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“Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather
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“Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather, just coming off a lopsided unanimous decision win over former WBO Junior Welterweight Champion DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley, took a few moments to speak with Doghouse Boxing on the fight and where he feels he stands among the top fighters in the world pound for pound. In their fight on May 22, Corley was on the canvas several times in the fight, yet Mayweather was credited with only two official knockdowns. Not that it mattered much, of course, as Mayweather, moving up in weight to the junior welterweight division, won by wide margins on each of the three judges’ official scorecards. Mayweather is now looking for a superfight with Arturo Gatti, another topic that came up in our discussion with him. Read on to see what boxing’s most talented fighter had to say.
DB: How is everything with your eye, Floyd?
It’s alright, I got a headbutt when I knocked him down. Everything worked out, we just wanted to make sure everything was okay. So I went and got my eye checked out, and was just being a professional about it. When I was younger, and as an amateur, I wouldn’t care, but I’m older, wiser and more mature. I got my eye checked out, and everything’s okay, everything’s fine.
DB: Let’s talk about your fight with DeMarcus Corley last Saturday. Were you surprised that he came out as aggressively as he did, given the cautious way he fought against Zab Judah?
I think he thought he was going to be able to push me around because I came from 130 pounds. I’ve only looked at the fight one time, and I actually looked bigger than him. He thought I was going to box and I just wanted to finish it.
DB: You were very impressive against Corley, so do you feel that you sent a message to the 140 pound weight class in that fight, and if so, what was that message?
I showed the world that I can crack at 140 pounds also. The guy was in tip top condition. I was cracking him and he was going down, but he just didn’t want to stay down. That’s how I know he was in shape.
DB: What are your thoughts on a fight with Kostya Tszyu? If he gets himself healthy, is that a possibility you might look into?
He needs some tuneup fights first. I’d love to fight him, but he needs some tuneup fights.
DB: Do you think Sharmba Mitchell would pose any problems for you, as he is a quick southpaw?
Not at all. In his last twelve wins he only has one knockout.
DB: You have expressed your interest in fighting Arturo Gatti and a lot of critics think that you are calling him out because it’s an easy fight for you that will also make you a lot of money. What is your response?
If it makes dollars, it makes sense. That’s a good pay per view fight, so Gatti and I should make the fight happen. I can’t really say if it will be easy. I try to make every fight easy if it’s possible, but I can’t say if the fight will be easy for me or not.
DB: Why do you think it is that you aren’t making the money that you feel you deserve based on your ability as a fighter?
You never heard me say that. That never came out of my mouth.
DB: The HBO commentators went on and on about it, though.
Never go by what the HBO commentators say.
DB: Fair enough. Is there still any desire on your part to fight Oscar De La Hoya, now that he is moving up in weight yet again to middleweight?
I don’t even know who this guy is that he’s fighting. I’ve never heard of him, never seen him before. Has anybody ever seen him before? Nobody I know has ever seen the guy fight before. As I said before, I’d like to fight him, but I don’t know what the future holds.
DB: There is a heated debate ongoing among fans today about who is the best pound for pound fighter between you, Bernard Hopkins and Antonio Tarver. Make your argument as to why you deserve to be ranked number one.
For starters, Tarver and Roy Jones, JR. are one and one. Tarver and the other guy he fought, Eric Harding, are one and one. Tarver has to win more championship fights to even be rated at the top. He’s in the top five pound for pound, but he’s not number one. Bernard Hopkins has seventeen defenses, but some of the guys he fought, he fought twice, and three times. He’s done all this at one weight class. In the last six years, I’ve jumped three weight classes, and I’m still world champion. And DeMarcus Corley just had the WBO title, and I beat him.
Hopkins lost to Roy Jones, and I’m undefeated in championships. Neither Hopkins nor Tarver is undefeated in championship fights, and I am. I never complain, I beat all opposition they put in front of me. In big fights, Hopkins is 1-1, he lost to Roy and he beat Trinidad. Trinidad was a 147 pounder. With a guy like Trinidad, I would have respected him more if Hopkins had knocked him out earlier than he did. He let a guy who came up from 147 take him 12 rounds, when he was a natural 160 pounder.
DB: You are still young, but before your career is over and you are voted into the Hall of Fame, are there any goals that you would still like to achieve?
There are a lot of goals I would like to achieve, but right now I just want to keep beating the best they have out there, so I can go down in history as one of the best.
DB: Is there anything you would like to say to the fans or anyone else in closing?
You can love it or hate it, but God blessed me with a talent, and I’m good at what I do.
