WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.660 Okay, I want to start today with a little word 00:00:02.660 --> 00:00:06.759 association game. If I throw the name Floyd Mayweather 00:00:06.759 --> 00:00:10.179 at you right now, what is the very first image 00:00:10.179 --> 00:00:13.240 that flashes in your mind? For me? Yeah. And 00:00:13.240 --> 00:00:15.900 honestly? Probably for 90 % of the population, 00:00:16.120 --> 00:00:18.640 it's a stack of cash. A stack of cash. It's a 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:21.199 guy standing on a private jet, maybe wearing 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:23.699 a tracksuit that costs more than my car, holding 00:00:23.699 --> 00:00:27.100 a literal brick of $100 bills to his ear like 00:00:27.100 --> 00:00:30.059 a phone. Exactly. It's the flash. It's the money 00:00:30.059 --> 00:00:32.219 team. It's the shouting at press conferences. 00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:35.439 It's the persona. But here's the thing that keeps 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:38.420 me up at night regarding this guy. If we strip 00:00:38.420 --> 00:00:40.359 all of that away. Yeah, take away the Bugattis. 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:42.340 Take away the Bugattis. Take away the Hublot 00:00:42.340 --> 00:00:45.280 watches. Take away the Instagram antics. We are 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:47.619 left with a set of numbers that are, frankly, 00:00:47.780 --> 00:00:50.079 statistically impossible. They really shouldn't 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:51.939 exist in professional sports. Not in a sport 00:00:51.939 --> 00:00:55.439 as brutal as boxing. 50 wins. Zero losses. 50 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:59.159 no. 27 knockouts. And just to add to the sheer 00:00:59.159 --> 00:01:02.579 absurdity of it all, approximately $1 .67 billion 00:01:02.579 --> 00:01:05.680 in career revenue. That revenue number just stops 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:09.700 you in your tracks, doesn't it? But, you know, 00:01:09.719 --> 00:01:12.560 looking at the research we have today, the money 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:15.780 is almost a byproduct. It's a symptom. The zero, 00:01:15.939 --> 00:01:19.640 that 50, and oh, that is the true anomaly. And 00:01:19.640 --> 00:01:21.760 that is exactly what we are here to unpack today. 00:01:22.340 --> 00:01:25.519 Welcome to the Deep Dive. We are looking at the 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:29.359 science of money. And I want to be clear, we 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:31.359 aren't just doing a biography of Floyd Mayweather 00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:34.439 Jr. No, this isn't a he was born here, he did 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:36.379 this kind of story. Right. We are conducting 00:01:36.379 --> 00:01:38.959 an investigation. Right. The mission is to figure 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:41.359 out how one man managed to stay undefeated for 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:44.000 over two decades in a sport that is literally 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:46.180 designed to break you. It's designed to break 00:01:46.180 --> 00:01:48.180 you. Boxing is a sport of attrition. I mean, 00:01:48.180 --> 00:01:49.980 the history books are crystal clear on this. 00:01:50.760 --> 00:01:53.530 Eventually. Everyone gets caught. Everyone. Ali 00:01:53.530 --> 00:01:56.269 got caught. Trison got caught. Sugar Ray Robinson, 00:01:56.409 --> 00:01:58.209 the greatest of all time in many eyes, got caught 00:01:58.209 --> 00:02:01.150 dozens of times. Floyd never did. And to understand 00:02:01.150 --> 00:02:03.349 why, we have to look at the source material we've 00:02:03.349 --> 00:02:05.750 pulled together. His professional records, the 00:02:05.750 --> 00:02:07.989 fight statistics, the legal history, and all 00:02:07.989 --> 00:02:10.310 the extensive biographical data. And I think 00:02:10.310 --> 00:02:12.150 we have to start by acknowledging the central 00:02:12.150 --> 00:02:14.650 tension here. Because reading through this, it 00:02:14.650 --> 00:02:17.229 feels like there are really two Floyd Mayweathers. 00:02:17.430 --> 00:02:20.729 Oh, for sure. There's pretty boy Floyd. the defensive 00:02:20.729 --> 00:02:23.129 genius who came up from nothing. And then there's 00:02:23.129 --> 00:02:25.430 Money Mayweather, the business mogul who figured 00:02:25.430 --> 00:02:29.009 out how to monetize hate. It's a fascinating 00:02:29.009 --> 00:02:32.189 duality. You have the artist in the ring and 00:02:32.189 --> 00:02:34.490 the shark in the boardroom. But I don't think 00:02:34.490 --> 00:02:36.689 either of them exists without the environment 00:02:36.689 --> 00:02:38.889 that created him. And when you look at the early 00:02:38.889 --> 00:02:42.229 days, that environment was incredibly volatile. 00:02:42.469 --> 00:02:45.199 So let's go back. Before the billions, before 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:48.080 the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, we're talking about 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:51.699 Grand Rapids, Michigan, and a kid named Floyd 00:02:51.699 --> 00:02:54.360 Joy Sinclair. That's right. He was born with 00:02:54.360 --> 00:02:57.419 his mother's last name, Sinclair. He didn't take 00:02:57.419 --> 00:02:59.240 the Mayweather name until a bit later. But genetically, 00:02:59.580 --> 00:03:01.599 I mean, boxing wasn't just a hobby for this kid. 00:03:01.659 --> 00:03:04.199 It was essentially his DNA. It was the family 00:03:04.199 --> 00:03:06.680 trade. It was the family business, 100%. The 00:03:06.680 --> 00:03:08.800 lineage is actually ridiculous when you map it 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:11.819 out. You have his father, Floyd Sr., who was 00:03:11.819 --> 00:03:14.409 a legitimate... welterweight contender he actually 00:03:14.409 --> 00:03:16.490 fought sugar ray leonard and gave him a decent 00:03:16.490 --> 00:03:18.849 fight too before getting stopped floyd senior 00:03:18.849 --> 00:03:21.509 was a slick defensive fighter in his own right 00:03:21.509 --> 00:03:25.250 then you have his uncles jeff and roger and roger 00:03:25.250 --> 00:03:27.409 mayweather wasn't just some club fighter he was 00:03:27.409 --> 00:03:30.090 a two -time world champion roger was known as 00:03:30.090 --> 00:03:34.409 the black mamba a devastating puncher very aggressive 00:03:34.409 --> 00:03:37.129 completely different style than floyd senior 00:03:37.129 --> 00:03:40.789 so floyd junior is born into this like royal 00:03:40.789 --> 00:03:43.849 family of Michigan boxing. But we have to be 00:03:43.849 --> 00:03:46.150 careful not to romanticize it. This wasn't a 00:03:46.150 --> 00:03:48.930 polished academy with shiny equipment and, you 00:03:48.930 --> 00:03:51.240 know. protein shake. Not at all. This is a hard 00:03:51.240 --> 00:03:53.599 knocks education in the most literal sense of 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:55.560 the phrase. Yeah, the sources paint a really 00:03:55.560 --> 00:03:57.939 grim picture of his early childhood. We're not 00:03:57.939 --> 00:03:59.900 talking about just being working class or blue 00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:02.919 collar. We're talking about deep systemic poverty. 