Floyd Mayweather Jr vs Carlos Hernandez official on-site programme, 26th May 2001, Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Condition mint

Fighting in front of his hometown fans, Mayweather retained his crown by pounding out a difficult 12-round unanimous decision over the veteran Carlos "Famosito" Hernandez. Mayweather, who looked so devastating in halting Diego Corrales via a 10th round TKO last January after dropping the former IBF king five times, struggled in his victory over Hernandez.

Mayweather was compelled to take a shot of Novocain in his injured left hand shortly before the bout to dull the pain. Nevertheless, he was well on his way to scoring a lopsided victory until hitting Hernandez on the top of the head late in the 6th. The pain was so intense that Mayweather wavered after landing the blow and his left glove touched the canvas. Veteran referee Dale Grabel ruled it a knockdown, and Mayweather was charged with being on the deck for the first time in his career.

Mayweather, however, simply had too much dazzling firepower for Hernandez to overcome. The Grand Rapids native, who was booed by his fans because he failed to produce a knockout, won by scores of, 119-112, 116-112, and 117-110. The BT scorecard also had Mayweather winning by a significant margin, 118-111.

Price: £30

Floyd Mayweather Jr is universally regarded “pound for pound” one of the all time greats!

Born on February 24, 1977, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has boxing in his blood. His father, Floyd Sr. fought Sugar Ray Leonard in the late '70s, while Junior's uncle Roger was a Junior Lightweight and Super Lightweight champion. It was no surprise then, that Floyd Jr. showed an aptitude for boxing from a very young age.

When he had received enough training (courtesy of his dad and uncle) Floyd entered the world of amateur boxing as an adolescent. Fighting at 126 pounds, Mayweather put together an amazing 84-6 record as an amateur, winning Golden Gloves Championships in 1993, 1994 and 1996.

Mayweather made the Olympic team in 1996 and at the Atlanta Olympics, he beat boxers from Kazakhstan, Armenia and Cuba before falling to a Bulgarian in a highly controversial semi-final bout. Mayweather had to settle for the bronze medal.

Turning professional after the Olympics, Mayweather immediately made an impression by defeating champion Genaro Hernandez in eight rounds and winning the WBC Super Featherweight title. He successively defended the title eight times before moving up to the lightweight division. In 2002, he won the WBC Lightweight title by defeating Jose Luis Castillo in a long, bloody match and then retained the title by beating Castillo again in December.

After successfully retaining the title belt in two matches in 2003 and winning a 12-round non-title bout in 2004, Mayweather moved up to the Light Welterweight division in 2005. Following a TKO victory of Henry Bruseles in January, Mayweather faced Arturo Gatti in Atlantic City in June. Mayweather was so dominant that Gatti's trainer was forced to call the fight after six rounds, meaning Mayweather had won the WBC Light Welterweight title

After defeating Sharmba Mitchell TKO6. On April 8, 2006, Mayweather defeated Zab Judah for the IBF and vacant IBO world welterweight titles by unanimous decision

In his next fight he faced The Ring welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir on November 4, 2006 in Las Vegas.
Mayweather would ultimately defeat Baldomir by unanimous decision for both titles

Mayweather's next match was the long-anticipated superfight against six-division champion and current WBC junior middleweight titleholder Oscar De La Hoya on May 5, 2007. De La Hoya's belt was on the line, which required Mayweather to move up in weight from 147 pounds to 154. Mayweather Jr. won the bout by a split decision, winning the title and improving his record to 38-0.

Mayweather has recently decided to relinquish his WBC junior middleweight championship and kept his WBC welterweight championship. On July 28, 2007, it was announced that Mayweather will come out of his short retirement to face junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton. The fight, which will take place December 8, 2007 in Las Vegas. The bout will aptly be labelled "UNDEFEATED".