Writer’s Note: I would like to thank Tracy DeFrancis for her assistance in arranging this interview.
The following is Floyd’s fight record:
Floyd MAYWEATHER, JR.
(Pretty Boy)
(Lightweight)
Amateur Record: 90 fights; 84+, 6-
1993: Golden Gloves:
1994: Golden Gloves:
1995: United States Featherweight:
1995: W.C. Berlin Featherweight:
+ Marian Leondraliu (Rou) points
- Nourredine Medjihoud (Alg) points
1996: Golden Gloves:
1996: Olympic Trials Featherweight:
+ William Jenkins ko 3
+ James Baker ko 1
- Augie Sanchez points
1996: Challengers Olympics Featherweight:
+ Carlos Navarro points
1996: Barrages Olympics Augusta Featherweight:
+ Augie Sanchez points
+ Augie Sanchez points
1996: Olympic Games Atlanta Featherweight:
+ Bakhtiyar Tileganov (Kaz) kot 2
+ Artur Gevorgyan (Arm) points
+ Lorenzo Aragon (Cub) points
- Serafim Todorov (Bul) points
Professional Record: 31 fights; 32+ (21 KO)
1998-2002: W.B.C. Junior lightweight
2002-2003: W.B.C. Lightweight
- 1996 -
+ (Oct-11-1996, Las Vegas) Roberto APODACA ko 2
+ (Nov-30-1996, Albuquerque) Reggie SANDERS 4
- 1997 -
+ (Jan-18-1997, Las Vegas) Jerry COOPER kot 1
+ (Feb-1-1997, Chula Vista) Edgar AYALA ko 2
+ (Mar-12-1997, Grand Rapids) Kino RODRIGUEZ kot 1
+ (Apr-12-1997, Las Vegas) Bobby GIEPERT kot 1
+ (May-10-1997, Las Vegas) Tony DURAN kot 1
+ (Jun-14-1997, San Antonio) Larry O'Shields 6
+ (Jul-12-1997, Biloxi) Jesus CHAVEZ kot 5
+ (Sep-6-1997, El Paso) Luis LEIJA kot 2
+ (Oct-14-1997, Boise) Felipe GARCIA ko 6
+ (Nov-20-1997, Los Angeles) Angelo NUNEZ ko 3
- 1998 -
+ (Jan-9-1998, Biloxi) Hector ARROYO ko 5
+ (Feb-28-1998, Atlantic City) Sam GIRARD ko 2
+ (Mar-23-1998, Ledyard) Miguel MELO retiring 3
+ (Apr-18-1998, Los Angeles) Gustavo CUELLO 10
+ (Jun-14-1998, Atlantic City) Tony PEP 10
+ (Oct-3-1998, Las Vegas) Gennaro HERNANDEZ retiring 9 (W.B.C., Junior lightweight)
+ (Dec-19-1998, Miami) Angel MANFREDY kot 2 (W.B.C., Junior lightweight)
- 1999 -
+ (Feb-17-1999, Grand Rapids) Carlos RIOS 12 (W.B.C., Junior lightweight)
+ (May-22-1999, Las Vegas) Justin JUUKO ko 9 (W.B.C., Junior lightweight)
+ (Sep-11-1999, Las Vegas) Carlos GERENA kot 8 (W.B.C., Junior lightweight)
- 2000 -
+ (Mar-18-2000, Las Vegas) Gregorio VARGAS 12 (W.B.C., Junior lightweight)
+ (Oct-21-2000, Detroit) Emmanuel BURTON kot 9
- 2001 -
+ (Jan-20-2001, Las Vegas) Diego CORRALES kot 10 (W.B.C., Junior lightweight)
+ (May-26-2001, Grand Rapids) Carlos Famoso HERNANDEZ 12 (W.B.C., Junior lightweight)
+ (Nov-10-2001, San Francisco) Jesus Gabriel CHAVEZ retiring 10 (W.B.C., Junior lightweight)
- 2002 -
+ (Apr-20-2002, Las Vegas) Jose Luis CASTILLO 12 (W.B.C., Lightweight) e
+ (Dec-7-2002, Las Vegas) Jose Luis CASTILLO 12 (W.B.C., Lightweight)
- 2003 -
+ (Apr-19-2003, Fresno) Victoriano SOSA 12 (W.B.C., Lightweight)
+ (Nov-1-2003, Grand Rapids) Phillip NDOU kot 7 (W.B.C., Lightweight)
- 2004-
+ (May 22, 2004, Atlantic City) Demarcus Corley 12 (Junior Welterweight)
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Interview (Jun 1, 2004) 
