Technology is the making, usage and knowledge of tools, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or serve some purpose. The word ''technology'' comes ; . The term can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples include ''construction technology'', ''medical technology'', and ''information technology''.

Technologies significantly affect human as well as other animal species' ability to control and adapt to their natural environments. The human species' use of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools. The prehistorical discovery of the ability to control fire increased the available sources of food and the invention of the wheel helped humans in travelling in and controlling their environment. Recent technological developments, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale. However, not all technology has been used for peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of ever-increasing destructive power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons.

Technology has affected society and its surroundings in a number of ways. In many societies, technology has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known as pollution, and deplete natural resources, to the detriment of the Earth and its environment. Various implementations of technology influence the values of a society and new technology often raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to machines, and the challenge of traditional norms.

Philosophical debates have arisen over the present and future use of technology in society, with disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition or worsens it. Neo-Luddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar movements criticise the pervasiveness of technology in the modern world, opining that it harms the environment and alienates people; proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view continued technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition. Indeed, until recently, it was believed that the development of technology was restricted only to human beings, but recent scientific studies indicate that other primates and certain dolphin communities have developed simple tools and learned to pass their knowledge to other generations.

Definition and usage

The use of the term ''technology'' has changed significantly over the last 200 years. Before the 20th century, the term was uncommon in English, and usually referred to the description or study of the useful arts. The term was often connected to technical education, as in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (chartered in 1861). "Technology" rose to prominence in the 20th century in connection with the second industrial revolution. The meanings of technology changed in the early 20th century when American social scientists, beginning with Thorstein Veblen, translated ideas from the German concept of Technik into "technology." In German and other European languages, a distinction exists between ''Technik'' and ''Technologie'' that is absent in English, as both terms are usually translated as "technology." By the 1930s, "technology" referred not to the study of the industrial arts, but to the industrial arts themselves. In 1937, the American sociologist Read Bain wrote that "technology includes all tools, machines, utensils, weapons, instruments, housing, clothing, communicating and transporting devices and the skills by which we produce and use them." Bain's definition remains common among scholars today, especially social scientists. But equally prominent is the definition of technology as applied science, especially among scientists and engineers, although most social scientists who study technology reject this definition. More recently, scholars have borrowed from European philosophers of "technique" to extend the meaning of technology to various forms of instrumental reason, as in Foucault's work on technologies of the self ("techniques de soi").

Dictionaries and scholars have offered a variety of definitions. The Merriam-Webster dictionary offers a definition of the term: "the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area" and "a capability given by the practical application of knowledge". Ursula Franklin, in her 1989 "Real World of Technology" lecture, gave another definition of the concept; it is "practice, the way we do things around here". The term is often used to imply a specific field of technology, or to refer to high technology or just consumer electronics, rather than technology as a whole. Bernard Stiegler, in ''Technics and Time, 1'', defines technology in two ways: as "the pursuit of life by means other than life", and as "organized inorganic matter."

Technology can be most broadly defined as the entities, both material and immaterial, created by the application of mental and physical effort in order to achieve some value. In this usage, technology refers to tools and machines that may be used to solve real-world problems. It is a far-reaching term that may include simple tools, such as a crowbar or wooden spoon, or more complex machines, such as a space station or particle accelerator. Tools and machines need not be material; virtual technology, such as computer software and business methods, fall under this definition of technology.

The word "technology" can also be used to refer to a collection of techniques. In this context, it is the current state of humanity's knowledge of how to combine resources to produce desired products, to solve problems, fulfill needs, or satisfy wants; it includes technical methods, skills, processes, techniques, tools and raw materials. When combined with another term, such as "medical technology" or "space technology", it refers to the state of the respective field's knowledge and tools. "State-of-the-art technology" refers to the high technology available to humanity in any field.

Technology can be viewed as an activity that forms or changes culture. Additionally, technology is the application of math, science, and the arts for the benefit of life as it is known. A modern example is the rise of communication technology, which has lessened barriers to human interaction and, as a result, has helped spawn new subcultures; the rise of cyberculture has, at its basis, the development of the Internet and the computer. Not all technology enhances culture in a creative way; technology can also help facilitate political oppression and war via tools such as guns. As a cultural activity, technology predates both science and engineering, each of which formalize some aspects of technological endeavor.

Science, engineering and technology

The distinction between science, engineering and technology is not always clear. Science is the reasoned investigation or study of phenomena, aimed at discovering enduring principles among elements of the phenomenal world by employing formal techniques such as the scientific method. Technologies are not usually exclusively products of science, because they have to satisfy requirements such as utility, usability and safety.

Engineering is the goal-oriented process of designing and making tools and systems to exploit natural phenomena for practical human means, often (but not always) using results and techniques from science. The development of technology may draw upon many fields of knowledge, including scientific, engineering, mathematical, linguistic, and historical knowledge, to achieve some practical result.

Technology is often a consequence of science and engineering — although technology as a human activity precedes the two fields. For example, science might study the flow of electrons in electrical conductors, by using already-existing tools and knowledge. This new-found knowledge may then be used by engineers to create new tools and machines, such as semiconductors, computers, and other forms of advanced technology. In this sense, scientists and engineers may both be considered technologists; the three fields are often considered as one for the purposes of research and reference.

The exact relations between science and technology in particular have been debated by scientists, historians, and policymakers in the late 20th century, in part because the debate can inform the funding of basic and applied science. In the immediate wake of World War II, for example, in the United States it was widely considered that technology was simply "applied science" and that to fund basic science was to reap technological results in due time. An articulation of this philosophy could be found explicitly in Vannevar Bush's treatise on postwar science policy, ''Science—The Endless Frontier'': "New products, new industries, and more jobs require continuous additions to knowledge of the laws of nature... This essential new knowledge can be obtained only through basic scientific research." In the late-1960s, however, this view came under direct attack, leading towards initiatives to fund science for specific tasks (initiatives resisted by the scientific community). The issue remains contentious—though most analysts resist the model that technology simply is a result of scientific research.

History

Paleolithic (2.5 million – 10,000 BC)

The use of tools by early humans was partly a process of discovery, partly of evolution. Early humans evolved from a species of foraging hominids which were already bipedal, with a brain mass approximately one third that of modern humans. Tool use remained relatively unchanged for most of early human history, but approximately 50,000 years ago, a complex set of behaviors and tool use emerged, believed by many archaeologists to be connected to the emergence of fully modern language.

Stone tools

Human ancestors have been using stone and other tools since long before the emergence of ''Homo sapiens'' approximately 200,000 years ago. The earliest methods of stone tool making, known as the Oldowan "industry", date back to at least 2.3 million years ago, with the earliest direct evidence of tool usage found in Ethiopia within the Great Rift Valley, dating back to 2.5 million years ago. This era of stone tool use is called the ''Paleolithic'', or "Old stone age", and spans all of human history up to the development of agriculture approximately 12,000 years ago.

To make a stone tool, a "core" of hard stone with specific flaking properties (such as flint) was struck with a hammerstone. This flaking produced a sharp edge on the core stone as well as on the flakes, either of which could be used as tools, primarily in the form of choppers or scrapers. These tools greatly aided the early humans in their hunter-gatherer lifestyle to perform a variety of tasks including butchering carcasses (and breaking bones to get at the marrow); chopping wood; cracking open nuts; skinning an animal for its hide; and even forming other tools out of softer materials such as bone and wood.

The earliest stone tools were crude, being little more than a fractured rock. In the Acheulian era, beginning approximately 1.65 million years ago, methods of working these stone into specific shapes, such as hand axes emerged. The Middle Paleolithic, approximately 300,000 years ago, saw the introduction of the prepared-core technique, where multiple blades could be rapidly formed from a single core stone. The Upper Paleolithic, beginning approximately 40,000 years ago, saw the introduction of pressure flaking, where a wood, bone, or antler punch could be used to shape a stone very finely.

Fire

The discovery and utilization of fire, a simple energy source with many profound uses, was a turning point in the technological evolution of humankind. The exact date of its discovery is not known; evidence of burnt animal bones at the Cradle of Humankind suggests that the domestication of fire occurred before 1,000,000 BC; scholarly consensus indicates that Homo erectus had controlled fire by between 500,000 BC and 400,000 BC. Fire, fueled with wood and charcoal, allowed early humans to cook their food to increase its digestibility, improving its nutrient value and broadening the number of foods that could be eaten.

