Floyd Mayweather Sr has dropped a bombshell about his son's perfect record. The father of the boxing legend now says Floyd Mayweather Jr shouldn't be undefeated, pointing to a controversial fight from 2007.
Mayweather Jr's 50-0 record often comes up in boxing talks. It's impressive, no doubt. He beat some of the best, including Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, and Manny Pacquiao. He also won belts in five weight classes.
But his dad thinks that perfect record has a flaw. He's talking about the 2007 fight against Oscar De La Hoya for the WBC Super-Welterweight World Title. Mayweather Jr won by split decision. The judges scored it 115-113 and 116-112 for Mayweather, with one giving it to De La Hoya 115-113.
Right after the fight, Floyd Sr told HBO's Larry Merchant:
"I'm just gonna be honest with you, man. If you want to call fights by scoring, points system, who's throwing more punches, you had to give it to Oscar. If you're just going on a guy hitting a guy with single shots, you have to give it to my son."
Floyd Sr explained that while his son had good defense and caught punches with his shoulder and arm, De La Hoya threw more punches. He believes the scoring system favors the fighter who touches the opponent more.
"You're gonna have to give it to Oscar if you're going by point system."
There's more to this story. De La Hoya claims Floyd Sr came to him right after the fight and said, "you beat my son." That's quite a statement, especially since Floyd Sr used to train De La Hoya from 2001 to 2006.
Interestingly, Floyd Sr wasn't in his son's corner for the 2007 fight. He wanted $2 million, which didn't happen. Instead, Freddie Roach trained De La Hoya.
Before the fight, there was some family drama. Floyd Sr and Jr had a public falling out. Sr didn't like some things Jr said, and Jr chose his uncle Roger as his coach instead of his dad.
After the close fight, there was talk of a rematch. But it never happened. De La Hoya says Mayweather avoided running it back.
This revelation from Floyd Sr adds a new twist to the legacy of one of boxing's most celebrated undefeated records.