00:04:03.300 --> 00:04:05.680 He spent time living in New Brunswick, New Jersey 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:07.539 with his mother in the High Room Square neighborhood, 00:04:07.699 --> 00:04:10.039 which was a very, very rough area at the time. 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:13.099 Right. And he talks about living seven deep in 00:04:13.099 --> 00:04:15.000 one bedroom. I mean, just pause and think about 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:17.839 that. Seven people in a single room. No privacy. 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:20.639 No space. Sometimes no electricity because the 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:23.579 bills weren't paid. And there's this one detail 00:04:23.579 --> 00:04:26.060 from the biography that really stuck with me. 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:29.860 It's just so visceral. He recalls coming home 00:04:29.860 --> 00:04:32.439 from school as a little kid and finding used 00:04:32.439 --> 00:04:35.060 heroin needles in his front yard. It creates 00:04:35.060 --> 00:04:37.480 a very specific picture of the world he was navigating, 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:39.939 doesn't it? His mother struggled with addiction. 00:04:40.120 --> 00:04:43.300 He had an aunt who died of AIDS related to drug 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:47.240 use. It was a chaotic, dangerous, and completely 00:04:47.240 --> 00:04:50.100 unstable environment for a child. And in the 00:04:50.100 --> 00:04:52.379 middle of all this chaos, you have his relationship 00:04:52.379 --> 00:04:56.060 with his father, Floyd Jr. Which is, well, complicated. 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:58.100 Feels like the understatement of the century. 00:04:58.360 --> 00:05:00.779 Beyond complicated. Extremely complex. Floyd 00:05:00.779 --> 00:05:03.319 Jr. has gone on record many times saying his 00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:05.360 dad never really did dad things. There were no 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:07.779 movies, no trips to the ice cream parlor, no 00:05:07.779 --> 00:05:10.100 playing catch in the park. The relationship was 00:05:10.100 --> 00:05:13.120 transactional. Purely transactional. And the 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:16.100 currency was boxing. The gym was the only place 00:05:16.100 --> 00:05:19.540 they connected. Floyd Jr. said quote, I got whippings 00:05:19.540 --> 00:05:22.379 all the time. He was incredibly hard on him. 00:05:22.589 --> 00:05:24.449 But then you look at the interviews with Floyd 00:05:24.449 --> 00:05:26.629 Sr. and he contends that he did everything he 00:05:26.629 --> 00:05:29.949 could to protect the boy. He says, I didn't deprive 00:05:29.949 --> 00:05:32.550 my son. The drugs I sold, he was a part of it. 00:05:32.569 --> 00:05:34.329 He had plenty of food. He had the best clothes. 00:05:34.529 --> 00:05:36.930 Which is such a heavy thing for a father to admit, 00:05:37.149 --> 00:05:39.970 right? That his illegal hustle was what kept 00:05:39.970 --> 00:05:42.329 the family afloat and that he feels justified 00:05:42.329 --> 00:05:44.250 because of it. It just shows you the desperation 00:05:44.250 --> 00:05:47.360 of their situation. It creates this intense pressure 00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:50.480 cooker. Boxing became the only outlet. The gym 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:53.139 was the only place where things made sense, where 00:05:53.139 --> 00:05:55.399 there were rules. And there's that famous anecdote 00:05:55.399 --> 00:05:57.579 about his grandmother that I think really sums 00:05:57.579 --> 00:06:00.060 up his entire trajectory. Oh, I love this story 00:06:00.060 --> 00:06:02.439 because it's such a sliding doors moment. It 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:04.959 really is. So young Floyd, he's looking around 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:07.240 at all this poverty and he tells his grandmother, 00:06:07.420 --> 00:06:10.290 I think I should get a job. You know, maybe work 00:06:10.290 --> 00:06:12.170 at a fast food joint, help out with the bills. 00:06:12.290 --> 00:06:15.170 A normal kid's impulse. A totally normal impulse. 00:06:15.509 --> 00:06:18.569 And she looks at him, dead serious, and says, 00:06:18.670 --> 00:06:21.850 no, just keep boxing. She saw it. She saw the 00:06:21.850 --> 00:06:24.069 ticket. She saw the lottery ticket. She recognized 00:06:24.069 --> 00:06:26.689 that this was the one way out. And I think that's 00:06:26.689 --> 00:06:29.870 where the defense first mentality really gets 00:06:29.870 --> 00:06:33.829 forged. For Floyd, boxing wasn't a game. It wasn't 00:06:33.829 --> 00:06:36.329 a sport for glory or for fun. It was survival. 00:06:36.610 --> 00:06:39.560 It was a survival mechanism. He dropped out of 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:41.980 Ottawa Hills High School to focus entirely on 00:06:41.980 --> 00:06:44.819 this. When you have no safety net, when falling 00:06:44.819 --> 00:06:46.920 means going back to seven people in a bedroom 00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:49.439 with no lights, you can't afford to take unnecessary 00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:52.160 risks. Can't afford to get hit. And that segues 00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:55.040 perfectly into the technique, because not getting 00:06:55.040 --> 00:06:57.819 hit isn't just a mindset. For Mayweather, it's 00:06:57.819 --> 00:07:00.800 a literal science. We need to deconstruct the 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:03.480 crab style. Or the... Shoulder roll, as it's 00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:05.439 often called. It's the signature of the Mayweather 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:07.600 family, taught by his father and polished by 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:09.439 his Uncle Roger. I've tried to do this in the 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:12.060 mirror, and honestly, it feels completely unnatural. 00:07:12.360 --> 00:07:14.779 You have to keep that lead arm remarkably low, 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:17.519 right? Which feels like suicide in boxing. It 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:19.220 does. It goes against all traditional teaching. 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:22.120 In a standard stance, you have both hands up 00:07:22.120 --> 00:07:24.860 by your face, elbows tucked in. Protect the chin 00:07:24.860 --> 00:07:27.639 at all costs. Right. In the Mayweather stance, 00:07:28.060 --> 00:07:30.949 the lead arm... His left arm is actually down 00:07:30.949 --> 00:07:33.230 low, draped across his midsection, protecting 00:07:33.230 --> 00:07:35.629 the liver. His right hand is up by his chin. 00:07:35.790 --> 00:07:39.269 But the magic, the real secret, is in the lead 00:07:39.269 --> 00:07:41.610 shoulder. He tucks his chin behind that big left 00:07:41.610 --> 00:07:44.269 shoulder like a turtle hiding in its shell. Exactly. 