Clothing and shelter

Other technological advances made during the Paleolithic era were clothing and shelter; the adoption of both technologies cannot be dated exactly, but they were a key to humanity's progress. As the Paleolithic era progressed, dwellings became more sophisticated and more elaborate; as early as 380,000 BC, humans were constructing temporary wood huts. Clothing, adapted from the fur and hides of hunted animals, helped humanity expand into colder regions; humans began to migrate out of Africa by 200,000 BC and into other continents, such as Eurasia.

Neolithic through Classical Antiquity (10,000BC – 300AD)

Man's technological ascent began in earnest in what is known as the Neolithic period ("New stone age"). The invention of polished stone axes was a major advance because it allowed forest clearance on a large scale to create farms. The discovery of agriculture allowed for the feeding of larger populations, and the transition to a sedentist lifestyle increased the number of children that could be simultaneously raised, as young children no longer needed to be carried, as was the case with the nomadic lifestyle. Additionally, children could contribute labor to the raising of crops more readily than they could to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

With this increase in population and availability of labor came an increase in labor specialization. What triggered the progression from early Neolithic villages to the first cities, such as Uruk, and the first civilizations, such as Sumer, is not specifically known; however, the emergence of increasingly hierarchical social structures, the specialization of labor, trade and war amongst adjacent cultures, and the need for collective action to overcome environmental challenges, such as the building of dikes and reservoirs, are all thought to have played a role.

Metal tools

Continuing improvements led to the furnace and bellows and provided the ability to smelt and forge native metals (naturally occurring in relatively pure form). Gold, copper, silver, and lead, were such early metals. The advantages of copper tools over stone, bone, and wooden tools were quickly apparent to early humans, and native copper was probably used from near the beginning of Neolithic times (about 8000 BC). Native copper does not naturally occur in large amounts, but copper ores are quite common and some of them produce metal easily when burned in wood or charcoal fires. Eventually, the working of metals led to the discovery of alloys such as bronze and brass (about 4000 BC). The first uses of iron alloys such as steel dates to around 1400 BC.

Energy and Transport

Meanwhile, humans were learning to harness other forms of energy. The earliest known use of wind power is the sailboat. The earliest record of a ship under sail is shown on an Egyptian pot dating back to 3200 BC. From prehistoric times, Egyptians probably used the power of the Nile annual floods to irrigate their lands, gradually learning to regulate much of it through purposely built irrigation channels and 'catch' basins. Similarly, the early peoples of Mesopotamia, the Sumerians, learned to use the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for much the same purposes. But more extensive use of wind and water (and even human) power required another invention.

According to archaeologists, the wheel was invented around 4000 B.C. probably independently and nearly-simultaneously in Mesopotamia (in present-day Iraq), the Northern Caucasus (Maykop culture) and Central Europe. Estimates on when this may have occurred range from 5500 to 3000 B.C., with most experts putting it closer to 4000 B.C. The oldest artifacts with drawings that depict wheeled carts date from about 3000 B.C.; however, the wheel may have been in use for millennia before these drawings were made. There is also evidence from the same period of time that wheels were used for the production of pottery. (Note that the original potter's wheel was probably not a wheel, but rather an irregularly shaped slab of flat wood with a small hollowed or pierced area near the center and mounted on a peg driven into the earth. It would have been rotated by repeated tugs by the potter or his assistant.) More recently, the oldest-known wooden wheel in the world was found in the Ljubljana marshes of Slovenia.

The invention of the wheel revolutionized activities as disparate as transportation, war, and the production of pottery (for which it may have been first used). It didn't take long to discover that wheeled wagons could be used to carry heavy loads and fast (rotary) potters' wheels enabled early mass production of pottery. But it was the use of the wheel as a transformer of energy (through water wheels, windmills, and even treadmills) that revolutionized the application of nonhuman power sources.

Medieval and Modern history (300 AD —)

Innovations continued through the Middle Ages with new innovations such as silk, the horse collar and horseshoes in the first few hundred years after the fall of the Roman Empire. Medieval technology saw the use of simple machines (such as the lever, the screw, and the pulley) being combined to form more complicated tools, such as the wheelbarrow, windmills and clocks. The Renaissance brought forth many of these innovations, including the printing press (which facilitated the greater communication of knowledge), and technology became increasingly associated with science, beginning a cycle of mutual advancement. The advancements in technology in this era allowed a more steady supply of food, followed by the wider availability of consumer goods.

Starting in the United Kingdom in the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution was a period of great technological discovery, particularly in the areas of agriculture, manufacturing, mining, metallurgy and transport, driven by the discovery of steam power. Technology later took another step with the harnessing of electricity to create such innovations as the electric motor, light bulb and countless others. Scientific advancement and the discovery of new concepts later allowed for powered flight, and advancements in medicine, chemistry, physics and engineering. The rise in technology has led to the construction of skyscrapers and large cities whose inhabitants rely on automobiles or other powered transit for transportation. Communication was also improved with the invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio and television.

The second half of the 20th century brought a host of new innovations. In physics, the discovery of nuclear fission has led to both nuclear weapons and nuclear power. Computers were also invented and later miniaturized utilizing transistors and integrated circuits. These advancements subsequently led to the creation of the Internet. Humans have also been able to explore space with satellites (later used for telecommunication) and in manned missions going all the way to the moon. In medicine, this era brought innovations such as open-heart surgery and later stem cell therapy along with new medications and treatments. Complex manufacturing and construction techniques and organizations are needed to construct and maintain these new technologies, and entire industries have arisen to support and develop succeeding generations of increasingly more complex tools. Modern technology increasingly relies on training and education — their designers, builders, maintainers, and users often require sophisticated general and specific training. Moreover, these technologies have become so complex that entire fields have been created to support them, including engineering, medicine, and computer science, and other fields have been made more complex, such as construction, transportation and architecture.

Technology and philosophy

Technicism

Generally, technicism is a reliance or confidence in technology as a benefactor of society. Taken to extreme, technicism is the belief that humanity will ultimately be able to control the entirety of existence using technology. In other words, human beings will someday be able to master all problems and possibly even control the future using technology. Some, such as Stephen V. Monsma, connect these ideas to the abdication of religion as a higher moral authority.

Optimism

Optimistic assumptions are made by proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and singularitarianism, which view technological development as generally having beneficial effects for the society and the human condition. In these ideologies, technological development is morally good. Some critics see these ideologies as examples of scientism and techno-utopianism and fear the notion of human enhancement and technological singularity which they support. Some have described Karl Marx as a techno-optimist.

Skepticism and Critics of Technology

On the somewhat skeptical side are certain philosophers like Herbert Marcuse and John Zerzan, who believe that technological societies are inherently flawed. They suggest that the inevitable result of such a society is to become evermore technological at the cost of freedom and psychological health.

Many, such as the Luddites and prominent philosopher Martin Heidegger, hold serious, although not entirely deterministic reservations, about technology (see "The Question Concerning Technology)". According to Heidegger scholars Hubert Dreyfus and Charles Spinosa, "Heidegger does not oppose technology. He hopes to reveal the essence of technology in a way that 'in no way confines us to a stultified compulsion to push on blindly with technology or, what comes to the same thing, to rebel helplessly against it.' Indeed, he promises that 'when we once open ourselves expressly to the essence of technology, we find ourselves unexpectedly taken into a freeing claim.'" What this entails is a more complex relationship to technology than either techno-optimists or techno-pessimists tend to allow.

Some of the most poignant criticisms of technology are found in what are now considered to be dystopian literary classics, for example Aldous Huxley's ''Brave New World'' and other writings, Anthony Burgess's ''A Clockwork Orange'', and George Orwell's ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''. And, in ''Faust'' by Goethe, Faust's selling his soul to the devil in return for power over the physical world, is also often interpreted as a metaphor for the adoption of industrial technology. More recently, modern works of science fiction, such as those by Philip K. Dick and William Gibson, and films (e.g. Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell) project highly ambivalent or cautionary attitudes toward technology's impact on human society and identity.

The late cultural critic Neil Postman distinguished tool-using societies from technological societies and, finally, what he called "technopolies," that is, societies that are dominated by the ideology of technological and scientific progress, to the exclusion or harm of other cultural practices, values and world-views.

