Oscar De La Hoya vs Floyd Mayweather Jr official merchandise commemorative "The World Awaits" guest towel, 5th May 2007, MGM Grand, Las Vegas. Measuring 17 3/4" x 14 1/2".

Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Oscar De La Hoya by split decision, retaining the mythical pound-for-pound title. One judge went 115-113 to De La Hoya, the other two were 116-112 and 115-113 for Mayweather.

Price: £20

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".




This "Golden Boy" of boxing was born on February 4th 1973 in East Los Angeles, California. He was one of America's top amateur boxers during the late 80-s and early 90's, until he turned pro right after winning a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. The following November, he fought Lamar Williams and won the match with a first-round KO.

At 5'11 with an impressive 72-inch reach, he is one of today's most respected boxers, with a tremendous appeal to a broad audience of sports fan. His smooth character in the ring probably emanates from the fact that he "learned long ago to live with fear- controlled fear. Being relaxed, anticipating punches, translates into fear under control." He realizes that he is still young and that he still has a long road ahead, where he learns something new every time he finishes a daily workout. "The is always space for improvement, no matter how long you've been in the business."

Take away all the fame and glamour of this pretty boy of boxing, he still enjoys the time spent at home with his family. His entire family is very proud of Oscar's career, even if his brother Joel Jr. says that "Oscar hated physical confrontations." Part of Oscar's calling for boxing had to do with the time his father caught him playing, and said to him "How many times have I told you not to play baseball? I don't want you to get hurt. You can get killed out here. Go to the gym and learn how to defend yourself. That's what you've got to do." From that point on, it was clear that boxing was a tradition in the family, and he was going to be part of it.

"The incentive for my development as a boxer was my own family." Another reason was the fact that his close relatives would give him some money every time he would win a boxing during his mid-teens. They would give him some loose change and even a few dollars at times. He has come a long way since then, as he now receives 7 figure salaries for his fights, mainly due to his huge drawing power of fans. He has become a sports icon with tremendous promotional power as he can be found on promo items like t-shirts, boxing gloves, and even skin.

De La Hoya does his press conferences in Spanish, his mother tongue. His love for his roots and background make him a god-like creature among his own. De La Hoya does his press conferences in Spanish, his mother tongue. His love for his roots and background make him a god-like creature among his own. He won his first world title in 1994 against Jimmi Bredahl.

In 1995, he defeated Rafael Ruelas, later winning over Genaro Hernandez and Jesse James Leija. In June 1996, he clearly dominated his long time idol Julio Cesar Chavez in a fourth-round TKO. His 1997 defeat over the previously undefeated Miguel Gonzalez, won him the WBC lightweight title. Pernell Whitaker was his next in-ring victim with a close decision over the champ.

With an amazing record as a boxer, he seems to follow in the footsteps of other boxing legends like Sugar Ray Leonard, the one previously referred to as the "Golden Boy".