00:07:44.269 --> 00:07:46.949 He raises that lead shoulder high. So when an 00:07:46.949 --> 00:07:49.050 opponent throws a straight right hand, which 00:07:49.050 --> 00:07:51.389 is usually the most dangerous punch, Floyd doesn't 00:07:51.389 --> 00:07:53.310 need to block it with his glove. He just rotates 00:07:53.310 --> 00:07:55.509 his torso slightly. And the punch just slides 00:07:55.509 --> 00:07:56.649 off. Slides right off the shoulder. It's like 00:07:56.649 --> 00:07:59.600 water off a duck's back. And here is the genius 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:03.180 part. Because he's twisting to deflect that punch, 00:08:03.420 --> 00:08:06.980 his body is loading up potential energy like 00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:09.620 a coiled spring. So the defensive move sets up 00:08:09.620 --> 00:08:12.540 the offensive one? Perfectly. His right hand 00:08:12.540 --> 00:08:14.459 is now in the perfect position to fire back with 00:08:14.459 --> 00:08:16.920 a counter. It's a mechanism of deflecting and 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:20.740 countering in one single fluid motion. He twists 00:08:20.740 --> 00:08:23.040 to the rhythm of his opponent's punches. And 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:24.540 that's why they called him Pretty Boy in the 00:08:24.540 --> 00:08:27.220 amateurs. That's the origin. It wasn't because 00:08:27.220 --> 00:08:29.759 he was vain or thought he was good looking. His 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:31.720 teammates gave him that nickname because after 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:34.419 a three round amateur fight, he had no scars. 00:08:34.519 --> 00:08:37.419 He wasn't bleeding. He wasn't swollen. He looked 00:08:37.419 --> 00:08:40.059 pretty because you literally couldn't touch him. 00:08:40.139 --> 00:08:42.600 The stats back this up in a way that is kind 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:45.220 of terrifying. We have CompuBox numbers here. 00:08:45.340 --> 00:08:47.919 And for those who don't know, CompuBox is the 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:51.230 system that counts. Every jab, every power punch, 00:08:51.490 --> 00:08:53.730 every single thing that happens in a fight. They've 00:08:53.730 --> 00:08:56.470 been the gold standard for decades. Since CompuBox 00:08:56.470 --> 00:08:59.230 began tracking punches, Floyd Mayweather is the 00:08:59.230 --> 00:09:01.549 most accurate puncher recorded, and he has the 00:09:01.549 --> 00:09:03.830 highest plus -minus ratio in boxing history. 00:09:04.009 --> 00:09:05.809 Let's break that plus -minus down for a second 00:09:05.809 --> 00:09:08.230 because it's so important. Please do. In basketball, 00:09:08.490 --> 00:09:10.730 plus -minus is how much your team outscores the 00:09:10.730 --> 00:09:13.110 opponent while you're on the floor. In boxing. 00:09:13.529 --> 00:09:16.580 It's a gap between... The percentage of punches 00:09:16.580 --> 00:09:18.759 you land versus the percentage your opponent 00:09:18.759 --> 00:09:22.159 lands on you. So if you land 40 % of your punches 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:24.700 and your opponent only lands 10 % of theirs, 00:09:24.940 --> 00:09:28.320 your plus minus is plus 30. And Floyd's is the 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:31.700 best ever. By a mile. It's not even close. He 00:09:31.700 --> 00:09:34.100 hits you and you hit air. It's the statistical 00:09:34.100 --> 00:09:37.179 proof of the... Hit and don't get hit mantra. 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:39.519 It's discipline. I think that's what people miss. 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:43.000 To stay in that stance, to trust that shoulder 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:45.340 roll when a 200 pound guy is trying to take your 00:09:45.340 --> 00:09:47.820 head off. That takes a level of discipline that 00:09:47.820 --> 00:09:50.899 is hard to comprehend. It takes nerve, but it 00:09:50.899 --> 00:09:53.120 also takes a massive chip on your shoulder. You 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:55.379 have to have that me against the world mentality. 00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:57.779 And I think that chip was solidified in 1996. 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:00.419 The Atlanta Olympics. The Atlanta Olympics. This 00:10:00.419 --> 00:10:02.740 is the origin story. This is where the professional 00:10:02.740 --> 00:10:06.450 mindset was truly born. So Floyd dominates the 00:10:06.450 --> 00:10:09.090 amateur ranks. He has an incredible record, something 00:10:09.090 --> 00:10:12.350 like 84 wins and six losses at the time. He wins 00:10:12.350 --> 00:10:14.370 three Golden Gloves championships. Yeah, his 00:10:14.370 --> 00:10:17.409 final amateur record was 84 -8. He goes to the 00:10:17.409 --> 00:10:19.610 Olympics as the favorite, the guy everyone is 00:10:19.610 --> 00:10:21.509 watching from the U .S. team. And he's destroying 00:10:21.509 --> 00:10:25.230 people. He's on a tear. He beat a Cuban, Lorenzo 00:10:25.230 --> 00:10:28.460 Aragon, in the quarterfinals. Yeah. And that 00:10:28.460 --> 00:10:30.720 was huge because the U .S. hadn't beaten a Cuban 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:34.279 boxer in 20 years. Yeah. He looked completely 00:10:34.279 --> 00:10:37.259 unstoppable. Then comes the semifinal against 00:10:37.259 --> 00:10:41.600 Serafim Todorov of Bulgaria. And reading the 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:43.639 account of this fight, I mean, it makes your 00:10:43.639 --> 00:10:46.100 blood boil a little bit, even decades later. 00:10:46.360 --> 00:10:48.580 It's one of the most infamous decisions in Olympic 00:10:48.580 --> 00:10:51.080 boxing history. It was a complete robbery. The 00:10:51.080 --> 00:10:55.179 referee, Hamad Hafez Shuman from Egypt, actually 00:10:55.179 --> 00:10:57.539 raised Floyd's hand at the end of the fight. 00:10:57.639 --> 00:10:59.620 He did. He was in the ring holding Floyd's arm 00:10:59.620 --> 00:11:02.960 up. He, the referee, thought Floyd won. Everybody 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:05.240 in the arena thought Floyd won. The referee raised 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:07.820 the wrong hand. He raised Floyd's hand, but the 00:11:07.820 --> 00:11:10.039 announcer declared Todorov the winner on points. 00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:13.440 The scoring was just... Bizarre. The U .S. team 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:16.299 protested immediately, claiming the head of boxing 00:11:16.299 --> 00:11:18.820 officials, who happened to be Bulgarian, had 00:11:18.820 --> 00:11:21.179 intimidated the judges. Even the American judge 00:11:21.179 --> 00:11:23.639 on the panel, Bill Weickerl, resigned over this. 00:11:23.720 --> 00:11:25.500 He wrote a letter saying, and I'm quoting here, 00:11:25.740 --> 00:11:33.399 Wow. When a judge resigns in protest, you know 00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:35.679 it's bad. That is how blatant the robbery was. 