Darin Barney has written about technology's impact on practices of citizenship and democratic culture, suggesting that technology can be construed as (1) an object of political debate, (2) a means or medium of discussion, and (3) a setting for democratic deliberation and citizenship. As a setting for democratic culture, Barney suggests that technology tends to make ethical questions, including the question of what a good life consists in, nearly impossible, because they already give an answer to the question: a good life is one that includes the use of more and more technology.

Nikolas Kompridis has also written about the dangers of new technology, such as genetic engineering, nanotechnology, synthetic biology and robotics. He warns that these technologies introduce unprecedented new challenges to human beings, including the possibility of the permanent alteration of our biological nature. These concerns are shared by other philosophers, scientists and public intellectuals who have written about similar issues (e.g. Francis Fukuyama, Jürgen Habermas, William Joy, and Michael Sandel).

Another prominent critic of technology is Hubert Dreyfus, who has published books ''On the Internet'' and ''What Computers Still Can't Do''.

Another, more infamous anti-technological treatise is ''Industrial Society and Its Future'', written by Theodore Kaczynski (aka The Unabomber) and printed in several major newspapers (and later books) as part of an effort to end his bombing campaign of the techno-industrial infrastructure.

Appropriate technology

The notion of appropriate technology, however, was developed in the 20th century (e.g., see the work of Jacques Ellul) to describe situations where it was not desirable to use very new technologies or those that required access to some centralized infrastructure or parts or skills imported from elsewhere. The eco-village movement emerged in part due to this concern.

Technology and competitiveness

In 1983 a classified program was initiated in the US intelligence community to reverse the US declining economic and military competitiveness. The program, Project Socrates, used all source intelligence to review competitiveness worldwide for all forms of competition to determine the source of the US decline. What Project Socrates determined was that technology exploitation is the foundation of all competitive advantage and that the source of the US declining competitiveness was the fact that decision-making through the US both in the private and public sectors had switched from decision making that was based on technology exploitation (i.e., technology-based planning) to decision making that was based on money exploitation (i.e., economic-based planning) at the end of World War II.

Technology is properly defined as any application of science to accomplish a function. The science can be leading edge or well established and the function can have high visibility or be significantly more mundane but it is all technology, and its exploitation is the foundation of all competitive advantage.

Technology-based planning is what was used to build the US industrial giants before WWII (e.g., Dow, DuPont, GM) and it what was used to transform the US into a superpower. It was not economic-based planning.

Project Socrates determined that to rebuild US competitiveness, decision making through out the US had to readopt technology-based planning. Project Socrates also determined that countries like China and India had continued executing technology-based (while the US took its detour into economic-based) planning, and as a result had considerable advanced the process and were using it to build themselves into superpowers. To rebuild US competitiveness the US decision-makers needed adopt a form of technology-based planning that was far more advanced than that used by China and India.

Project Socrates determined that technology-based planning makes an evolutionary leap forward every few hundred years and the next evolutionary leap, the Automated Innovation Revolution, was poised to occur. In the Automated Innovation Revolution the process for determining how to acquire and utilize technology for a competitive advantage (which includes R&D) is automated so that it can be executed with unprecedented speed, efficiency and agility.

Project Socrates developed the means for automated innovation so that the US could lead the Automated Innovation Revolution in order to rebuild and maintain the country's economic competitiveness for many generations.

Other animal species

right|thumbnail|This adult gorilla uses a branch as a walking stick to gauge the water's depth; an example of technology usage by primates. The use of basic technology is also a feature of other animal species apart from humans. These include primates such as chimpanzees, some dolphin communities, and crows. Considering a more generic perspective of technology as ethology of active environmental conditioning and control, we can also refer to animal examples such as beavers and their dams, or bees and their honeycombs.

The ability to make and use tools was once considered a defining characteristic of the genus Homo. However, the discovery of tool construction among chimpanzees and related primates has discarded the notion of the use of technology as unique to humans. For example, researchers have observed wild chimpanzees utilising tools for foraging: some of the tools used include leaf sponges, termite fishing probes, pestles and levers. West African chimpanzees also use stone hammers and anvils for cracking nuts, as do capuchin monkeys of Boa Vista, Brazil.

Future technology

Theories of technology often attempt to predict the future of technology based on the high technology and science of the time.

See also

Bernard Stiegler

Golden hammer

Critique of technology

History of science and technology

Knowledge economy

Lewis Mumford

Luddite

Niche construction

Technology assessment

Timeline of historic inventions

Technological convergence

Technology and society

Technology tree

-ology

Science and technology

Science and technology in Argentina

Technological superpowers

Theories and concepts in technology

Appropriate technology

Diffusion of innovations

Paradigm

Philosophy of technology

Posthumanism

Precautionary principle

Strategy of technology

Techno-progressivism

Technocentrism

Technocracy

Technocriticism

Technological evolution

Technological determinism

Technological nationalism

Technology readiness level

Technological singularity

Technological society

Technorealism

Technological revival

Transhumanism

Technology Management

Economics of technology

Technocracy (bureaucratic)

Technocapitalism

Technological diffusion

Technology acceptance model

Technology lifecycle

Technology transfer

Energy accounting

Nanosocialism

Post-scarcity

Technology journalism

The Verge

Engadget

TechCrunch

Wired (magazine)

References

Further reading

.

Frank Popper (2007) ''From Technological to Virtual Art'', Leonardo Books, MIT Press

Charlie Gere (2005) ''Art, Time and Technology: Histories of the Disappearing Body'', Berg

Kevin Kelly. ''What Technology Wants''. New York, Viking Press, October 14, 2010, hardcover, 416 pages. ISBN 9780670022151

External links

W5H of Technology Technology for Kids

Science and Technology in the Southern world

RedHerring.com ~ The Business of Technology

WiTEC - The European Association for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET)

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name	Stephen Merchant
birth name	Stephen James Merchant
birth date	November 24, 1974
birth place	Bristol, England
occupation	ActorDirectorWriterRadio presenter Comedian
yearsactive	1998–present
height	6 ft 7 in }}

Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom ''The Office,'' as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of ''Extras'', and as the co-host of ''The Ricky Gervais Show'' in its radio, podcast, audiobook and television-show forms. ''The Ricky Gervais Show'' in radio form has won a bronze Sony Award. He is also due to be appearing in the new TV series ''Life's Too Short''. He voiced the character Wheatley in the popular 2011 video game ''Portal 2''.

Early life

Merchant was born in Bristol, England, the son of Jane Elaine (née Hibbs), a nursery nurse, and Ronald John Merchant, an insurance representative. He attended Hanham High School. As he has described in Xfm London shows and podcasts, Merchant was a very shy child, tending to focus more on school work as opposed to sport. His school yearbook predicted that he would enjoy success. Merchant has also described his relatively normal childhood, which is often contrasted with that of his friend Karl Pilkington. Merchant is a graduate of the University of Warwick, and a former film reviewer on the student radio station, Radio Warwick, where he began his broadcasting career. The station's 1995/96 yearbook tipped him for great things: Members of Merchant's "posse" included film critic James King, Dan Warren, Neil the Maskell and Geraint the Welshman. Recently, a number of tapes of "The Steve Show", recorded at the time, have been rediscovered and are being distributed on various Merchant fansites. He graduated with a first class degree in Film and Literature in 1996.

Career

Pre-2001

Merchant began his career performing stand-up comedy at Bristol's Comedy Box, where, he recalls, "The first week I did really well ...The second week I died on my arse. I realised that stand-up was not that easy after all." He also appeared as a contestant on a 1997 episode of the TV game show ''Blockbusters'' and worked for a short time as a DJ for Radio Caroline.

Merchant met Ricky Gervais for the first time in 1997, when Gervais (then in the position of "Head of Speech" at the London radio station Xfm) hired Merchant as his assistant. (Gervais said later that he had called Merchant for an interview simply because it was the first CV handed to him.) Merchant and Gervais hosted a Saturday afternoon radio show together from January through to August 1998, when both of them left XFM as it was bought by the Capital Radio Group. In the same year, Merchant was a finalist at the Daily Telegraph Open Mic Awards.

Merchant did a total of 7 years on XFM 104.9. The Saturday show never had a large audience; Gervais says "It's a tin pot radio station... It's not even the biggest radio station in the building." Merchant created the features 'Hip Hop Hooray', 'Make Ricky Gervais laugh' and 'Song for the Ladies.'

