Welcome back fight fans to another video here on The Fight Game.
If some fighters can be known for their speed, and other fighters can be known for their
power, Floyd Mayweather can be known for simply being the best.
50 fights, 50 victories, a billion dollar fighter who trained as if he hadn't a dollar
to his name.
He's best known for his defensive skills, while many men are known to be good at many
things, Mayweather is known to be a master of one.
The art of boxing, a discipline to hit and not get hit.
Because of his style he has managed to become one of the greatest boxers to grace the sport,
but a consequence of this style has been the stigma surrounding
the entertainment factor, while many of us can sit down and enjoy the defensive skills
he portrays, there's nothing quite like a good old-fashioned slugfest.
Because of his so-to-say boring methods of winning, fans have often called Mayweather
a runner.
However it matters not to Floyd, because it's he who has his
faculties in place, and after all the only thing that truly mattered, was the name of
the game, to win.
But what many don't realize is that Mayweather's career spans over the course of 20 years,
and that the Mayweather you see in the defensive highlight reels is not the
same Mayweather that brought him to the pinnacle of the sport.
Before he was called Money Mayweather, he went by the name Pretty-Boy.
And this version of Floyd, well, he was far from boring.
He was not shy in bringing the full capability of his power to the ring, he pushed the action,
he went for the knockout, he put his opponents on the back foot, when Floyd Mayweather
was in his natural weight division of 130 pounds he was the absolute opposite of boring,
he was the quintessence in the finesse of aggressiveness.
So while Mayweather had some beautiful defensive moments in the latter stages of his career,
we wind back the clock to where Floyd Mayweather was not known as Money, but as
Pretty-Boy.
Welcome to this video here on The Fight Game, where we take a look at the origin of intellect
in the breakdown of the pugilistic science of Floyd Pretty-Boy Mayweather.
Floyd Mayweather made his professional debut at 19 years old with Jeff and Roger Mayweather
in his corner.
If you find the referee familiar, that's no other than Kenny Bayless.
Mayweather had been a promising prospect after just competing in the Olympics, and Mayweather
was eager to get the ball rolling in the professional ranks.
From the offset we can see how Mayweather's style is more invasive rather than evasive.
Notice Mayweather maneuvering his head to the sides, this is a fundamental component
that makes part of the Pretty Boy style.
On the surface it's to keep his head off the straight line, making it difficult for the
opponent to set up a punch.
But it also tests the opponents reactions, Mayweather figures
out how his opponent reacts when he jolts to the left, and to the right, and with this
information he can decide what to throw, and when to throw.
His constant maneuvering makes him unpredictable, his attacks are based off his opponents openings,
and because of that it's almost impossible to tell when and what
Mayweather will throw.
Soon Mayweather got his opponent to the corner and dropped him for the first time.
With his opponent hurt, Mayweather let go of a number of flurries.
(Crowd Cheering)
The start of the second round saw Mayweather drop his opponent again with another bodyshot
to win the fight.
A very successful pro debut for Floyd Pretty-Boy Mayweather.
The following fights saw Mayweather collect a string of knockouts, he improved as you
would expect from a young fighter, the competition was never going to be world class in the
beginning stages, but seeing the beginning stages of mastery at work is still a sight
to behold.
His pot-shot jab to the body was effective in slowing his opponents down, and he
even dropped an opponent with one too.
His reputation was one of a power-puncher, not like the defensive one he has today.
But on top of his power, he had remarkable skill.
Watch him here synchronize a strike with his opponents.
Leaning his head to the left prompts a jab from the opponent, and Mayweather simultaneously
splits the guard with his right hand.
This is an attack of precise timing, and extremely effective against one of opposite stance.
Another notable mention of a boxer who also does this is Manny Pacquiao.
Soon we saw the pull-counter come into play.
For those that don't know the pull-counter is a signature move from Floyd Mayweather,
where he extends his upper body as bait for the opponent,
and when the opponent attacks he pulls back, then pushes off his back leg to counter with
a right hand.
