Mayweather’s best moments: If this is the end for ‘Money,’ these are his top 8 matches

By Case Keefer (contact)

Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 | 2 a.m.

Part of the reason no one believes Floyd Mayweather Jr. when he says he’s done with boxing after Saturday’s fight is his choice of opponent.

Would the 38-year-old Mayweather really stage his grand finale in a bout where he’s as much as a 100-to-1 favorite against someone who’s lost three of his past six fights? Andre Berto, whose main claim to fame is losing to eventual Mayweather punching bags Victor Ortiz and Robert Guerrero, might be Mayweather’s most overmatched foe since before he celebrated his 21st birthday and became a champion.

No matter what Mayweather’s detractors may say — they have plenty of other justified criticisms — he hasn’t forged a career out of cakewalks like Berto. His soon-to-be 49-0 record came, for the most part, through facing and beating the best.

It’s almost as sure of a thing as a win on Saturday that Mayweather will return for a 50th fight, but just in case this is it, here’s a reminder of his eight greatest performances.

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  Associated Press

  8. Unanimous decision over Juan Manuel Marquez

  Sept. 19, 2009, MGM Grand Garden Arena

  A 21-month retirement did nothing to slow Mayweather against the fighter ranked No. 2 pound-for-pound in the world at the time. Mayweather knocked Marquez down early, allowed just 12 percent of his opponent’s punches to land and arguably won every round.

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  Associated Press

  7. Unanimous decision over Jose Luis Castillo

  Dec. 7, 2002, Mandalay Bay Events Center

  Some purists have a tough time accepting Mayweather as undefeated because of a belief that Castillo beat him in April 2002. Frustrated by the debate over his unanimous-decision victory, Mayweather granted an immediate rematch. He promised a more decisive performance, and delivered. Mayweather was hit 100 times less than the first match with Castillo.

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  Associated Press

  6. Referee technical decision over Arturo Gatti

  June 25, 2005, Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

  Mayweather pulled off the unthinkable in his first pay-per-view main event: He forced boxing’s most relentless warrior to quit. Mayweather knocked down Gatti a pair of times in the first round, and kept the abuse up for the next five frames. It was after the sixth round that Gatti stayed on his stool, and allowed his trainer to call the fight.

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  5. Split decision over Oscar De La Hoya

  May 5, 2007, MGM Grand Garden Arena

  Mayweather reached superstar status by outlasting the bigger, stronger and more experienced De La Hoya. The fight, which produced 2.45 million pay-per-view buys for a record that stood for eight years, was close through six rounds before Mayweather pulled away with his counter punching. It was the most recent and almost surely final time Mayweather entered the ring as an underdog.

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  4. Majority decision over Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez

  Sept. 14, 2013, MGM Grand Garden Arena

  At 36, Mayweather schooled a rugged, undefeated fighter who was far bigger and 13 years younger than him. Alvarez simply couldn’t find Mayweather to land anything of substance. Mayweather nearly doubled Alvarez’s production, 232 to 117 shots landed, despite throwing fewer punches.

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  Associated Press

  3. 10th-round TKO victory over Diego Corrales

  Jan. 20, 2001, MGM Grand Garden Arena

  Anyone who accuses Mayweather of being a boring fighter throughout his career has never seen the Corrales spectacle. In a battle between undefeated fighters ranked as two of the best in the world, Mayweather battered Corrales into oblivion. He dropped Corrales five times, and outlanded the champion 220 to 60.

• 2. Referee technical decision over Genaro Hernandez

  Oct. 3, 1998, Las Vegas Hilton

  The first is always special. At the ripe old age of 21-years-old, Mayweather earned his first belt by overwhelming the previously once-beaten Hernandez for the WBC super featherweight championship. Hernandez retired in his corner before the ninth round after Mayweather’s speed disoriented him.

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  Eric Jamison / AP

  1. Unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao

  May 2, 2015, MGM Grand Garden Arena

  Ignite the controversy with this top choice, but for years, Pacquiao was regarded as the only fighter of this generation on Mayweather’s level. And Mayweather routed him when they finally stepped into the ring together. It may not have been the type of rout fans preferred, but it was just as jarring to see a fighter of Pacquiao’s caliber totally outclassed. Mayweather also earned a record $220 million for the fight, which he would argue was reason enough to make this his top performance.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.