Floyd Mayweather Jr. was born as Floyd Joy Sinclair into a family of boxers on February 24, 1977, in Michigan. He is the son of Floyd Mayweather Sr., a former welterweight contender. Mayweather attended Ottawa Hills High School before dropping out. Floyd Sr. introduced Mayweather to the gym not long after he started walking, holding his young boy in front of speed bags whenever they visited. Soon, Mayweather was throwing punches at anything that came in his view. At the age of 7 he was fitted for his first pair of boxing gloves. Since childhood, the only profession he seriously considered was boxing. The defense techniques taught by his father and uncle led him to have fewer scars, which gained him the nickname “Pretty Boy.”
Floyd Mayweather, with his fast, precise style, won the national Golden Gloves in 1993, 1994 and 1996. While he finished 84-6 as an amateur, Mayweather's pre-professional career ended on a bitter note. At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, he lost a controversial decision to Bulgaria's Serafim Todorov and was forced to settle for a bronze medal.
Floyd Mayweather turned professional on October 11, 1996. As a pro, Floyd Mayweather continued to win at an astonishing rate. With his father serving as both manager and trainer after his release from prison, the talented boxer won several easy bouts. In 1998, he defeated Genaro Hernandez to capture his first world title, the WBC super featherweight championship.
His career greatly accelerated even more beginning in 2000, when He embarked on a seven-year stretch that had many fight fans talking about him as one of the sport's all-time greats. During this period, he moved up in weight class four times, taking home the WBC lightweight title in 2002, the WBC super lightweight title in 2005 and the IBF, IBO, WBC and IBA welterweight titles in 2006. In 2007 he defeated Oscar De La Hoya for the WBC super welterweight crown. His success garnered increased earnings. In 2010 he was the third highest-paid American athlete, with income of more than $60 million for the year.
The victories and paychecks only fueled Floyd Mayweather’s already sturdy ego. In a sport built on bravado, he proved to be one of boxing's most polarizing figures. "My goal has always been to be one of the best fighters who ever lived,” Floyd Mayweather has said. "My career and legacy are very important to me."
So is his crossover appeal. As his international profile grew, Floyd Mayweather brought his star power to television. In the buildup to his much-anticipated 2007 match with De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather took center stage in the four-part HBO documentary 24/7, which led to new pay-per-view and live-gate records. Later that year he appeared as a contestant on ABC Television's Dancing with the Stars.
Floyd Mayweather stunned the sports world when he announced his retirement after defeating Ricky Hatton in late Then, he returned in September 2009 and won a bout against Juan Manuel Marquez by unanimous decision, for a purse of nearly $60 million. Eight months later, he won a 12-round unanimous decision over Shane Mosley in Las Vegas to up his professional record to 41-0. In May 2013, Floyd Mayweather made headlines when he won a 12-round bout against Robert Guerrero in a unanimous decision at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, taking the WBC welterweight title. The fight bumped Mayweather's record to an undefeated 44-0 (with 26 KOs).
Following three more successful bouts, Floyd Mayweather set the boxing world abuzz by agreeing to fight eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 2, 2015. Displaying his usual airtight defense in the "Fight of the Century,”  Floyd Mayweather held off his opponent to win a unanimous decision and retain his perfect record. In 2017, Floyd Mayweather signed on for a bout with brash UFC champion Conor McGregor, who had boxed as an amateur before turning to mixed martial arts. As part of the negotiations, he agreed to fight with 8 ounce gloves, a compromise between the usual 10 ounce gloves used for standard junior middleweight fights and the 4 ounce mitts of the UFC.
Following months of hype, the fight took place on August 26, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Well past his athletic prime at age 40, Floyd Mayweather nevertheless outclassed his younger, stronger and less experienced opponent, pummeling McGregor with a flurry of punches in the 10th round before being declared the winner via TKO. His record up to 50-0, he announced that he was retiring once again.
His competitive juices still flowing, Mayweather fought Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in an exhibition at the close of 2018. In November 2019, he announced via Instagram that he was "coming out of retirement in 2020."