Mayweather vs Pacquiao: Floyd Mayweather's five of the best

Floyd Mayweather puts his unbeaten record and his legacy on the line against Manny Pacquiao on May 2.

He can be brilliant and he can be bad, so we have picked our favourite performances that put him top of the boxing pile. It shows just what he is capable and even when he appeared to come close to defeat. See what you think...

Saul Alvarez

The rising Mexican star was expected to pose a serious threat to Mayweather’s unbeaten record, particularly as the American was stepping up to light-middleweight to face the bullish ‘Canelo’. But Alvarez could not impose his physical strength on the slippery 36-year-old and was made to look crude on occasions during his humbling 12-round lesson.

Controlling the fight with his stiff jab and sharp counters, Mayweather cruised through the early rounds and even bullied the bigger man at times, trapping Alvarez briefly in the corner with a flurry of sharp punches.

"I'm not in control of what the judges do. I am in shock whoever had it even. Things happen in the sport of boxing."

Alvarez did appear to snatch a couple of rounds with his desperate work-rate, but many expected Mayweather to take a clear decision win after his dominance was ended by the final bell.

Somehow judge CJ Ross managed to score the fight as a 114-114 draw, but thankfully common sense prevailed among the other two judges, who handed ‘Money’ victory with scores of 116-112 and 117-111.

Miguel Cotto

Mayweather was pitted against a dangerous foe in the form of Cotto, who had proven himself in a string of brutal battles.

The Puerto Rican had revived his career with a revenge win over Antonio Margarito and questions were raised about whether he could drag Mayweather into a gruelling dogfight. But Cotto found it hard to avoid his opponent’s precise jab in the early rounds and received a series of sharp rights in the fourth, briefly halting his march forward.

"You're a hell of a champion. You're the toughest guy I ever fought."

Despite this steady punishment, Cotto continued to pursue his elusive foe, finally getting through with a flurry of punches in the eighth that left Mayweather with a bloodied nose.

But Floyd would have the last word as he wobbled Cotto in the closing minutes with a jolting uppercut, and all three judges handed him victory with scores of 117-111, 117-111 and 118-110.

Juan Manuel Marquez 

Mayweather’s meeting with Marquez would create further debate about whether the American was a superior fighter to pound-for-pound rival Pacquiao.

Marquez’s stunning stoppage of Pacquiao would occur years later, but he had pushed ‘Pac-Man’ in two close points defeats, while their first fight ended in a draw. The Mexican had out-thought and out-fought a list of high-calibre opponents, and would test Mayweather’s reflexes following a 21-month break from the sport. Returning from his brief retirement, Mayweather quickly shed any ring rust, flooring Marquez in the second round with a lightning left hook.

"He's a great little man. He was really hard to fight, and he kept taking some unbelievable shots."

By the midway stage, Marquez was sporting a bloody nose and a frustrated expression, with Mayweather piling on more spiteful punches in the sixth round.

Mayweather grinned whenever Marquez enjoyed brief success with his own punches and coasted to victory with wide tallies of 120-107, 119-108 and 118-109.

Ricky Hatton

The hugely popular Mancunian was handed a shot at Mayweather after calling out the American in the wake of a crushing win over Jose Luis Castillo.

Hatton had overwhelmed many of his opponents with his all-action style and both men were attempting to preserve their proud unbeaten records. An often humorous war of words between the duo added spice to the contest and Hatton would bring a legion of fans with him to Las Vegas.

"He kept coming and I see why they call him the Hitman. He's one hell of a fighter,"

The British support sparked into life in the opening round after Mayweather was wobbled by a stiff jab, but Hatton's attempts to fight at close-quarters were continually interrupted by over-zealous referee Joe Cortez. Harshly docked a point in the sixth, Hatton was becoming increasingly reckless as he slipped behind on the scorecards.

His desperation would prove his undoing as the ‘Hitman’ was heavily floored by a huge hook in the 10th round and was rescued by Cortez as he staggered to the canvas for a second time. 

Oscar De La Hoya

When this showdown between two of the sport’s superstars was announced, there were suggestions that the ‘Golden Boy’ would be too big and possibly even too good for Mayweather.

De La Hoya’s reputation had been slightly tarnished by a stoppage defeat against Bernard Hopkins, but he still possessed a hurtful left hook and Mayweather appeared to be giving away all the physical advantages. These concerns appeared well founded in the early rounds as the 34-year-old De La Hoya forced the Michigan man back with a spiteful attack to the body.

"It was a hell of a fight but it was easy work for me. I out-punched him, I out-boxed him."

Mayweather, for once, appeared vulnerable during this early onslaught until he stemmed the tide in the fifth, uncorking a sharp right hand which made De La Hoya’s legs dip.

Maintaining his body attack, De La Hoya tried to blast through Mayweather’s tight defences, but was continually caught by razor sharp counters. Mayweather appeared to pace the fight to perfection, gradually outworking his tiring foe, who was wobbled by a big right in the closing seconds.

Respected ringside observers had the fight close and the scorecards confirmed this, Tom Kaczmarek's 115-113 in favour of De La Hoya overruled by Chuck Giampa's 116-112 and Jerry Roth's 115-113 for Mayweather.