You’re Floyd Mayweather Jr., you began fighting professionally October 11, 1996 at age 19 - a second round KO over one Robert Apodaca, and have been on a roll ever since.

You’re Floyd Mayweather Jr., and it’s October 1998 with unbeaten glowing resumé of 13 stoppages and four by decision. You claim your first belt - the WBC Super Featherweight version by TKO8 over Genaro Hernandez.

You’re Floyd Mayweather Jr., and two months later on December of 1998 your first title defense - and talented Angel Manfredy falls in two stanzas.

The busy beat continues into 1999 with winning defenses over Carlos Alberto Rios (UD), Justin Juuko (KO9) and Carlos Gerena (TKO 7) who collectively shared impressive numbers totaling  111-6-2.

You’re Floyd Mayweather Jr., still a baby at age 23 -  and another successful defense of the 130 pound bauble on March of 2000 over Gregorio Vargas by unanimous decision.

You’re Floyd Mayweather Jr. and you duck nobody - a non-title affair sees cagey veteran Emanuel Augustus stopped in stanza nine. A table setter for a defense with then undefeated puncher Diego Corrales.

You’re Floyd Mayweather Jr., and while fans and media alike saw this to be your first real challenge, you know better - graduation day was in the rear view mirror and Corrales was nothing more than a post-graduate beginning to better things.

You’re Floyd Mayweather Jr., and the Corrales corner tosses in the towel during stanza ten - and before you think it an act of compassion, think otherwise. The towel arrived after Diego’s fifth trip to the canvas.

You’re Floyd Mayweather Jr. and you would close 2001 with two final defenses of the super-feather title scoring wins over Carlos Alberto Hernandez (UD) and Jesus Chavez by TKO9.

And then 2002, you’re no longer a baby of 23, but a 25 year-young undefeated veteran of 27 bouts with twenty arriving via stoppage - and next up it’s Jose Luis Castillo for the WBC lightweight trophy.

You’re Floyd Mayweather Jr. and you claim the lightweight bauble in the toughest outing to date, via unanimous decision over the Mexican warrior - and to show it was no fluke, it’s a repeat with Castillo in first defense on Pearl Harbor Day 2002.

You’re Floyd Mayweather Jr. and nothing much changes come the new year 2003 - lightweight defenses see Victoriano Sosa victim of a unanimous decision walk in the park win, and Phillip N’Dou is dropped and stopped in seven candles.

You’re Floyd Mayweather Jr.,  and the sights are set on still another rung higher on the pugilistic ladder - a junior welter eliminator tester with veteran southpaw DeMarcus Corley. You would drop Corley in stanzas eight and ten en route to lopsided unanimous decision win.    

It’s January 2005, and Henry Bruseles a final roadblock to WBC junior welter title shot with champion Arturo Gatti  - entering stanza eight the numbers show Mayweather tossing shutouts on two cards and ahead 6-1 on the other - ringside medic halts the mismatch in numero ocho with Bruseles down twice in the stanza.

You’re Floyd Mayweather Jr. - a kid turned man, and rightfully agitated when seeing lesser entities praised to the proverbial rafters as best ever, by self anointed experts of the print and electronic media - imposters that regularly describe two-fisted flurries as combinations.

You’re Floyd Mayweather Jr., a throwback in skills and style to the second most sweetest of sugars in Ray Charles Leonard - and the WBC jr. welter trophy is yours come June 25 of 2005, with the Gatti corner calling it no-mas following stanza six of Floyd pitching and Arturo catching.

You’re Floyd Mayweather Jr., and during the days leading up to the meeting at the Jersey shore, you told all in simple language it would be a mismatch. You accurately described it as an "A" level fighter in with a "C" level one.

The pre-fight feelings here was in complete agreement - and were both Floyd and Arturo doing biz during the pre- TV era, I see one working the small clubs with hopes of graduating to a St. Nicholas Arena ten round feature, and the other going the Garden, Yankee Stadium, Polo Grounds route.

Closing Comments: Think it appropriate that the kid’s future ring walks should be a simple "We’ve only just begun."

GEL      

6-28-2005

Brought to you by Saratogamist copyright 2001-2005