Floyd Mayweather Jr will be 34-years-old next month

By Boxing News - 01/09/2011 - Comments

Image: Floyd Mayweather Jr will be 34-years-old next monthBy Frank Livingstone: Floyd Mayweather Jr was born on February 24, 1977 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His life revolves around a boxing gym with his father, Floyd Sr., a welterweight contender while two of his uncles, Roger and Jeff both won championship titles. Thus, boxing was in his blood from the start. He has an amateur record of 84 wins and 6 losses and won a bronze medal in the featherweight division at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996.

After the games, he turned professional and had his first professional fight on October 11, 1996 with a knockout win on the second round against Roberto Apodaca. Forty fights later, he is still undefeated and won nine world titles in five different boxing weight classes.

Depending on which side of the fence you are sitting, either as a Floyd supporter or not, we cannot deny the impact he has made in boxing. His victories over Oscar De La Hoya which had more than 2 million PPVs and Ricky Hatton have elevated him as the number one pound for pound before he retired in December 2007. He came back from retirement with victories over Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley.

After almost 18 years of boxing since his amateur days, Floyd Jr has to face the fact that his physical body is not what it used to be when he was at his top in 2007. There was a segment in the HBO 24/7 documentary during his preparation for his fight with Hatton that showed Floyd Jr undergoing a wax paraffin treatment and quietly acknowledging the damage to his hands and body that has accumulated over his career. “She(my doctor) thinks I shouldn’t be fighting to much more, My body’s tearing down, My left hand is tearing down and I never used to have hand problems until it started happening later in my career as a professional. Now my right hand, my elbow, my back…. The shit goes on and on, its nerve wracking.”

His physical condition during that time may have led him to retire after his Hatton fight. Two years later, he is back on the ring but has only fought two fights since his comeback. Some has said that the reason for his comeback was to reclaim the crown from the current pound for pound king, Manny Pacquiao. However, reports of unpaid tax in the millions to the IRS may have been the motivation for Floyd’s return.

The great Carlos Monzon retired at 34 years old. With a number of legal cases growing against Floyd, would the number 34 be the right year for him to step back and enjoy his permanent leave or would it be the year of the rabbit when Floyd pulled a rabbit out of his hat and deliver a convincing victory over Manny Pacquiao in 2011.



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