Mayweather often rotates his back foot before throwing to save time.
Mayweather fought 10 times in 1997, he was dedicated to being the best ever and his work
ethic was practically unmatched in the sport.
Contrary to what a lot of haters like to say today,
Mayweather was a pure power-puncher in the 130-pound division.
There was no so called running here that's for sure.
He's a student of the game, a true boxing historian, watch him here
land the gazelle punch, a punch brought to fame by the likes of Floyd Patterson.
At such a young age Floyd had a large cache of weapons in his arsenal.
He embarrassed his opponents as he outclassed them, all in an aggressive manner.
A true master at evading the punches while cutting them down.
Mayweather was a nightmare for anyone to face when he reigned in his natural weight
division.
He progressed to be a very good inside fighter, he became extremely good at using his shoulder-roll
defense when pressed up close against his opponent.
Fast, athletic, strong, prime Pretty-Boy would hold his ground against any 130-pounder from
any generation.
But even still while being so relentless, he's so hard to catch, one moment
he's there, then he's not.
Mayweather's first world title shot came against Genaro Hernandez when he was only 21 years
old.
Hernandez was a true veteran, he knew all the tricks to the game, and many
doubted Mayweather's ability to win as Hernandez hadn't lost in 14 years of fighting at the
particular weight class of 130 pounds.
However after advice from his father, the Mayweather family took on the bout with full
confidence.
It was now time for Mayweather to show what he was really capable of.
The fight started with Mayweather attacking with his lead hand.
Mayweather jolted Hernandez to the ground, showing his superior physicality.
Mayweather continued to look for openings, but then Hernandez bullied him back.
A true veteran of boxing knows to bend the rules if needed.
It was close in the beginning, but it seemed that Mayweathers boxing ability triumphed
the experience of Hernandez.
Mayweather's signature pull-counter set up a lot of combinations.
Mayweather refused to fold in the clinch, getting the better of Hernandez when they
fought in close.
This caused Hernandez to fight on the back foot, with Mayweather cutting him down.
And while Hernandez is a veteran, the young Mayweather also had a few tricks up his
sleeve.
A big determining factor in allowing Mayweather to get the better of the clinches was his
use of the forearm, look at how Mayweather raises his forearm when both come close,
this allows Mayweather to push Hernandez back easily, a true veteran move done by a fighter
with only 2 years of experience in the pro game.
The more time that passes in a Floyd Mayweather fight, the smarter he gets.
Mayweather by the middle stages had recognized the cues of his opponents attacks, and with
that he was able to remain extremely elusive to
the counter attacks of Hernandez.
Hernandez showed a champion's heart, but it was no match for the speed, power and ferocity
of Floyd Mayweather.
It became a one-sided beatdown, Mayweather began to beat Hernandez badly, and eventually
the corner stopped the fight before any more unnecessary punishment.
Mayweather clearly emotional after winning his first ever world title.
Years of hard work and dedication finally beared it's fruits, and Mayweather had really
solidified himself as one of the top champions in the sport.
Mayweather: I done it, I done it, I made it.
After winning his first world title it wasn't long for Larry Merchant to bring up Angel
Manfreddy, who was considered to be the best 130-pounder in the sport at the time.
Merchant: Are you willing to fight Angel Manfredy who is considered one of the better 130 pounders
in the world?
Mayweather: Um, I'm willing to fight Angel Manfredy whenever, he's a good fighter but
I just feel I'm the best 130 pounder in the world.
Foreman: Manfredy, in my mind, is the best one.
He's the best I've ever seen.
Lampley: He's a terrific all-around fighter who has both offense and defense.
Talks followed of a matchup between the two, and Mayweather took on Manfreddy in his next
fight.
From one top-tier fighter to another, Mayweather was ready to take on all challenges.
Manfreddy was a durable opponent, and he loved to fight on the inside.
Mayweather knew this, and he kept Manfreddy at a distance.