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:38.919 And Floyd's reaction was so pivotal. He didn't 00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:44.730 just cry about it or throw a tantrum. And that's 00:11:44.730 --> 00:11:47.990 the key. He realized that the system was fallible, 00:11:48.110 --> 00:11:51.110 the judges could not be trusted, and the amateurs 00:11:51.110 --> 00:11:54.490 you rely on points. In the pros, Floyd decided 00:11:54.490 --> 00:11:57.700 he would never... ever leave a fight in a position 00:11:57.700 --> 00:11:59.580 where the judges could take it away from him 00:11:59.580 --> 00:12:02.559 so you either knock the guy out or you dominate 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:06.299 so thoroughly so completely that even a corrupt 00:12:06.299 --> 00:12:08.600 judge couldn't possibly deny you that bronze 00:12:08.600 --> 00:12:10.519 medal was a bigger motivator than a gold one 00:12:10.519 --> 00:12:12.500 ever could have been so he takes that insult 00:12:12.500 --> 00:12:15.000 turns pro and this is where we enter the pretty 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:17.759 boy era this is the late 90s fighting at 130 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:20.299 pounds super featherweight and i want to pause 00:12:20.299 --> 00:12:22.419 here because people who only saw the later fights 00:12:22.419 --> 00:12:24.840 remember floyd as a guy who moved around a lot 00:12:24.840 --> 00:12:27.100 a defense Right, the guy who went on point. Well, 00:12:27.100 --> 00:12:30.320 young Floyd. Young Floyd at 130 was mean. This 00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:32.639 is, in my opinion, the most exciting version 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:35.320 of Mayweather. He was aggressive. He had knockout 00:12:35.320 --> 00:12:38.100 power in both hands. He wasn't just a defensive 00:12:38.100 --> 00:12:40.580 wizard. He was a destroyer. He was walking guys 00:12:40.580 --> 00:12:43.440 down and taking them out. He wins his first title 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:47.139 in 1998 against Genaro Hernandez. And Hernandez 00:12:47.139 --> 00:12:50.779 was no slouch. He was the number one ranked super 00:12:50.779 --> 00:12:52.600 featherweight in the world. A legit champion. 00:12:52.820 --> 00:12:55.059 Yeah. And Floyd just dismantled him. Stopped 00:12:55.059 --> 00:12:57.159 him in eight rounds. Hernandez's corner threw 00:12:57.159 --> 00:12:59.519 in a towel. After the fight, Hernandez said, 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:02.480 he is a true champ. That was the passing of the 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:05.299 torch. And with that win, Floyd became the first 00:13:05.299 --> 00:13:08.799 1996 U .S. Olympian to win a world title. Ahead 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:11.200 of guys like David Reed and Antonio Tarver. He 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:13.279 was the first and the best of that class. But 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:15.159 if we want to talk about the masterpiece, the 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:16.940 fight that really put him on the pound -for -pound 00:13:16.940 --> 00:13:19.440 throne, we have to talk about Diego Corrales, 00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:22.980 January 2001. This fight is legendary. For anyone 00:13:22.980 --> 00:13:25.340 who thinks Floyd was boring, you have to watch 00:13:25.340 --> 00:13:26.980 this fight. You have to understand the context 00:13:26.980 --> 00:13:29.320 here. Diego Chico Corrales was terrifying. He 00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:33.039 was 33 -0 with 27 knockouts. He was a monster. 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:35.840 He was also physically huge for the weight class. 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:38.759 He looked like a skeleton at the weigh -in. But 00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:42.279 by fight night, He had rehydrated up to 146 pounds. 00:13:43.080 --> 00:13:46.779 Floyd came in at 136 .5. So he's got a 10 -pound 00:13:46.779 --> 00:13:48.919 weight advantage on Floyd. And there was bad 00:13:48.919 --> 00:13:50.519 blood, right? This was personal. Very personal. 00:13:50.820 --> 00:13:53.100 Corrales was facing domestic abuse charges at 00:13:53.100 --> 00:13:56.779 the time. And Floyd, somewhat ironically, given 00:13:56.779 --> 00:13:59.120 his later history, which we will absolutely get 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:02.059 to, dedicated the fight to all the battered women 00:14:02.059 --> 00:14:04.340 across America. He said, just like he beat that 00:14:04.340 --> 00:14:07.039 woman, I'm going to beat him. And he did. I mean, 00:14:07.059 --> 00:14:09.179 it wasn't even close. It was a demolition. Floyd 00:14:09.179 --> 00:14:11.700 knocked Corrales down five times. Five times. 00:14:11.980 --> 00:14:14.299 Corrales, this big heavy hitter, couldn't land 00:14:14.299 --> 00:14:16.659 a thing. His corner actually stopped the fight 00:14:16.659 --> 00:14:18.159 against his will because he was taking such a 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:21.019 beating. The stats here are just hilarious. Corrales 00:14:21.019 --> 00:14:24.059 landed 60 punches total in the entire fight. 00:14:24.220 --> 00:14:26.960 He landed single digits in every single round. 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:30.299 It's a CompuBox record for futility. Floyd didn't 00:14:30.299 --> 00:14:32.340 just beat him. He dismantled him emotionally 00:14:32.340 --> 00:14:35.190 and physically. It was the perfect synthesis 00:14:35.190 --> 00:14:38.009 of blistering offense and impenetrable defense. 00:14:38.309 --> 00:14:40.529 That's the fight that solidified his claim as 00:14:40.529 --> 00:14:43.230 the best fighter in the world. Absolutely. But 00:14:43.230 --> 00:14:45.490 it wasn't all smooth sailing. He moves up to 00:14:45.490 --> 00:14:48.830 lightweight, 135 pounds, and runs into Jose Luis 00:14:48.830 --> 00:14:52.389 Castillo. April 2002. This is the asterisk on 00:14:52.389 --> 00:14:54.350 the undefeated record, depending on who you ask. 00:14:54.509 --> 00:14:56.490 This is the one. This is the fight that people 00:14:56.490 --> 00:14:59.210 who dislike Mayweather always point to. The decision 00:14:59.210 --> 00:15:01.690 was unanimous for Mayweather, but the crowd... 00:15:01.879 --> 00:15:05.620 booed loudly. HBO's unofficial scorer, Harold 00:15:05.620 --> 00:15:08.480 Letterman, had Castillo winning. And you can 00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:11.779 see why. Castillo made it a dogfight. He was 00:15:11.779 --> 00:15:14.360 relentless. He cut off the ring, he banged the 00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:16.860 body, and the punch stats showed Castillo landed 00:15:16.860 --> 00:15:19.240 more power shots. A lot of ringside observers 00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:22.240 thought Floyd lost that fight. Floyd had an excuse, 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:24.639 though, a pretty significant one. He claimed 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:26.679 he had a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder 00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:28.919 going into the fight. And usually we roll our 00:15:28.919 --> 00:15:30.860 eyes at fighter excuses after a tough fight. 00:15:30.899 --> 00:15:33.159 Oh, my hand hurt, my back hurt. But here's the 00:15:33.159 --> 00:15:35.840 thing that gives it credibility. He signed up 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:38.100 for an immediate rematch. No tune -up. No tune 00:15:38.100 --> 00:15:41.159 -up. Just eight months later, December 2002, 00:15:41.379 --> 00:15:44.000 let's do it again. And the second fight. Completely 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:47.799 different. A healthy Floyd used his footwork. 