Floyd Mayweather, Jr., is a five-time world champion, and an Olympic Games Bronze Medalist. He is widely recognized as the best boxer pound for pound in the world, currently. Mayweather comes from a prominent boxing family that includes his father Floyd Sr., and uncles Jeff and Roger; who was a world champion in two weight classes.

As an amateur he had beaten Augie Sanchez in a very close fight in the amateurs to earn a spot on the 1996 United States Olympic Team. He turned pro after the Olympics, achieving much early success. He got a title shot at the age of 21 against Genaro Hernandez. Hernandez was a 6-to-1 favorite and had only lost once in 40 fights to that date. Mayweather dominated the fight before Hernandez's corner conceded defeat after six rounds. Mayweather then fought Angel Manfredy just two months later in a high-profile bout. Mayweather stopped Manfredy in the second round. After defending his belt against some WBC mandatory contenders, Mayweather was matched with the undefeated Diego Corrales. Mayweather dominated the entire fight, knocking down Corrales five times before the latter's father jumped in to stop it.

Mayweather then moved up in weight, in hopes of winning another title. His opponent was José Luis Castillo. Castillo was a veteran of many battles, including a win over the crafty Stevie Johnston. Mayweather got what was considered by some as a controversial win. A rematch was immediately scheduled to end the dispute; Mayweather won the rematch using an entirely different style than their first bout together. Wins against Victoriano Sosa, Phillip N'dou, and DeMarcus Corley followed.

Mayweather then had what some termed a "superfight" with the popular but limited Arturo Gatti. Gatti was the WBC 140-lb titlist, who had beaten a number of high profile opponents Leonard Dorin, Micky Ward, and Jesse James Leija, although he had failed to face any of the top fighters in the division. On June 25, 2005, Mayweather beat Gatti to become a three-division champion. Mayweather's claim to the world 140 pound championship was tenuous at best however, given that he failed to face the universally-recognised legitimate champion in Ricky Hatton.

On April 8, 2006, Mayweather won the IBF Welterweight title with a unanimous decision over Zab Judah. The win garnered Mayweather his fourth world championship in four weight classes. However once again his claim to the title is considered spurious by most, given that the linear title ran through Carlos Baldomir, who defeated Judah in his last fight before facing Mayweather. On November 4th Mayweather earned an easy decision victory over Carlos Baldomir, shutting him out on two of the three scorecards. On May 5, 2007 he defeated Oscar De La Hoya to become a world champion in five different weight classes.