
Result: UD 12 (118-110, 117-111, 117-111)
Mayweather's second venture into the 154-pound ranks matched him with another reigning ex-welterweight in Miguel Cotto, and came just weeks before Mayweather had agreed to surrender to Clark County (Nev.) authorities to begin an 87-day sentence for domestic violence and harassment.

Cotto rarely stopped moving forward over the course of 12 rounds, and drew Mayweather into a far more pitched battle than he'd been accustomed to – leaving his nose bloodied – but Mayweather was again able to pull away in the late rounds thanks to clear advantages in speed and precision.

After the final bell, he referred to Cotto as the "toughest guy I ever fought."

"He came to fight. He didn't come for survival, he came to fight," Mayweather said after the fight. "When you come to fight and you're coming with offense, in the heat of battle those things happen. So I bit down and fought hard like a true champion."

Date: May 3, 2014
Opponent: Marcos Maidana
Result: MD 12 (117-111, 116-112, 114-114)
Thanks to his status as a 10-to-1 favorite, few people expected Mayweather to encounter more than his typical trace amount of difficulty in dispatching a thrice-beaten Argentine with a spotty resume above 140 pounds. Marcos Maidana, it seemed, was precisely the sort of opponent to make him look good.

Until, that is, he didn't.

Instead of being lulled into an offensive sleep similar to past Mayweather foils, Maidana charged forward from the opening bell and was never shy about using his fists, his forearms, his elbows or his head to bludgeon his 37-year-old foe. He threw more than twice as many punches – 858 to 426 – and the 221 shots he connected with remain the most ever landed by a Mayweather opponent.

In fact, he left the ring that spring night suggesting the rematch that ultimately came four months later was necessary because he was the legitimate champion – not merely because he’d lost a close one.

"He did dominate some rounds, but the majority of them, I dominated," Maidana said. "I'm not scared of him, why not give him a rematch. I have to give him a rematch because I won the fight."

* * * * * * * * * *

This week’s title-fight schedule:

FRIDAY
WBC light heavyweight title – Toronto, Ont.
Adonis Stevenson (champion/No. 1 IWBR) vs. Tommy Karpency (No. 9 contender/No. 13 IWBR)
Stevenson (26-1, 21 KO): Sixth title defense; Third fight outside Quebec (1-1, 1 KO)
Karpency (25-4-1, 14 KO): Third title fight (0-2); Third fight outside United States (0-2, 0 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Stevenson hasn’t exactly progressed since winning his belt. Still, he almost can’t help but impress here against a guy who’s done precious little to earn a title shot. Stevenson in 7

SATURDAY
IBF junior middleweight title – Mashantucket, Conn.
Cornelius Bundrage (champion/No. 4 IWBR) vs. Jermall Charlo (No. 1 contender/No. 25 IWBR)
Bundrage (34-5, 19 KO): First title defense (second reign); Eighth 12-round bout (6-1, 3 KO)
Charlo (21-0, 16 KO): First title fight; Second 12-round bout (1-0, 1 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Bundrage has the title belt and the resume, but he’s also 42 years old and in with a guy who’s presumably more athletically gifted. If he avoids deep water, Charlo wins. Charlo by decision

WBA/WBC welterweight titles – Las Vegas, Nev.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. (champion/No. 1 IWBR) vs. Andre Berto (No. 1 WBA/No. 22 IWBR)
Mayweather (48-0, 26 KO): Fifth WBC title defense (third WBA); 14th straight Vegas fight (13-0, 2 KO)
Berto (30-3, 23 KO): Ninth title fight (7-1); Held WBC (2008-11) and IBF (2011) titles at 147 pounds
Fitzbitz says: Bottom line, if there’s a judge alive who suggests you lost five of five full rounds against Josesito Lopez, you have zero chance to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. Period. Mayweather in 7

WBC super middleweight title – Las Vegas, Nev.
Badou Jack (champion/No. 10 IWBR) vs. George Groves (No. 1 contender/No. 6 IWBR)
Jack (19-1-1, 12 KO): First title defense; Ninth Vegas fight (7-0-1, 4 KO)
Groves (21-2, 16 KO): Third title fight (0-2); Third fight in United States (2-0, 2 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Groves had two nip-and-tuck fights with the then-No. 2 super middleweight in the world. Jack, belted or not, will not present the challenge that Carl Froch did. Groves by decision

WBO junior lightweight title – Las Vegas, Nev.
Roman Martinez (champion/No. 7 IWBR) vs. Orlando Salido (No. 3 contender/No. 11 IWBR)
Martinez (29-2-2, 17 KO): First title defense (third reign); Defeated Salido (UD 12) in April
Salido (41-13-2, 29 KO): Twelfth title fight (6-5); Three title reigns (IBF once, WBO twice) at 126 pounds
Fitzbitz says: Salido is certainly the best 13-loss fighter in recent history, but Martinez had his number in a big way the last time – and it’s not likely five months and new scenery changes it. Martinez by decision

Last week's picks: 0-0
2015 picks record: 53-16 (76.8 percent)
Overall picks record: 692-239 (74.3 percent)

NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body's full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA "world championships" are only included if no "super champion" exists in the weight class.

Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.