00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:50.659 He stayed off the ropes. He used his jab. And 00:15:50.659 --> 00:15:54.460 he won a clear, clean, unanimous decision. It 00:15:54.460 --> 00:15:57.220 proved his ability to adjust. If you showed him 00:15:57.220 --> 00:15:59.320 a puzzle, even if it stumped him the first time, 00:15:59.340 --> 00:16:01.440 he would solve it by the second. So he clears 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:03.279 out the lighter weight classes. He's the man. 00:16:03.419 --> 00:16:06.399 But he's not a global superstar yet. He's not 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:08.899 Money Mayweather. That transformation happens 00:16:08.899 --> 00:16:11.700 when he moves up again to welterweight. It happens 00:16:11.700 --> 00:16:15.220 around 2005, 2007. And I think the catalyst, 00:16:15.340 --> 00:16:17.019 the fight that showed him the new business model 00:16:17.019 --> 00:16:20.240 was Arturo Gatti. Gatti, Thunder, the people's 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:22.320 champion. Everyone loved Arturo Gatti. Everyone 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:24.480 loved him because he bled. He was a warrior. 00:16:24.620 --> 00:16:26.820 He would take 10 punches to land one big one. 00:16:26.940 --> 00:16:29.200 He was all heart. And Floyd. While Floyd was 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:31.879 not kind in the buildup, he called him a C -plus 00:16:31.879 --> 00:16:34.759 fighter. Which is such a deep insult to a world 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:37.299 champion and a fan favorite like Gatti. It was 00:16:37.299 --> 00:16:39.600 brutal. But then they got in the ring in Atlantic 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:42.220 City Gatti's home turf and Floyd made him look 00:16:42.220 --> 00:16:44.600 like a C -plus fighter. It was a humiliating 00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:48.600 beatdown. He landed 168 punches to Gaddy's 41. 00:16:49.059 --> 00:16:51.620 It was so one -sided that Gaddy's corner had 00:16:51.620 --> 00:16:54.379 to stop it. This was Floyd's first major pay 00:16:54.379 --> 00:16:56.299 -per -view headline, and I think he realized 00:16:56.299 --> 00:16:58.320 something profound in that moment. He realized 00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:00.460 he could be the villain. And that being the villain 00:17:00.460 --> 00:17:03.240 Pace. And that leads us to the pivotal moment, 00:17:03.480 --> 00:17:07.859 the De La Hoya fight, May 5, 2007. This is where 00:17:07.859 --> 00:17:10.279 the business model flips completely. The golden 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:12.400 boy versus pretty boy. This is the fight that 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:14.480 broke all the pay -per -view records at the time. 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:19.519 2 .4 million buys. But the real story, the genius 00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:21.619 move, is what happened in the boardroom before 00:17:21.619 --> 00:17:23.579 the fight. This is where he left his longtime 00:17:23.579 --> 00:17:25.759 promoter, Bob Arum, in top rank, right? Correct. 00:17:26.119 --> 00:17:28.539 And we need to explain why this was so revolutionary. 00:17:39.539 --> 00:17:42.819 Floyd said no more. He famously turned down an 00:17:42.819 --> 00:17:45.680 $8 million guarantee to fight Antonio Margarito. 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:49.460 Instead, he paid a fee of $750 ,000 to buy himself 00:17:49.460 --> 00:17:51.579 out of his contract. People thought he was insane. 00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:54.740 He bet on himself. He bet on himself. He founded 00:17:54.740 --> 00:17:57.500 Mayweather Promotions. He realized that if he 00:17:57.500 --> 00:18:00.500 owned the show, he kept the profits. He didn't 00:18:00.500 --> 00:18:02.859 want a salary anymore. He wanted the equity. 00:18:03.019 --> 00:18:04.660 He wanted the back end of the pay -per -view. 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:07.400 So when the Delahoya fight generated that massive 00:18:07.400 --> 00:18:10.460 revenue, Floyd wasn't just paid a flat fee. He 00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:13.160 took a cut of every hot dog sold, every ticket, 00:18:13.299 --> 00:18:15.880 every single PPV buy. Exactly. And the fight 00:18:15.880 --> 00:18:18.160 itself. It was close. A split decision win for 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:20.660 Mayweather. Oscar was active. He had the jab 00:18:20.660 --> 00:18:23.140 working early. But Floyd took over the second 00:18:23.140 --> 00:18:25.599 half of the fight. But the result almost didn't 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:27.380 matter as much as the narrative that was built. 00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:30.160 This is where Pretty Boy officially dies and 00:18:30.160 --> 00:18:33.140 Money Mayweather is born. It is. He realized 00:18:33.140 --> 00:18:35.680 that people would pay good money to see him lose. 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:38.359 Being hated is profitable. It's more profitable 00:18:38.359 --> 00:18:40.640 than being liked sometimes. Yeah. He leaned into 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:43.819 the arrogance, the cash flashing, the entourage, 00:18:44.119 --> 00:18:46.339 the money team. It was all a calculated business 00:18:46.339 --> 00:18:49.220 strategy. And right after De La Hoya, he validates 00:18:49.220 --> 00:18:51.880 his new status by fighting Ricky Hatton. The 00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:54.329 undefeated versus undefeated match. The British 00:18:54.329 --> 00:18:57.309 fans invaded Las Vegas for that fight. It was 00:18:57.309 --> 00:18:59.869 incredible. Oh, the atmosphere was electric. 00:19:00.130 --> 00:19:02.670 They were singing Blue Moon. They were drinking 00:19:02.670 --> 00:19:05.210 the bars dry. They were absolutely convinced 00:19:05.210 --> 00:19:08.009 that Hatton, with his relentless pressure, was 00:19:08.009 --> 00:19:11.390 going to maul Floyd. And for a while, Hatton 00:19:11.390 --> 00:19:16.509 made it rough. But then, in the 10th round, Floyd 00:19:16.509 --> 00:19:19.119 produced the check hook. I remember watching 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:21.740 this live. It was one of the most beautiful violent 00:19:21.740 --> 00:19:23.680 things I've ever seen. Can you break down the 00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:26.000 mechanics of that punch? Because it looked like 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:29.410 magic. It's pure physics and timing. Hatton is 00:19:29.410 --> 00:19:31.910 charging in, head down, as he always does. Just 00:19:31.910 --> 00:19:34.549 pure aggression. Floyd, instead of backing straight 00:19:34.549 --> 00:19:37.309 up, pivots on his lead foot, like a basketball 00:19:37.309 --> 00:19:39.349 player pivoting, and spins out of the way to 00:19:39.349 --> 00:19:41.289 his left. While moving backwards. While moving 00:19:41.289 --> 00:19:43.329 backwards and sideways. As he's picketing out, 00:19:43.430 --> 00:19:45.970 he throws a short, compact left hook that catches 00:19:45.970 --> 00:19:48.349 Hatton flush on the chin. Hatton's own momentum 00:19:48.349 --> 00:19:50.609 carried him face -first into the padded turnbuckle. 