After leaving XFM, Merchant began a production course at the BBC. As part of his coursework, he enlisted Gervais to perform in a 30-minute short film, "Seedy Boss," which became the earliest inspiration for their sitcom ''The Office''. They collaborated on a sitcom pilot called ''Golden Years'' featuring a manager suffering a mid-life crisis; the pilot aired on Channel 4's ''Comedy Lab'' series in September 1998, but failed to find further success.

2001–03 (''The Office'' and return to XFM)

In summer 2001, BBC Two aired the first series of ''The Office'', co-written and co-directed by Merchant and Gervais and starring the latter as paper sales office manager David Brent; the show initially received low ratings. Beginning in September, Merchant and Gervais returned to Xfm as co-hosts of ''The Ricky Gervais Show'', another Saturday afternoon program, which led to their fruitful relationship with producer Karl Pilkington.

They took a break from the radio show in mid-2002 in order to film the second series of ''The Office'', which aired that autumn; in addition to writing and directing the show, Merchant made a cameo performance in the episode "Charity" as a friend of Gareth Keenan's character known by the name Oggy or Ogmonster. (Merchant's father also appears in multiple episodes as an office handyman named Gordon.) Merchant also directed a sitcom pilot called ''The Last Chancers'', which aired on ''Comedy Lab'' in November 2002 and became a five-part series broadcast in December on E4.

Merchant and Gervais continued to host ''The Ricky Gervais Show'' through 2003, taking another break to film the ''Office'' Christmas special, which aired that December. The radio show went off the air indefinitely in January 2004. During 2004, Merchant appeared in a recurring role as a chef on ''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'' and in a cameo on ''Green Wing'', and served as a script associate on the Chris Morris and Charlie Brooker sitcom ''Nathan Barley''. The same year, ''The Office'' aired in the U.S to critical acclaim. It went on to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy which both Merchant and Gervais accepted.

This was followed in 2005 by a 4th series of the radio show, consisting of six episodes.

US series of ''The Office''

In March 2005, the American version of ''The Office'' premiered, with Merchant and Gervais credited as executive producers. They would later co-write the third-season episode "The Convict", and Merchant would direct the fifth-season episode "Customer Survey".

Podcast series

In December 2005, with sponsorship by ''The Guardian'', Merchant, Gervais and Pilkington began recording a weekly podcast (also called ''The Ricky Gervais Show''). Throughout its first series (through 20 February 2006), the podcast was consistently ranked the most popular in the world, and was certified as the most-downloaded of all time by Guinness World Records. Two more series and three special instalments (the "Podfather Trilogy") were recorded in 2006, with the final episode released on Christmas Eve. In late 2008, they recorded four more podcasts and began a series of audiobooks examining Pilkington's perspective on various subjects.

''Extras''

In July 2005, following a brief return of the XFM radio show (filling in for Adam and Joe), Gervais and Merchant's new sitcom ''Extras'' premiered on BBC2. The series features Merchant in a supporting role as Darren Lamb, the incompetent agent to struggling actor Andy Millman, played by Gervais. Series 2 of ''Extras'' aired in late 2006, followed by a Christmas special in December 2007; all three instalments aired on HBO in the United States. Merchant won a 2006 British Comedy Award for Best TV Actor for his performance as Lamb.

''The Steve Show''

In January 2007, Merchant began hosting his own radio show on BBC 6 Music, airing weekly on Sunday afternoons. Instead of comedy, ''The Steve Show'' focused on music and particularly "new music," defined by Merchant as "music you've not heard before." Many of the songs on the show were suggested by listeners or co-presenters. In addition to Merchant, the show featured several of his friends, including his housemate Dan, his childhood friend Harry, and actor Rufus Gerrard-Wright (who also appeared in an episode of ''Extras''). A spring search for a "she-J" resulted in the addition of former ''Byker Grove'' actor Sammy T. Dobson joining the ensemble. "The Steve Show" aired for four seasons and concluded in May 2009; the presenters continue to contribute to a music blog called the Steve Show Posse.

''Stand-up''

Merchant will begin his first nationwide tour of the UK, ''Hello Ladies...'', in September 2011, with a stop in New York as well.

Other work

Merchant has played small roles in the films ''Hot Fuzz'' (2007), ''Run Fatboy Run'' (2007), and ''The Invention of Lying'' (2009), the latter starring Ricky Gervais. He has a supporting role in the 2009 film ''Tooth Fairy''. On television, Merchant made a cameo appearance in a non-speaking role on the sixth season premiere of ''24''; he also starred as a sports commentator in the unaired pilot ''No Skillz''. Additionally, Merchant provides the voice-over in 2009 advertisements for Barclays and Waterstone's.

In 2009, Merchant and Gervais collaborated on the film ''Cemetery Junction'', set in working-class England in the 1970s. The film was released in April 2010 to generally mixed to positive reviews.

In September 2010, Merchant produced a television show alongside Ricky Gervais starring Karl Pilkington called ''An Idiot Abroad''.

In July 2010, filming finished for the pilot of ''Life's Too Short'', written by Ricky Gervais and Merchant, who will both cameo alongside the show's star, Warwick Davis. In 2011, he lent his voice to the CGI film ''Gnomeo and Juliet'', and had a role in the Farrelly brothers' comedy ''Hall Pass''.

In January 2011, Stephen appeared at the 'Free Fringe Benefit' at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London. A show of stand-up to benefit the Free Fringe at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival, alongside comedians Jeremy Hardy, Michael Legge, Robin Ince, Mitch Benn, Isy Suttie, Bennett Arron, Andy Zaltzman and founder Peter Buckley Hill. He also stated on the recent free podcast ''The Ricky Gervais Guide to...Comic Relief'' that he will be touring his first solo stand up tour later in the year.

On ''Film 2011'''s Questionnaire feature, broadcast on 2 March 2011, Merchant described his favourite film as ''The Apartment'' (1960), his guilty pleasure as ''Con Air'' (1997), the film he cried at as ''The Bridges of Madison County'', and the film he didn't get as ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy.

Merchant provides the voice of Wheatley in Valve's 2011 video game ''Portal 2'', a role which earned him widespread acclaim among reviewers. While he states his work on the project as "exhausting", Merchant is also "very pleased by the response people have had to it. What I was really pleased by how people seemed to respond to it in the way they do with a movie they've enjoyed, or a TV show they've enjoyed."

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2007	''Hot Fuzz''	Peter Ian Staker
2007	''Run Fatboy Run''	Man with Broken Leg
2009	''The Invention of Lying''	Man at the Door
2010		Tracy
2010		Dougie Boden	Also Writer/Director
2010	''Jackboots on Whitehall''	Tom	Voice Only
2010		Holyrood Footman
2011		Gary
2011	''Gnomeo and Juliet''	Paris	Voice Only
2012	''Movie 43''	Donald

Television

Year	Show	Role	Notes
2002	''The Office''	The Ogg Monster	Writer/Director
2004	''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace''	Chef	Episode 2 – Cameo
2004	''Green Wing''	Lab Technician	Episode 6 – Cameo
2005	''Extras''	Darren Lamb	Writer/Director
2010–	''An Idiot Abroad''	Himself
2010–		Himself
2011	''Life's Too Short''	Version Of Himself	Writer/Director
2011	''Ronnie Corbett's Comedy Britain''	Himself	Guest

Game

Year	Game	Role	Notes
2011	''Portal 2''		Voice Only

Awards

!Awarding Body/Event	!Awarded
! BAFTA Awards		* 2002 Situation Comedy Award ''The Office''	* 2003 Situation Comedy Award ''The Office''	* 2004 Situation Comedy Award ''The Office''
! British Comedy Award		* 2006 Best TV Comedy Actor ''Extras''
! Broadcasting Press Guild		* 2002 Best Writer ''The Office''	* 2003 Best Writer ''The Office''
! Emmy		* 2006 Outstanding Comedy Series ''The Office''
! WGA Award		* 2007 Best Comedy Series ''The Office''

Personal life

Merchant spent two years dating digital advertising producer Claire Jones, although their relationship reportedly ended in 2009. Merchant is an atheist.

