Floyd Mayweather was so good in his prime that he could hold a conversation while simultaneously beating up his opponent. In 2005, Mayweather came up against Henry Bruseles, and held a professional record of 32-0 at the time which was seeing him become one of the most dominant fighters in the current era. The fight happened to take place just 24 hours before the New England Patriots would be playing the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL play-offs, hoping to secure a place in the Super Bowl.
It was an eliminator for the WBC super-lightweight title, and the legend elect was looking to cement his name as the leading contender in the division for a title shot at Arturo Gatti. Mayweather had shown he was a fan of the NFL during his career, but no more than when he decided to make an audacious prediction while letting his hands go. As Mayweather dominated in the ring, the HBO commentary team, made up of Jim Lampley and former pound-for-pound great, Roy Jones Jr , were discussing the upcoming American football match.
The self-proclaimed 'TBE' couldn't help, but over hear them, as he was landing punches on his rival. Bruseles was desperately trying to defend himself and throw back, but Mayweather was cruising and even found some time to get involved. He turned and shouted over 'I like the Patriots', much to the amusement of Lampley and Jones Jr.
It was an audacious showing of confidence and swagger, which left the pundits stunned, but in awe of the capabilities of the eventual champion. The boxing legend went on to drop Bruseles twice in round eight, before his corner stepped in to stop the fight after he took a serious beating. Mayweather emerged victorious and carried his record to 33-0, while securing his title shot which would eventually take place the following year.
And coincidentally so did the Patriots the next day, beating the Steelers 41-27 to continue their march to the NFL's prestigious showpiece event. The Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl that year, edging the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 to pick up the famous trophy in Jacksonville. As a franchise, they have gone on to mirror the dominance of Mayweather in the sport, going on to win three Super Bowls in 2014, 2016 ad 2018.
Business continued in sensational for Mayweather, who went on to beat Arturo Gatti for the WBC super lightweight world title, making him a world champion in three weight classes. His biggest fights were still to come as he beat a whole host of fellow champions in an unprecedented spell including the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Canelo Alvarez and Ricky Hatton . His two biggest outings were to come as he finally settled his rivalry in a lucrative bout with Manny Pacquiao in 2015.
It became the highest-grossing combat sports event of all-time and Mayweather was able to edge the Filipino legend on points. By the time Mayweather retired with an unbeaten record of 50-0 in 2017, he was a five-weight world champion. His final bow came against Conor McGregor in 2017, another high-grossing event, which saw him end his career with a routine stoppage of the UFC superstar.
Since retirement, Mayweather has spent his time flaunting his luxurious lifestyle and competing in exhibition bouts. He will next rematch John Gotti III , handing him a surprise second opportunity after his rival was disqualified which sparked a mass brawl. It's the latest in a lucrative series of exhibitions for one of the greatest boxers of his era, having earned big money from clashed with Logan Paul , Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa and YouTuber Deji among others.
The showdown in Mexico marks another big payday and a debut on new soil, where he is able to showcase that he still possesses his skills despite not being in his physical prime. Mayweather's confident antics continue in the present day and Gotti III has revealed it has continue in their first fight, as he got heckled during the exchanges. "Well, I think personally from the beginning, tensions were high to begin with with me and Floyd," he said.
"He had a lot of negative energy coming into the fight as did I. "He started the trash talking right away in the very beginning of the fight and when I was on the defensive for the first four rounds, I was kind of taking it a little bit. "And as I started getting comfortable in the fight, I started delivering the trash talk back.
From there, it just got really out of hand. "I guess, had I laid down and showed my belly and submitted to him, they would have let him trash talk all night. "But the fact that I gave it back suddenly became a problem and the referee warned us in the fifth round, going into the sixth round.
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