00:19:50.750 --> 00:19:54.210 It was poetry in motion. That knockout solidified 00:19:54.210 --> 00:19:57.049 him as the undisputed king. And then... In a 00:19:57.049 --> 00:20:00.349 move that only he could make, he retired. Briefly, 00:20:00.349 --> 00:20:03.089 of course. But that retirement and comeback pattern 00:20:03.089 --> 00:20:06.009 became part of the mystique. It created scarcity, 00:20:06.230 --> 00:20:08.730 made his every appearance an event. So let's 00:20:08.730 --> 00:20:11.630 talk about keeping that zero, the 50 arrow. Because 00:20:11.630 --> 00:20:13.430 after he came back, there were moments where 00:20:13.430 --> 00:20:15.430 it looked like the zero might go. It wasn't always 00:20:15.430 --> 00:20:17.849 a walk in the park. No, absolutely not. The biggest 00:20:17.849 --> 00:20:20.289 scare. The moment everyone held their breath 00:20:20.289 --> 00:20:23.650 came in 2010 against Sugar Shane Mosley. Round 00:20:23.650 --> 00:20:26.450 two? Round two. Mosley was past his prime but 00:20:26.450 --> 00:20:29.130 still had explosive power. He lands the chopping 00:20:29.130 --> 00:20:32.430 right hand that buckles Floyd's knees. I mean, 00:20:32.450 --> 00:20:35.049 his legs turned to jelly. For a second, he was 00:20:35.049 --> 00:20:37.430 gone. I remember watching that. The whole arena 00:20:37.430 --> 00:20:39.369 just gasped. It felt like, this is it. This is 00:20:39.369 --> 00:20:41.450 the moment. He's going down. He had never been 00:20:41.450 --> 00:20:43.589 hit like that in his entire professional career. 00:20:43.769 --> 00:20:46.470 But he didn't go down. And this is what separates 00:20:46.470 --> 00:20:48.769 the great from the legendary. He instinctively 00:20:48.769 --> 00:20:51.109 grabbed Mosley's arm. He held on for dear life. 00:20:51.230 --> 00:20:53.730 He cleared his head. And then... He dominated. 00:20:54.049 --> 00:20:56.450 He won every single second of the rest of the 00:20:56.450 --> 00:20:59.150 fight. It was incredible. He didn't just survive 00:20:59.150 --> 00:21:02.309 the storm. He came out of it, downloaded Mosley's 00:21:02.309 --> 00:21:04.630 data in that moment of crisis, and completely 00:21:04.630 --> 00:21:06.950 neutralized him for the next 10 rounds. Then 00:21:06.950 --> 00:21:10.069 there's the Victor Ortiz fight in 2011. The sucker 00:21:10.069 --> 00:21:13.130 punch. Or the protect yourself at all times punch, 00:21:13.230 --> 00:21:14.890 depending on whose side you're on. Let's unpack 00:21:14.890 --> 00:21:18.279 that. Because it's so controversial. Ortiz, frustrated, 00:21:18.660 --> 00:21:21.819 intentionally headbutts Floyd. It was a blatant, 00:21:21.839 --> 00:21:25.259 dangerous foul. He practically jumped into Floyd's 00:21:25.259 --> 00:21:27.500 mouth. It was dirty, no question. The referee, 00:21:27.660 --> 00:21:30.500 Joe Cortez, rightly calls time. He docks Ortiz 00:21:30.500 --> 00:21:33.339 a point. Then Ortiz gets weirdly apologetic. 00:21:33.500 --> 00:21:35.880 He goes over and hugs Floyd. He might have even 00:21:35.880 --> 00:21:37.940 kissed him on the cheek. Yeah, he was doing way 00:21:37.940 --> 00:21:39.960 too much. It was bizarre. He hugs him, steps 00:21:39.960 --> 00:21:42.619 back, but his hands are down by his waist. He's 00:21:42.619 --> 00:21:45.279 looking over at the ref. But the ref had already 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:47.579 signaled for the fight to resume. And Floyd sees 00:21:47.579 --> 00:21:50.319 the opening. Left hook, straight right. Ortiz 00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:52.819 is out cold before he hits the canvas. Now, I 00:21:52.819 --> 00:21:55.000 have to play devil's advocate here. Was it legal? 00:21:55.160 --> 00:21:58.099 Yes, technically. The ref said fight. But come 00:21:58.099 --> 00:22:00.000 on, is that really sporting? It feels cheap. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:02.460 It feels cheap to the viewer who wants a fair 00:22:02.460 --> 00:22:07.240 duel, a noble contest. But to Floyd, as he screamed 00:22:07.240 --> 00:22:10.099 at Larry Merchant after the fight, protect yourself 00:22:10.099 --> 00:22:13.279 at all times, it... perfectly encapsulated his 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:15.720 philosophy. He's not there to be polite. He is 00:22:15.720 --> 00:22:18.119 there to win. He is not there to be your friend. 00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:21.740 He is there to exploit your mistake. If you drop 00:22:21.740 --> 00:22:23.759 your hands in a prize fight, you pay the price. 00:22:23.900 --> 00:22:27.160 Period. And then, the big one. The one everyone 00:22:27.160 --> 00:22:29.420 waited five years for. The one that was supposed 00:22:29.420 --> 00:22:32.920 to save boxing. Mayweather versus Pacquiao. 2015. 00:22:34.250 --> 00:22:35.930 Financially, yes, it shattered all the records. 00:22:36.109 --> 00:22:39.650 4 .6 million pay -per -view buys. $400 million 00:22:39.650 --> 00:22:42.849 in revenue. Just insane numbers. But as a fight. 00:22:43.049 --> 00:22:44.910 That's right. Honestly, it was kind of a snooze 00:22:44.910 --> 00:22:46.730 fest for the casual fan, wasn't it? It was a 00:22:46.730 --> 00:22:48.609 tactical clinic, but it wasn't a thriller. Look, 00:22:48.730 --> 00:22:50.630 everyone wanted a war. They wanted Gaddy versus 00:22:50.630 --> 00:22:52.470 war. They wanted blood and guts. They wanted 00:22:52.470 --> 00:22:55.509 the drama of a back -and -forth brawl. But Floyd 00:22:55.509 --> 00:22:58.210 doesn't fight wars. He fought a defensive technical 00:22:58.210 --> 00:23:01.000 fight. He controlled the range with his jab. 00:23:01.079 --> 00:23:03.460 He nullified Pacquiao's angles and explosive 00:23:03.460 --> 00:23:06.220 bursts. He made it his kind of fight. Pacquiao 00:23:06.220 --> 00:23:07.619 claimed he had a shoulder injury afterwards. 00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:10.599 He did. A torn rotator cuff, which was confirmed 00:23:10.599 --> 00:23:13.299 by surgery later. And that certainly didn't help 00:23:13.299 --> 00:23:16.599 him. But in the ring that night, Floyd made many 00:23:16.599 --> 00:23:19.980 miss all night long. He landed the cleaner, more 00:23:19.980 --> 00:23:22.759 effective shots. It just left fans disappointed 00:23:22.759 --> 00:23:25.380 because the hype promised fireworks and Floyd 00:23:25.380 --> 00:23:27.559 delivered a chess match. But that disappointment 00:23:27.559 --> 00:23:29.880 didn't stop the money train. Not at all. It was 00:23:29.880 --> 00:23:31.660 his biggest payday ever. And then we get to number 00:23:31.660 --> 00:23:35.099 50. The quest to pass Rocky Marciano's 49 -0 00:23:35.099 --> 00:23:38.000 record. And he does it against Conor McGregor. 00:23:38.039 --> 00:23:41.359 The crossover event. The UFC superstar versus 00:23:41.359 --> 00:23:44.039 the boxing legend. Many boxing purists hated 00:23:44.039 --> 00:23:46.720 this. They called it a circus. They said it was 00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:49.180 degrading to the sport to have a 49 -0 champion 00:23:49.180 --> 00:23:51.940 fight a guy who was 0 -0 in boxing. It was a 00:23:51.940 --> 00:23:55.240 circus. but a very, very lucrative one. And you 00:23:55.240 --> 00:23:57.579 had Floyd, 40 years old, coming out of retirement 00:23:57.579 --> 00:24:00.140 to do it. And yet, here's the stat that always 00:24:00.140 --> 00:24:04.000 gets thrown around. Conor McGregor landed 111 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:06.400 punches. That's more than many Pacquiao landed. 00:24:06.680 --> 00:24:09.700 That stat is so misleading, though. It's a classic 00:24:09.700 --> 00:24:11.799 case of numbers lying. You have to look at how 00:24:11.799 --> 00:24:13.740 he landed them and what Floyd's strategy was. 00:24:13.960 --> 00:24:16.740 So he changed the script for this fight. Completely. 