Appearance

Merchant's considerable height (6ft 7in; 2.01 m) has been a source of humour and teasing throughout his life. He made a cameo appearance in ''The Office'', playing a character nicknamed the Ogg-Monster, whom David Brent called "a big lanky goggle-eyed freak". His height, and also dance moves, have attracted comments from several sources. The ''Daily Mail'' newspaper described him as a "giant albatross hopping on stilts" as he danced in a London pub (although Merchant denied this during an episode of the ''Ricky Gervais Show'', stating that he did not take to the dance floor on that occasion). While discussing what the Daily Mail had said on the show, friend and collaborator Ricky Gervais has likened him to an "upright lizard being given electro-shock treatment" and a "stick insect with glasses" or ''Beaker'' from ''The Muppet Show''. Radio producer and co-host of Merchant, Karl Pilkington, has described his moves as a "bit of weird art" in the past, while British comic and broadcaster Russell Brand has likened him to a "graceful grasshopper". Merchant has commented that he prefers to liken himself to fellow tall man and English football player, Peter Crouch who is also six foot seven inches. Merchant impersonated Crouch in a BBC sketch broadcast as part of the pre-match build-up to England's opening game at the 2006 World Cup.

References

External links

Stephan Merchant's official website

Steve's BBC 6Music site

The Steve Show's post-6Music site

Stephen interviewed on BBC Radio Five Live

6Music homepage

Xfm: Stephen Merchant Biography

RaW: Radio Warwick

''Tall man, taller success story'' – interview in ''The Telegraph'' – 8 August 2005

Interview with Barbara Ellen in The Observer Magazine – 5 November 2006

Radar Online interview – 11 January 2007

An Englishman abroad

Stephen Merchant interview

Stephen Merchant interviewed by Sophie Elmhirst on ''New Statesman''.

Category:1974 births Category:Alumni of the University of Warwick Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English comedy writers Category:English podcasters Category:English radio DJs Category:English radio personalities Category:English television actors Category:English television directors Category:English television producers Category:English television writers Category:English video game actors Category:English voice actors Category:Living people Category:The Office (U.S. TV series) Category:People from Bristol Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners Category:English stand-up comedians Category:English atheists

be:Стывен Мерчэнт da:Stephen Merchant de:Stephen Merchant nl:Stephen Merchant no:Stephen Merchant pt:Stephen Merchant ru:Мерчант, Стивен sv:Stephen Merchant

name	Larry Merchant
birth date	February 11, 1931
birth place	Brooklyn, New York, USA
occupation	Television journalist
spouse	Patricia Stich (former actress)
children	two daughters, 3 step-sons
credits	''HBO World Championship Boxing'' Commentator (1978-present)
agent	}}

Larry Merchant (born February 11, 1931) is an American former sportswriter, a longtime commentator for HBO Sports presentations of ''HBO World Championship Boxing'', ''Boxing After Dark'' and HBO pay-per-view telecasts, and is considered "the greatest television boxing analyst of all time" by ESPN Boxing analyst Dan Rafael.

Life and career

Merchant was born in Brooklyn, New York. In 1978, Merchant joined HBO Sports as an analyst. Prior to joining HBO Sports, Merchant was a well-regarded sports columnist with ''The Philadelphia Daily News'' and a general reporter for ''The New York Post''.

The current ''HBO Boxing'' team consists of Merchant, Jim Lampley, and Emanuel Steward for championship and pay-per-view fights. Previous lineups have included Sugar Ray Leonard, George Foreman and Roy Jones Jr., with the latter two having clashed with Merchant. Merchant has also clashed with the unofficial judge Harold Lederman.

Among the fighters who have clashed with Merchant include Mike Tyson, Oscar de la Hoya and, more recently, Floyd Mayweather Jr. The de la Hoya incident came during his fight with Pernell Whitaker. When De la Hoya entered to the ring to Mariachi music, Merchant stated that while he loved Mariachi music, he felt that it "stunk" in this particular situation. Merchant would later apologize on the air after De La Hoya tried to have him removed from HBO.

Merchant is well known for his post fight interviews which feature his hard hitting, blunt questions and confrontational interview style. These have drawn both praise and ire in the past. Fans have claimed them to be candid and honest while detractors consider them to be purposely agitational and insensitive at times. An example of this occurred when Vernon Forrest won a controversial decision in 2006 over Ike Quartey. When Forrest thanked those close to him, Merchant quipped, "Would you also like to thank the judges?"

In 1985, Merchant received the Sam Taub Award for Boxing Broadcast Journalism presented by the Boxing Writers Association of America. He is also the author of three books. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma.

In October 2002, he was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in Los Angeles.

On June 8, 2007, due to a storm of negative publicity from Merchant's impending departure, Merchant and HBO agreed on a two-year contract extension. Under this agreement, Merchant's heir apparent, Max Kellerman, received an expanded role and alternated with Merchant on ''HBO World Championship Boxing'' and pay-per-view broadcasts.

On January 23, 2009, HBO picked up Merchant's two-year option at the end of his 2007 contract. Merchant will continue to alternate "World Championship Boxing" telecasts and HBO PPV cards with Kellerman.

References

External links

HBO Biography

Article on Merchant by Tom Hauser

Interview w/ Merchant on Doghouse Boxing

Category:1931 births Category:American sportswriters Category:Boxing commentators Category:Living people

Name	Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Realname	Floyd Joy Mayweather, Jr.
Nickname	Pretty BoyMoney
Weight	Super FeatherweightLightweightLight WelterweightWelterweightSuper Welterweight
Height
Reach
Nationality	American
Birth date	February 24, 1977
Birth place	Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
Home
Style	Orthodox
Total	41
Wins	41
Ko	25
Losses	0
Draws	0 Official Site}}

Floyd Joy Mayweather, Jr. (born Floyd Sinclair; February 24, 1977), is an American professional boxer. He is a five-division world champion, where he has won ten world titles, including the lineal championship in two different weight classes. He is a two-time ''The Ring'' "Fighter of the Year" winning the award in 1998 and 2007, and also Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) "Fighter of the Year" in 2007. He is undefeated as a professional boxer.

Currently, Mayweather is the WBC Emeritus World Super Welterweight Champion. He was formerly rated as the "number one" pound-for-pound best boxer in the world by most sporting news and boxing websites, including ''The Ring'', BoxRec.com, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, BBC Sports and Yahoo! Sports but was removed from the rankings due to retirement and currently due to inactivity.

Early Life

Fitted with boxing gloves while he was still a toddler, Floyd Mayweather started boxing at the age of seven, and his acumen for the hardest game was obvious from the start. Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Mayweather was born into a boxing family. His father, Floyd Mayweather Sr. was a former welterweight contender who fought Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Leonard, and his uncles, Roger Mayweather and Jeff Mayweather, were also pro fighters, with Roger – Floyd’s current trainer – winning two world championships. Mayweather was born with his mother's last name, but his last name would change to Mayweather shortly thereafter. Aged 16, Mayweather went to live with his grandmother, after his father was sent to federal prison for smuggling drugs.

Amateur career and Olympics

Mayweather had an amateur record of 84–6 and won national Golden Gloves championships in 1993 (at 106 lb), 1994 (at 114 lb), and 1996 (at 125 lb). He was given the nickname "Pretty Boy" by his amateur teammates because he had relatively few scars, a result of the defensive techniques that his father (Floyd Mayweather, Sr.) and uncle (Roger Mayweather) had taught him. In his orthodox defensive stance, Mayweather often utilizes the 'shoulder roll'. The shoulder roll is an old-school boxing technique in which the right hand is held normally or slightly higher than normal, the left hand is down around the midsection, and the lead shoulder is raised high on the cheek in order to cover the chin and block punches. The right hand (from orthodox stance) is used as it normally would be to block punches coming from the other side, such as left hooks. From this stance, Mayweather blocks, slips, and deflects most of his opponents' punches, even when cornered, by twisting left and right to the rhythm of their punches.

At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Mayweather won a bronze medal by reaching the semi-finals of the featherweight (57 kg) division.

In the opening round, Mayweather led 10–1 on points over Bakhtiyar Tileganov of Kazakhstan before he won in Round 2 by referee stoppage. In the second round, Mayweather outpointed Artur Gevorgyan of Armenia 16–3. In the quarterfinals, the 19 year old Mayweather, narrowingly defeated the 22 year old, Lorenzo Aragon of Cuba in an all-action bout to win 12–11, becoming the first U.S boxer to defeat a Cuban in 20 years. The last time this had occurred, was at 1976 Summer Olympics when the U.S Olympic boxing team, captured five gold medals, among its recipients was boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard. In his semifinal bout against the eventual silver medalist, Serafim Todorov of Bulgaria, Mayweather lost by a controversial decision similarly to the Roy Jones Jr.'s decision.

