Floyd Mayweather has always been a controversial character in the sport of boxing, but on one night in 2003, he made it clear that all the boos only fuelled him further.
Floyd Mayweather ended his career with a win over Conor McGregor. Ever the heel, Mayweather laughed in a viral clip from the press conference where McGregor encourages fans to shout “F— Floyd Mayweather!”
‘Pretty Boy’ has never been one to avoid the limelight, or to be afraid of playing the heel, and this has been the case all throughout his career, including in a world title fight back in 2003.
Floyd Mayweather taunted crowd before beating Victoriano Sosa
In 2003 in California, 29-0 Mayweather defended his WBC and Ring lightweight titles against 35-2-2 Victoriano Sosa.
Sosa’s last loss came in a world title shot against Paul Spadafora, who beat Mayweather up in a brutal sparring session.
In the sixth round, Mayweather was caught with an overhand that forced him to hold onto his opponent in a bid to recover.
Mayweather remained composed, and winked at the broadcast team and crowd amidst their chants and calls for his opponent to finish him off. He has spoken to the crowd mid-fight before, and famously, Mayweather gave an NFL prediction mid-fight.
What Mayweather knew was what the audience seemed not to – that many of Sosa’s shots weren’t scoring, and many of his, despite being only jabs, were.
He said, according to BoxRec, after winning a lopsided unanimous decision: “Don’t go by the oohs and ahs […] A lot of [Sosa’s] shots hit me in the arms and shoulders. I’m just happy with my victory. I don’t go out there to brag and boast. I mean, he was throwing more punches than me but I was landing more shots.”
Floyd Mayweather scored just three knockouts in his final 12 fights
Mayweather retired in 2017, and in the ten years leading up to it, he faced, and defeated, 12 men.
There were just three that Mayweather was able to finish off before the final bell, and two who Mayweather beat by majority decision rather than unanimous.
Mayweather vs Canelo was ruled a draw by one judge, and his first fight with Marcos Maidana, in which Mayweather lost a tooth, also ended in MD.
The three men Mayweather stopped were as follows:
2007 – Ricky Hatton – TKO10
2011 – Victor Ortiz – KO4
2017 – Conor McGregor – TKO10