Floyd Mayweather faced some big names over the course of 50 fights, however his toughest battle came at the age of 24.
Mayweather is famous in the sport for retiring with a perfect record and beating the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Manny Pacquiao – though late in both men’s careers – and a young Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
None of the above gave the slick American a tougher fight than a man known as ‘The Drunken Master.’
Speaking on Million Dollaz Worth of Game, Mayweather praised Pacquiao as the best fighter he faced, though revealed Emanuel Augustus.
“The best fighter I ever fought probably was Manny Pacquiao, because of his movement [and] he’s a helluva fighter. I can see why he won so many fights and why he’s going down as a Hall of Famer. There’s certain moves that he makes. But the roughest fighter probably was a guy named Emanuel Augustus. The Drunken Master. He was tough.”
Mayweather had also branded Augustus the toughest man he stepped through the ropes with. It took place back in the year 2000 and was ‘Money’s 24th bout.
Despite Mayweather winning every round and stopping the underdog in the ninth, Augustus managed to make proceedings awkward and even bloodied the nose of the future Hall of Famer.
Augustus hung up the gloves with just 38 wins from 78 contests, though is remembered for his entertaining style and ability to frustrate opponents even in defeat. He rarely, if ever, turned down a fight. A battle with Micky Ward was awarded Ring Magazine Fight of the Year in 2001 and later considered by ESPN to be one of the clashes of the decade entire.