The U.S team filed a protest over the Mayweather bout, claiming the judges were intimated by Bulgaria's Emil Jetchev, head of the boxing officials, into favoring Bulgarian Serafim Todorov by a 10-9 decision in the 125-pound semifinal bout. Three of Jetchev's countrymen were in gold medal bouts. Judge Bill Waeckerle, one of the four U.S judges working the games for the International Amateur Boxing Federation, quit both as an Olympic judge and as a federation judge after Mayweather lost a decision loudly booed by the crowd at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum. "I refuse to be part of an organisation that continues to conduct its officiating in this manner," Waeckerle wrote in a letter of resignation to federation President Anwar Chowdhry.

Even the referee, Hamad Hafaz Shouman of Egypt, thought Mayweather has won, mistakenly raising his hand as the decision was announced giving the bout to the Bulgarian. In the official protest, U.S team manager Gerald Smith said Mayweather landed punches that were not counted, while Todorov was given points without landing a punch. "The judging was totally incompetent," Waeckerle said. The judges failed to impose a mandatory two-point deduction against Todorov after he was warned five times by the referee for slapping.

"Everybody knows Floyd Mayweather is the gold-medal favorite at 57 kilograms," Mayweather said afterward. "In America, it's known as 125 pounds. You know and I know I wasn't getting hit. They say he's the world champion. Now you all know who the real world champion is."

Qualification as a Featherweight for the United States Olympic Team.

Defeated William Jenkins RSC/TKO-3

Defeated James Baker RSCH/TKO-1

Lost to Augie Sanchez PTS (11-12)

Defeated Carlos Navarro PTS (31-11)

Defeated Augie Sanchez PTS (12-8) at the Box-offs

Defeated Augie Sanchez PTS (20-10) at the Box-offs

Olympic Results

Defeated Bakhtiyar Tileganov (Kazakhstan) RSCI/TKO-2

Defeated Artur Gevorgyan (Armenia) PTS (16-3)

Defeated Lorenzo Aragon (Cuba) PTS (12-11)

Lost to Serafim Todorov (Bulgaria) PTS (9-10)

''Controversial decision was officially protested (unsuccessfully) by the U.S. team.''

Professional Career

Super Featherweight

Mayweather fought his first professional bout on October 11, 1996 against fellow newcomer Roberto Apodaca who was knocked out in round 2. Mayweather's trainer at the time was his uncle, Roger Mayweather, because Floyd Mayweather, Sr. was still imprisoned after having been convicted of illegal drug trafficking in 1993. Mayweather, Sr. took over as Mayweather, Jr.'s trainer when he was released from prison (after Mayweather, Jr.'s fourteenth fight—a second-round knockout of Sam Girard). From 1996 to early 1998, Mayweather won most of his fights by knockout or TKO.

On October 3, 1998, Mayweather won his first world title, the WBC Super Featherweight championship, when the corner of Genaro Hernandez stopped the fight after round 8. The official scorecards at the time of stoppage had Mayweather ahead 80-72, 79-73, and 79-73. Hernandez had never been defeated at the weight class, and his only loss had come to Oscar De La Hoya three years earlier.

In his first title defense, Mayweather would challenge top Super Featherweight contender Angel Manfredy. Manfredy was viewed as one of boxings top contenders. He hadn't lost a fight in over 4 years and was coming off a big win over Arturo Gatti 11 months earlier. The bout took place on December 19, 1998. Mayweather won the fight by technical knockout in the second round.

Mayweather would then defend his title against top contenders Carlos Rios, Justin Juuko, and Carlos Gerena. Before he fought against former WBC featherweight champion Gregorio Vargas in early 2000, Mayweather fired his father as his manager and replaced him with James Prince. A few months after the fight, the rift between the father and son became wide enough that Mayweather, Jr. fired Mayweather, Sr. as his trainer as well. Roger Mayweather returned to his role as Mayweather, Jr.'s trainer in his next bout—a non-title fight against Emanuel Burton. In an interview in 2004, Mayweather, Jr. said that he loves Mayweather, Sr. as his father but feels that he has better chemistry with Roger, and his father had put too much pressure on him to be perfect.

Mayweather's biggest fight as a super featherweight was on January 20, 2001, against unbeaten Diego Corrales. At the time, neither fighter had been defeated or knocked down. In the bout, Mayweather won every round and knocked down Corrales five times (three times in round 7 and twice in round 10). After the fifth knockdown, Corrales' cornermen climbed onto the apron and stopped the fight, thereby establishing Mayweather as one of the claimants to boxing's mythical pound-for-pound title. At the time of the stoppage, Mayweather was way ahead on the scorecards, leading by the official tallies of 89–79, 90–79, and 90–78.

In Mayweather's next bout, on May 26, 2001, future IBF champion Carlos "Famoso" Hernández knocked down Mayweather for the first time. Mayweather entered the bout with injured hands. When Mayweather hit Hernández with a left hook in round 6, the pain caused Mayweather to drop his left hand to the canvas, and the referee called it a knockdown. Nonetheless, Mayweather won the fight by unanimous decision. The official scorecards read 119-109, 117-109, and 116-111, all in favor of Mayweather. In the award-winning documentary film ''More Than Famous'', Hernández's bout against Mayweather was prominently featured.

Mayweather's last fight in the super featherweight division was against future super featherweight and lightweight champion Jesús Chávez, on November 10, 2001. It was Mayweather's eighth defense of the WBC Super Featherweight title, which he had held for more than three years. He won when Chávez's corner stopped the fight after round 9. Official scorecards had Mayweather ahead 89-82, 88-83, and 87-84. Mayweather had such difficulty making weight for this fight that he did not eat for four days before the weigh-in.

In 2002, Mayweather moved up to the lightweight division. Mayweather fought only four bouts at this weight, but they were all world championship fights. Mayweather's first two bouts at Lightweight were against WBC Lightweight Champion José Luis Castillo.

Lightweight

The first bout took place on April 20, 2002. Castillo had success when he cut off the ring and used his strength to wear down Mayweather. But it was not enough to make up for his slow start in the fight. In the early rounds, Mayweather used his superior speed and footwork to out point Castillo. Many ringside observers had Mayweather winning the first 4 or 5 rounds. However, in the middle and late rounds, Castillo successfully cut the ring off and pounded Mayweather to the body. Mayweather won the unanimous decision, with official scorecards reading 116-111, 115-111, and 115-111, in favor of Mayweather. Still, many analysts and fans feel that Mayweather should have lost the fight. In a post fight interview, Mayweather blamed his injured hands for his sub-par performance against Castillo, and said he would entertain the idea of a rematch. Bob Arum and Top Rank called for an immediate rematch after the fight as well.

Mayweather and Castillo would fight a rematch on December 7, 2002. In the fight, Mayweather used his quick footwork, combinations, and jab to coast to another unanimous decision victory, this time with no controversy. The smaller Mayweather was outweighed by Castillo on the night of the fight, as Castillo weighed 147 and Mayweather weighed 138. Official scorecards read 115-113, 116-113, and 115-113, in favor of Mayweather.

On April 19, 2003, Mayweather dominated the Dominican Victoriano Sosa and won by unanimous decision. Mayweather's next fight (on November 1, 2003) was in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He fought against the promising South African knockout specialist Phillip Ndou, whose record was 31–1 with 30 KOs. Uncharacteristically, Mayweather was offensively oriented from the beginning of the fight. Round 5 was one of 2003's most action-packed. In the middle of the round, Mayweather landed a barrage of powerful punches. Ndou endured and threw wild punches that forced Mayweather into the ropes, but Mayweather demonstrated his rhythmic defensive technique and let Ndou wear himself out further. In round 6, Ndou wobbled and was pushed down. In round 7, a combination of three straight right hands knocked down Ndou and caused a TKO, when N'Dou's trainers – Nick Durandt and Tommy Brooks – contemplated throwing in the towel. However, the ref stopped the fight as Ndou did not move forward (as part of a test to ensure he was okay from the knockdown).