00:24:16.819 --> 00:24:19.500 He didn't fight his usual game. For the first 00:24:19.500 --> 00:24:21.799 time in maybe a decade, he walked his opponent 00:24:21.799 --> 00:24:24.819 down. He was the aggressor. He let Conor punch 00:24:24.819 --> 00:24:26.740 himself out. So it was a rope -a -dope strategy, 00:24:27.019 --> 00:24:29.500 almost. A version of it. He knew McGregor wasn't 00:24:29.500 --> 00:24:32.180 conditioned for 12 rounds of boxing. The pacing 00:24:32.180 --> 00:24:34.079 is different. The energy expenditure is different. 00:24:34.279 --> 00:24:36.920 So watch the early rounds. Floyd has his guard 00:24:36.920 --> 00:24:39.160 high. He's moving forward, taking some shots 00:24:39.160 --> 00:24:41.519 on the arms and gloves. He's letting Conor work, 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:43.500 knowing that the gas tank was going to empty. 00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:46.940 And it did. It did. Around 9 or 10, McGregor 00:24:46.940 --> 00:24:49.079 was exhausted. And that's when Floyd stepped 00:24:49.079 --> 00:24:51.839 on the gas and started landing clean, hard shots 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:53.920 until the referee stepped in and stopped it. 00:24:54.039 --> 00:24:57.579 50 -0. He passes Marciano. And he collects a 00:24:57.579 --> 00:25:01.519 check for a reported $300 million for one night's 00:25:01.519 --> 00:25:03.740 work. This marks the end of his professional 00:25:03.740 --> 00:25:06.940 career, but not his time in the ring. We then 00:25:06.940 --> 00:25:09.599 enter the exhibition era. And this is where things 00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:13.759 get weird. It gets surreal. He goes to Japan. 00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:18.240 on New Year's Eve 2018 to fight a kickboxer named 00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:21.339 Tenshin Nasukawa. A huge star in Japan. Right. 00:25:21.380 --> 00:25:24.880 A massive star. Yeah. A brilliant, undefeated 00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:27.619 kickboxer. But he was much, much smaller than 00:25:27.619 --> 00:25:29.680 Floyd. And of course, he wasn't allowed to kick. 00:25:29.819 --> 00:25:32.420 And Floyd just destroyed him. She showed up late, 00:25:32.500 --> 00:25:34.920 looked like he barely trained, smiled the whole 00:25:34.920 --> 00:25:37.690 time, and destroyed the kid in one round. Three 00:25:37.690 --> 00:25:40.430 knockdowns. Nasikawa was literally crying in 00:25:40.430 --> 00:25:43.029 his corner. It felt cruel, honestly. And Floyd 00:25:43.029 --> 00:25:45.170 danced a little jig and took home a reported 00:25:45.170 --> 00:25:47.809 $9 million for about two minutes of work. Easy 00:25:47.809 --> 00:25:50.069 money. Then he fights a YouTuber, Logan Paul. 00:25:50.269 --> 00:25:52.829 Which is just another level of bizarre. And that 00:25:52.829 --> 00:25:55.410 fight? Well, there was no winner announced. It 00:25:55.410 --> 00:25:57.869 was an eight -round exhibition. Logan Paul survived. 00:25:58.430 --> 00:26:00.150 Floyd said afterwards he's better than I thought. 00:26:00.329 --> 00:26:02.390 But let's be honest, if Floyd wanted to end that 00:26:02.390 --> 00:26:04.549 fight in the first round, he could have. He carried 00:26:04.549 --> 00:26:06.730 him. It was an entertainment product, not a competitive 00:26:06.730 --> 00:26:09.069 bout. And then the John Gotti the third chaos. 00:26:09.430 --> 00:26:12.230 Right, the grandson of the famous mob boss. That 00:26:12.230 --> 00:26:15.809 fight ended in a literal riot in the ring. The 00:26:15.809 --> 00:26:17.910 ref stopped it because the trash talk Gotti kept 00:26:17.910 --> 00:26:21.190 swinging and both corners stormed the ring. It 00:26:21.190 --> 00:26:24.109 was just ugly chaos. And it seems like he's not 00:26:24.109 --> 00:26:26.539 stopping. The source notes mention a planned 00:26:26.539 --> 00:26:29.099 exhibition against Mike Tyson in spring 2026, 00:26:29.380 --> 00:26:32.160 which is just well, it shows that the appetite 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:34.789 for the spectacle. for the brand is still there. 00:26:34.910 --> 00:26:37.049 But we have to pivot now. And this is crucial. 00:26:37.289 --> 00:26:38.869 We can't talk about Floyd Mayweather without 00:26:38.869 --> 00:26:41.430 talking about the dark side. We'd be doing a 00:26:41.430 --> 00:26:44.049 disservice to the deep dive mission if we ignored 00:26:44.049 --> 00:26:46.569 the extensive legal record documented in the 00:26:46.569 --> 00:26:48.630 source. We have to. We have to be impartial reporters 00:26:48.630 --> 00:26:51.089 here, as the source dictates. But we absolutely 00:26:51.089 --> 00:26:53.950 cannot ignore the facts. The money persona is 00:26:53.950 --> 00:26:56.640 fun for TV. But the reality behind the scenes 00:26:56.640 --> 00:26:59.200 has some very dark chapters. Floyd Mayweather 00:26:59.200 --> 00:27:01.240 has a documented history of domestic violence. 00:27:01.460 --> 00:27:04.299 It starts early. In 2002 and 2004, there were 00:27:04.299 --> 00:27:06.440 suspended sentences, court -mandated impulse 00:27:06.440 --> 00:27:09.440 control counseling. But the major incident, the 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:11.500 one that resulted in jail time, was in 2010. 00:27:11.880 --> 00:27:14.319 It involved Josie Harris, the mother of three 00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:17.059 of his children. The accusations were very serious. 00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:21.640 Battery and theft. And this time, he didn't get 00:27:21.640 --> 00:27:24.559 a suspended sentence. No. In 2011, he pleaded 00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:27.039 guilty to misdemeanor battery and no contest 00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:29.539 to two counts of harassment. He was sentenced 00:27:29.539 --> 00:27:32.839 to 90 days in jail. He ended up serving two months 00:27:32.839 --> 00:27:35.900 in 2012. That's a significant mark on the legacy. 00:27:36.039 --> 00:27:38.240 It's not something you can just wave away. It's 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:40.460 hard to separate the man from the fighter when 00:27:40.460 --> 00:27:43.180 the legal record is that explicit. And it continued 00:27:43.180 --> 00:27:46.359 to haunt him. Years later, Josie Harris sued 00:27:46.359 --> 00:27:49.599 him for defamation for $20 million because he 00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:51.960 claimed in an interview that she was on drugs 00:27:51.960 --> 00:27:54.259 during the incident. which he vehemently denied. 00:27:54.440 --> 00:27:56.180 And beyond the violence, there were financial 00:27:56.180 --> 00:27:59.119 legal issues, too, which is just so ironic for 00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:02.099 a guy nicknamed Money. The SEC came knocking. 00:28:02.240 --> 00:28:04.819 In 2018, he had to settle charges for unlawfully 00:28:04.819 --> 00:28:07.240 touting cryptocurrency without disclosing he 00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:10.059 was paid to do so. This was the CenterTech ICO, 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:12.539 right? Exactly. He was paid to promote their 00:28:12.539 --> 00:28:14.980 initial coin offering on social media. He tweeted 00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:16.839 about it, saying things like, get yours before 00:28:16.839 --> 00:28:19.220 they sell out. But he didn't disclose that he's 00:28:19.220 --> 00:28:21.559 a paid promoter. That's illegal. He paid a hefty 00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:24.849 fine. And then more recently, the EthereumX lawsuit. 