Floyd Mayweather is one of only a few notable names in the sport of boxing to retire having beaten every man he faced.
The multi-weight world champion defeated the likes of Ricky Hatton, Arturo Gatti, Manny Pacquiao, Saul ‘Canelo‘ Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya. He did so whilst displaying some of the best defensive skills ever seen in a ring.
Did he face all-comers? Many feel he did not and strategically targeted some he did fight either early or late in their campaigns. To this day, there’s one man he will never regret not stepping through the ropes for.
Back in 2006, Mayweather opted not to face Antonio Margarito when the fight was presented to him by Top Rank. As told by Bob Arum, Floyd avoided his ‘riskiest fight’ and instead chose to buy himself out of his contract to become a promotional free agent.
In a recent interview with It Is What It Is, Mayweather was asked if he ‘sensed’ something that made him refuse the fight.
“Everything happens for a reason. You’re not gonna be able to fight everybody, so they’re gonna always have something to say about a certain opponent. Floyd didn’t fight him, Floyd didn’t fight this guy. I fought all the guys put in front of me.
With the Antonio Margarito fight, I’m actually glad that it didn’t happen. My career is very important to me. Anything can happen in the sport of boxing. Antonio Margarito, he’s a cheater when it’s said and done. You see what happened to Miguel Cotto when he fought him the first time. That could’ve easily been me.”
Ahead of a fight with Shane Mosley in 2009, Margarito was caught with illegal handwraps. Mosley won the fight by satisfying stoppage and the Mexican’s particularly brutal win over Miguel Cotto a year prior was called into question.
He and trainer Javier Capetillo had their boxing licenses revoked for one year, but he would return in 2010 and fight six more times, including a lucrative bout against Pacquiao.