Super Lightweight

In 2004, Mayweather moved up to the super lightweight division. His first fight in this division was against southpaw DeMarcus Corley. Mayweather used his speed and jabs to win the early rounds. In the first minute of round 4, Corley landed a solid left hand and drove Mayweather into the ropes, but Mayweather recovered and fought back ferociously. After that round, Mayweather mostly controlled Corley. Mayweather knocked down Corley in rounds 8 and 10, but Corley was able to continue until the end. Mayweather won by unanimous decision. The fight was Mayweather's only one in 2004.

On January 22, 2005, Mayweather fought against Henry Bruseles of Puerto Rico in a WBC junior welterweight title eliminator bout. Mayweather easily outclassed Bruseles throughout the first seven rounds. In round 8, Mayweather knocked down Bruseles twice, and the fight was stopped. The win over Bruseles made Mayweather the mandatory challenger for Arturo Gatti's WBC Super Lightweight Championship.

Before the fight, Mayweather was supremely confident. He described Gatti with terms such as "a C+ fighter", "a fake", and "a blown-up club fighter." The pay-per-view fight occurred on June 25, 2005 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where the fans heavily supported Gatti. Near the end of round 1, Mayweather pushed Gatti's head down in close and the referee instructed the fighters to "Stop punching." Gatti broke and left himself vulnerable while Mayweather either deliberately or indeliberately disobeyed the referee's command and continued to land punches. Gatti turned to the referee to complain and Mayweather capitalised, sending Gatti to the canvas with more shots for what was scored a knockdown, despite Gatti's complaints. Throughout the next five rounds, the much faster Mayweather landed with nearly every big shot against Gatti, who had no offense with which he could return fire. Gatti's corner stopped the fight after round 6—giving Mayweather his third world title. Mayweather was ahead 60-52, 60-53, and 60-52 on all three scorecards at the time of stoppage. It was one of the most one-sided and most impressive contests in boxing history. In the post-fight interview, Mayweather praised Gatti and claimed that his pre-fight comments "were just to sell tickets." Among many boxing experts, Mayweather's one-sided dominance over Gatti solidified his position as one of the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Compubox had Mayweather outlanding Gatti by a total of 168 to 41.

One month after the Gatti fight, Mayweather went to trial for a domestic violence charge. He faced a minimum of one year in prison if he was convicted. Mayweather had been accused of violence against his former girlfriend, Josie Harris. Harris had claimed that Mayweather had punched and kicked her during an argument in Mayweather's Bentley, outside a Las Vegas nightclub in 2003. During the trial, however, Harris admitted that she had lied on the initial police report and testified that Mayweather never hit her. The jury acquitted Mayweather.

Welterweight

After his fight with Gatti, Mayweather would move up to the Welterweight division. On November 19, 2005, Mayweather fought a non-title bout at against welterweight Sharmba Mitchell. In round 3, Mayweather knocked down Mitchell with a straight right hand to the head. In round 6, another straight right hand—this one to Mitchell's body—dropped Mitchell again and ended the fight.

On April 8, 2006, Mayweather defeated Zab Judah for the IBF and vacant IBO world welterweight titles by unanimous decision. Beforehand, the fight had been jeopardized after Judah lost the WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine welterweight titles to Carlos Manuel Baldomir on January 7, 2006, but Mayweather's and Judah's camps reworked the contract and decided that the fight would go on. In the fight, Mayweather stayed calm during Judah's aggressive early rounds. Mayweather began to dominate Judah in round 5, and Judah eventually bled. Near the conclusion of the tenth round, Judah hit Mayweather with a left hand that was clearly below the belt and followed up with a right-handed rabbit punch. After referee Richard Steele called time with five seconds remaining in the round, Roger Mayweather entered the ring and approached Judah, but Steele restrained him. Judah's father and trainer, Yoel Judah, entered the ring as well. Floyd remained in the neutral corner while both Yoel and Zab scuffled with Roger (and others who had entered the ring) until police and security managed to restore order. Roger was thrown out, but the fight continued and went the scheduled 12 rounds. Mayweather won by the official scores of 116–112, 117–111, and 119–109. Compubox statistics showed Mayweather as landing 188 punches to 82 for Judah.

Five days after the fight, the Nevada State Athletic Commission decided not to overturn the result of the bout, but Roger Mayweather was fined US$200,000 and suspended for one year. The suspension entails that Roger can train Mayweather, Jr. in the gym but cannot work the corner during fights. On April 17, 2006, the IBF ordered a rematch between Mayweather and Judah, but the NSAC suspended Judah for one year on May 8, 2006. Mayweather vacated the IBF title on June 20, 2006.

After his fight against Judah, it was reported that Mayweather rejected an offer of US$8 million to fight Antonio Margarito, citing his split with promoter Bob Arum as the reason. Oscar De la Hoya, however, postponed his decision until 2007, leaving Mayweather to choose his next opponent. Mayweather considered moving up in weight again to fight junior middleweight champion Cory Spinks, but because of negative publicity and Spinks' impending mandatory defense of his title, he finally decided to face WBC and ''The Ring'' welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir on November 4, 2006 in Las Vegas.

The bout took place on November 4, 2006. Despite having not lost in over 8 years, Baldomir was seen as a heavy underdog in the fight. Mayweather would ultimately defeat Baldomir by unanimous decision for both titles. Ringside punch statistics showed Mayweather landing 199 of 458 punches, while Baldomir landed just 79 of 670. Mayweather earned $8 million for the fight, while Baldomir was paid $1.6 million. Both were career highs in earnings for each fighter at the time.

During the fight, Baldomir chased Mayweather, unable to land any meaningful shots but trying to remain the busier fighter, while Mayweather picked away with sharp jabs and hooks, even managing to cut Baldomir over his left eye in the first round. This pattern continued throughout the fight. The defensive-minded Mayweather put on what many witnesses and Mayweather himself called a "boxing clinic" to take Baldomir's WBC and Ring welterweight titles in a lopsided 12 round decision. Two judges had Mayweather winning all 12 rounds, with the other giving all but two rounds to Mayweather. After the fight Mayweather called out for a fight with Oscar De la Hoya.

Super Welterweight

The World Awaits

Mayweather's next match was the long-anticipated superfight against six-division champion and current WBC Super Welterweight titleholder Oscar De La Hoya on May 5, 2007. De La Hoya's belt was on the line, which required Mayweather to move up in weight from 147 pounds to 154. However, Mayweather was outweight by more than 10 pounds on the night of the fight, coming in at only 150 pounds. Despite De La Hoya's insistence that money was not a factor, the Mayweather-De La Hoya bout set the record for most PPV buys for a boxing match with 2.7 million households, shattering the record of 1.95 million for Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson II. Around $120 million in revenue was generated by the PPV, which set another record. With the percentages factored in, Oscar De La Hoya ended up earning $58 million for the bout, the highest purse ever for a fighter. The previous record was $35 million, held by Tyson and Holyfield. Floyd Mayweather earned about $25 million for the fight.

At one time, Floyd Mayweather, Sr., Mayweather, Jr.'s father, was in talks to train Oscar De La Hoya and be in his corner during the fight but he decided to train with Freddie Roach. Mayweather won the fight by split decision in 12 rounds, capturing the World Boxing Council (WBC) title. However, many analysts and ringside observers felt Mayweather should have won the clear unanimous decision. In the early rounds, De La Hoya had some success cutting off the ring, attempting to pound Mayweather on the inside. Despite being very active on the inside, many of De La Hoya's punches were ineffective and landed on Mayweathers arms or shoulders. By the middle of the fight, it was seen as an even bout by the announcers. However, Mayweather turned the tide in the middle and late rounds, often hitting De La Hoya at will. Offical scorecards read 116-112, 115-113 (Mayweather), and 115-113 (De La Hoya). Compubox had Mayweather out landing De La Hoya 207 to 122 in total punches and 134 to 82 in power punches, as well as having better accuracy in the entire fight. After the bout, Mayweather contemplated retirement, saying he had nothing left to prove in the boxing world.

Return to Welterweight

Undefeated

After his fight with De La Hoya, Mayweather decided to relinquish his WBC junior middleweight championship and kept his WBC welterweight championship. On July 28, 2007, it was announced that Mayweather would come out of his short retirement to fight light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton which was promoted by Oscar De La Hoya's promotion company Golden Boy Promotions and Floyd Mayweather's "Mayweather Promotions." The bout was labelled "Undefeated" and took place on December 8, 2007, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, in a fight which was the biggest welterweight showdown of two undefeated fighters since Oscar De La Hoya and Félix Trinidad met in their 1999 superfight. In the build up to their fight, Mayweather claimed that he was the greatest boxer ever, saying: "I respect what Robinson and Ali did for the sport. But I am the greatest, and this is my time."