00:28:25.130 --> 00:28:27.589 It was a pump and dump accusation. He and Kim 00:28:27.589 --> 00:28:29.930 Kardashian were accused of hyping up this obscure 00:28:29.930 --> 00:28:33.069 crypto coin so they could sell their shares for 00:28:33.069 --> 00:28:35.869 a profit when the price spiked. Now, that lawsuit 00:28:35.869 --> 00:28:38.309 was ultimately dismissed by a judge, but it paints 00:28:38.309 --> 00:28:40.789 a picture of his business dealings. It fits the 00:28:40.789 --> 00:28:42.970 money persona, though, doesn't it? Chasing the 00:28:42.970 --> 00:28:45.470 check regardless of the venue. whether it's a 00:28:45.470 --> 00:28:48.609 boxing ring in Japan, a YouTuber in Miami, or 00:28:48.609 --> 00:28:51.829 a crypto endorsement on Twitter? It does. It 00:28:51.829 --> 00:28:54.650 shows a pattern of high -risk, high -reward behavior, 00:28:54.869 --> 00:28:58.230 both in and out of the ring. He is always closing 00:28:58.230 --> 00:28:59.849 the deal. So let's try to bring this all together. 00:28:59.890 --> 00:29:03.230 We look at the resume. 26 consecutive wins in 00:29:03.230 --> 00:29:06.740 world title fights. 24 wins against current or 00:29:06.740 --> 00:29:10.299 former world tag lists, 15 major world championships 00:29:10.299 --> 00:29:12.720 across five different weight classes. And look 00:29:12.720 --> 00:29:14.779 at the list of names he beat. The best of his 00:29:14.779 --> 00:29:17.799 generation. Gennaro Hernandez, Corrales, Castillo, 00:29:17.920 --> 00:29:21.279 Gatti, De La Hoya, Hatton, Marquez, Mosley, Cotto, 00:29:21.440 --> 00:29:24.319 Canelo Alvarez, Maidana, Pacquiao. It's a who's 00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:27.279 who of Hall of Famers. That list is insane. Especially 00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:29.900 Canelo. People forget he schooled a young, undefeated 00:29:29.900 --> 00:29:32.960 Canelo Alvarez. He took Canelo to school. Canelo 00:29:32.960 --> 00:29:34.740 is now considered one of the all -time greats, 00:29:34.740 --> 00:29:38.039 but Floyd made him look like a complete novice. 00:29:38.079 --> 00:29:40.859 It was a boxing lesson, a majority decision, 00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:43.779 but most people who watched it saw it as a complete 00:29:43.779 --> 00:29:46.259 shutout. So why is there still a debate? Why 00:29:46.259 --> 00:29:48.640 do so many people hesitate to call him the best 00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:51.559 ever, or TBE as he calls himself? It comes down 00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:54.410 to the style. Safety first approach. I think 00:29:54.410 --> 00:29:57.769 boxing fans deep down crave blood. They want 00:29:57.769 --> 00:30:00.670 the drama of a knockout or brawl. They want to 00:30:00.670 --> 00:30:02.609 see a fighter get knocked down and have to overcome 00:30:02.609 --> 00:30:04.950 adversity. And Floyd denied them that drama. 00:30:05.089 --> 00:30:07.690 He denied them that drama. Wow. Because he was 00:30:07.690 --> 00:30:10.750 too good. He was too disciplined. He gave them 00:30:10.750 --> 00:30:12.930 perfection instead of excitement. He turned a 00:30:12.930 --> 00:30:14.789 fight into a math problem. He solved the problem 00:30:14.789 --> 00:30:17.309 every single time. Exactly. And so there's a 00:30:17.309 --> 00:30:19.329 huge faction of fans who will always say he was 00:30:19.329 --> 00:30:22.569 boring or that he ran. But. If you appreciate 00:30:22.569 --> 00:30:25.089 the sweet science, the actual definition of boxing, 00:30:25.190 --> 00:30:27.750 which is to hit and not get hit. He is the absolute 00:30:27.750 --> 00:30:30.470 apex of that art form. He was inducted into the 00:30:30.470 --> 00:30:33.650 Hall of Fame in 2021. He topped the Forbes list 00:30:33.650 --> 00:30:37.269 of highest paid athletes multiple times. 2012, 00:30:37.589 --> 00:30:41.990 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018. He basically wrote the 00:30:41.990 --> 00:30:43.789 blueprint for the modern athlete entrepreneur. 00:30:43.930 --> 00:30:46.650 He did. He realized that the promoter. makes 00:30:46.650 --> 00:30:49.049 the real money, so he became the promoter. He 00:30:49.049 --> 00:30:51.130 realized the sanctioning body fees for the belts 00:30:51.130 --> 00:30:53.109 were a waste of money, so he often disregarded 00:30:53.109 --> 00:30:55.910 the belts to focus on the big money match. He 00:30:55.910 --> 00:30:57.890 fundamentally changed the economy of the sport. 00:30:58.109 --> 00:31:00.670 So as we wrap up this deep dive, let's look back 00:31:00.670 --> 00:31:03.190 at the journey. You have a kid from New Jersey 00:31:03.190 --> 00:31:06.309 literally dodging heroin needles in his front 00:31:06.309 --> 00:31:08.950 yard with a father in prison for a time and a 00:31:08.950 --> 00:31:11.029 mother struggling with addiction. A kid who was 00:31:11.029 --> 00:31:13.890 told by his grandmother at a pivotal moment to... 00:31:14.349 --> 00:31:17.470 Just keep boxing. And he takes that advice, applies 00:31:17.470 --> 00:31:19.609 a scientific level of discipline to his defense, 00:31:19.829 --> 00:31:22.470 and turns himself into a billionaire brand. It 00:31:22.470 --> 00:31:25.150 is the ultimate survival story. He built a fortress 00:31:25.150 --> 00:31:27.390 around himself. First, it was the crab -style 00:31:27.390 --> 00:31:29.549 defense to protect his chin in the ring. Then 00:31:29.549 --> 00:31:31.589 it was the money persona to protect his bank 00:31:31.589 --> 00:31:33.549 account and his business interests outside of 00:31:33.549 --> 00:31:36.450 it. That's the aha moment for me, reading all 00:31:36.450 --> 00:31:39.130 this. The defense in the ring and the persona 00:31:39.130 --> 00:31:42.230 outside the ring, they're the exact same thing. 00:31:42.349 --> 00:31:44.809 It's all about control. Controlling the distance, 00:31:45.009 --> 00:31:47.069 controlling the pace, controlling the narrative, 00:31:47.230 --> 00:31:49.430 controlling the revenue. He never let anyone 00:31:49.430 --> 00:31:52.009 else hold the steering wheel. Not his opponents, 00:31:52.250 --> 00:31:55.390 not the judges after 1996, and certainly not 00:31:55.390 --> 00:31:58.349 the promoters after 2006. So here's the final 00:31:58.349 --> 00:32:01.069 thought for you to chew on today. In a sport 00:32:01.069 --> 00:32:03.910 that is so often defined by brain damage, by 00:32:03.910 --> 00:32:07.390 bankruptcy, by tragic endings, we see so many 00:32:07.390 --> 00:32:10.759 great boxers slurring their words, broke. It 00:32:10.759 --> 00:32:13.279 is the standard heartbreaking tragedy of the 00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:15.119 prizefighter. We've seen it time and time again. 00:32:15.240 --> 00:32:18.279 Exactly. But Floyd Mayweather is rich, perfectly 00:32:18.279 --> 00:32:21.079 coherent and undefeated. So ask yourself this. 00:32:21.380 --> 00:32:24.160 Is Floyd Mayweather the only boxer who truly 00:32:24.160 --> 00:32:26.740 beat the game? Or does that perfect, calculated, 00:32:27.019 --> 00:32:29.559 undefeated record come at the cost of the fighting 00:32:29.559 --> 00:32:32.460 spirit, the chaos that we as fans actually crave? 00:32:32.640 --> 00:32:34.880 That is the question. Did he win the sport or 00:32:34.880 --> 00:32:36.880 do you simply solve it? Thanks for diving in 00:32:36.880 --> 00:32:38.019 with us. Keep your guard up.