Mayweather boxed aggressively, but as I said, at a distance.
Watch how after this combination Mayweather pushes Manfreddy to the side with his forearm.
Mayweather didn't allow Manfreddy to use his key strength, inside fighting.
Then Mayweather landed a massive right hand, then he capitlized pushing Manfreddy back
to the ropes, forcing a stoppage.
In just 2 rounds Mayweather had TKO'd one of the most
ruthless fighters in the 130-pound division.
With a finish like that, it was not premature to place Mayweather at the top of the pound-for-pound
rankings.
An impressive victory for the very impressive Floyd Pretty-Boy Mayweather.
Mayweather would continue to defend his world title successfully, adding more knockout stoppages
to his record.
Soon he would defend his belt against the undefeated Diego Corrales.
You had to have been tuned into boxing at this time to truly understand how Diego Corrales
was widely considered to be the boogeyman of the 130-pound division.
His record at the time was 33 fights, 33 wins, zero losses.
He was quite the knockout artist himself too.
29 of his 33 victories had come by knockout.
Mayweather was an underdog going into this fight, and as a matter of fact this was the
last time in Floyd Mayweather's whole career where he came in as the underdog.
Because when the bell rang for the fight to commence, it was
time for Floyd Mayweather to do what Mayweather does best.
Notice here Mayweather using his forearm again to disallow Corrales to get on
the inside.
He would later use his forearm a second time, and ended up finding an opening for the right
hand.
To beat a bigger opponent, Mayweather knew to pot-shot to the body
with the jab, something Mayweather later became renowned for in the following years.
These constant pot-shots suck the air out of the opponent making them fatigue.
Mayweather continued to out-box Corrales, watch this sequence here.
Floyd probes with his lead hand 3 times, measuring the distance and the pace of which both fighters
were moving, then Mayweather lets go of a right with perfect
timing.
This is elite-level boxing, he knew the pace Corrales was travelling as he was at the end
of his lead hand each time, and he simply timed Corrales to walk on to the right
hand.
Floyd continued to do what he was doing, being elusive but effective in his punches.
Both fighters had contested well, but Floyd was too quick.
Along came round 7 and Floyd instantly dropped Corrales.
Mayweather with a victory in sight upped the pace, then soon dropped Corrales again with
another massive left hook to the jaw.
Watch how Mayweather does this, first he jabs to the body, then he drops his left hand down
low, making Corrales think another jab to the body is coming, resulting in a drop of
the guard in anticipation of said body shot, but then
Mayweather goes back up to the head to drop Corrales.
To do this real-time in the ring can only be done by the most intelligent of boxers.
Mayweather followed with another knockdown just before the end of the round.
The fight continued until the 10th round where Mayweather dropped Corrales twice to end the
show.
Corrales's corner stopped the fight, and even though Corrales was unhappy the fight ended,
it was the right thing to do.
Mayweather defied the odds, he triumphed in Las Vegas and solidified himself as Boxing's
pound-for-pound best.
That brings a close to this video, of course we all know Mayweather would go on to win
world titles in 4 more weight divisions to become a five-weight world champion, and establish
himself as what many consider to be The Best Ever with 26 consecutive wins in world title
fights.
But it's also good to acknowledge the man he was before all of this, a true underdog,
a man who never backed down from the greatest of challenges.
He has many haters, but all successful people generally do, but those who are true
fans of the sweet science know that both versions of Floyd Mayweather, the aggressive counter-puncher,
and the defensive counter-puncher, are two versions that will stand the test of time
for many generations to come.
It's hard not to marvel at the defensive genius Mayweather came to be, and it's also hard
not to enjoy the aggressive side, but if there's one thing
for sure, when it comes to the sport of boxing as a whole, when it comes to fame, money and
health, Mayweather is a sure winner, like he
was in all 50 of his fights.
Like most things in boxing he will never truly be appreciated until time passes, after all
things can really only be understood when looking backwards.
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