Mayweather controlled the fight from the start and knocked Hatton out in the 10th round to retain the welterweight championship. Hatton suffered a cut over his right eye in round three from the punches of Mayweather, and it seemed that it was at this point that his pace and movement began to slow. In round six Hatton lost a point for punching the back of Floyd's head as he was caught draped on the ropes. Mayweather had a huge eighth round, landing a number of clean, effective power shots.

In the 10th round Hatton was caught with a check left hook thrown from Mayweather's hip, and as a result he fell forward head first into the turnbuckle and hit the deck. Hatton managed to make it to his feet, but was clearly dazed. Two more big lefts in a flurry put Ricky down again and Cortez stopped it at 1:35 of round 10. Offical scorecards read 88-82, 89-81, and 89-81, at the time of stoppage, all in favor of Mayweather.

After the fight, Mayweather said that Hatton was one of the toughest fighters he had ever fought, that he just kept coming and coming, and that he wants to promote fights, with Hatton being his first client. Mayweather announced his retirement from boxing to concentrate on his promotional company.

Comeback

Number One/Numero Uno

On May 2, 2009, it was confirmed that Mayweather was coming out of a 21-month retirement to fight lightweight champion Juan Manuel Márquez at a catchweight of 144 lb on July 18 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on HBO PPV. At the time, Marquez was the number 2 rated pound for pound boxer in the world. The fight was postponed due to a rib injury Mayweather received during training. HBO's reality series 24/7 was also postponed to start on August 29. The fight took place on September 19, 2009 in conjunction with Mexican Independence Day, traditionally a big boxing weekend. During the official weigh in for their 144 lb bout, Mayweather failed to meet the required limit by weighing in at 146 lb, two pounds heavier than Marquez. He was subsequently fined as a result. However it was later revealed that the contract was changed so that Mayweather could make weight within the welterweight limit of 140–147 lb as long as Marquez received a large guaranteed sum of money. Mayweather won a unanimous decision after 12 rounds in one of the most statistically lop sided fights between 2 world class opponents. Scorecards read 120-107, 119-108, and 118-109, all in favor of Mayweather. Marquez only managed to land 12% of his total 583 punches while Mayweather landed 59% of 490 total punches. This fight marks only the fifth time in boxing history that a non-heavyweight fight sold more than 1 million pay-per-views, with the official HBO numbers coming in at over 1 million buys equalling a total of approximately $52 million. Four of those fights all featured Oscar De La Hoya as the main event, making this fight the one of two events where a non-heavyweight fight sold over 1 million PPVs without Oscar De La Hoya. The other fight was Manny Pacquiao versus Miguel Cotto which sold 1.25 million PPVs.

Who R U Picking?

Negotiations for a proposed matchup between Mayweather and Shane Mosley immediately began after Andre Berto pulled out of his scheduled January 30 unification bout with the latter, due to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Both sides eventually agreed to fight on May 1, 2010 for Mosley's WBA World Welterweight title. It was later revealed that Floyd Mayweather refused to pay sanctioning fees required by WBA, Mayweather said "all belts do is collect dust". However, the belt was only on the line for Mosley to defend against Mayweather. Both Mayweather and Mosley agreed to Olympic-style testing for this bout. Mosley started the fight well, landing two solid right hands in Round 2 which caused Mayweather's knees to buckle. Mayweather recovered well, and went on to dominate the remainder of the fight, soundly outboxing Mosley and showing more aggression than in his recent fights. Mayweather eventually won a unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the fight 119–109, 119–109, and 118–110. In round 4, Compubox picked up Mosley throwing seven power punches without landing any, making Mayweather the second boxer after Roy Jones Jr. to go an entire round without being hit by a power punch. After the fight, the president of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya, stated that he believes Mayweather is the best in the game right now.

The fight was the second highest selling non heavyweight pay-per-view bout in the history of boxing, with 1.4 million buys. HBO officially released that the fight generated $78.3 million in revenue. After the fight Mayweather expressed interest in moving up in weight to capture a world title in six different weight classes and to challenge newly crowned middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.

Negotiations with Manny Pacquiao

Seven-division world champion Manny Pacquiao had reportedly agreed to fight Mayweather on March 13, 2010 for a split of $50 million which the promoters of both camp already agreed. However, the fight was called off due to disagreements about Olympic style drug tests. Floyd Mayweather's camp wanted blood tests by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which will conducts the tests anytime from training up to the fight date. However the Pacquiao camp refused to provide these samples, only willing to allow blood to be taken from Pacquiao if the test were scheduled. On the other hand, Pacquiao's coach, Freddie Roach, has commented that he would allow a blood sample to be taken from Pacquiao if there was a cut-off date for the blood testing or at least one week before the fight. In an attempt to resolve their differences, the two camps went through a process of mediation before a retired judge. After the mediation process Mayweather agreed to a 14-day no blood testing window. However, Pacquiao refused and instead only agreed to a 24-day no blood testing window. Consequently, on January 7, 2010, Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum declared that the fight was officially off and that he has offered the chance to fight Pacquiao instead to Joshua Clottey, while Mayweather accepted the offer to fight Shane Mosley.

It was also reported that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer and Top Rank Chief Bob Arum were trying to work out the failed negotiation for a fight between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather has asked Pacquiao to undergo random blood and urine testing up until the fight day. Pacquiao finally than agreed to give blood up until 14 days before the fight, which is closer to the fight day than the 18-day cut-off in Mayweather's previous bout against Mosley. Pacquiao said that giving blood too close to the fight day will weaken him, and also stating that he has a fear of needles, despite having tattoo's on his body. On June 12, 2010, the President of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya, stated during an interview with a Spanish network that the deal for the fight was very close and the negotiation process has been very difficult. On June 30, 2010, Arum announced that the management of both sides had agreed to terms, that all points had been settled (including Pacquiao agreeing to submit to both blood and urine testing) and only the signature of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. was needed to seal the deal that could have earned both fighters at least $40 million each. Arum also announced that Pacquiao accepted the terms of the random drug testing, blood and urine, leading up to the fight. Mayweather was then given a two-week deadline for the fight contract to be signed.

On July 15, 2010, Mayweather was given until Friday midnight to sign the fight. The next day the Top Rank website embedded a countdown clock on their website with the heading "Money" Time: Mayweather's Decision. On July 17, 2010, Arum announced that there was no word from Mayweather's camp and the deal for a November 13, 2010 fight with Mayweather was not reached.

On July 19, 2010, after waiting for Mayweather's response, Leonard Ellerbe, one of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s closest advisers, denied that negotiations for a super fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao had ever taken place. Ellerbe stated that Bob Arum was not telling the truth, and that Pacquiao never once agreed to testing up until the fight. Bob Arum later criticized Oscar De La Hoya and his Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer for denying that negotiations took place, when De La Hoya himself had previously stated that they were "very, very close in finalizing the contracts". Arum revealed that HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg acted as the mediator between Mayweather’s handlers and those of Pacquiao’s from Top Rank Promotions. On July 26, 2010, Ross Greenburg said in a statement that he has been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2, 2010, carefully trying to put the fight together and he did in fact act as a go-between in negotiations with the two sides, but they were unable to come to an agreement at all, contradicting what Arum and Top Rank had previously said. Floyd Mayweather Jr., after the second negotiation had been officially declared off, told the Associated Press that he had fought sixty days ago, and that he was in no rush to fight Pacquiao and was not really thinking about boxing at the moment. Almost a year later, on July 8, 2011, Manny Pacquiao's top adviser Michael Koncz confirmed that Pacquiao had in fact never agreed to testing up until fight day, which contradicted what Bob Arum and the Pacquiao camp had been saying for well over a year.

Return to the Ring

Star Power

On June 7, 2011, Mayweather announced via Twitter that he is set to fight WBC Welterweight Champion Victor Ortiz on September 17, 2011. Ortiz will be Mayweather's first challenger in 16 months.

As part of the hype leading up to the fight, both fighters will be featured in another installment of the award-winning sports reality series 24/7 on HBO. This will be the fifth installment featuring Mayweather.

Professional boxing record

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|41 Wins (25 knockouts, 16 decisions), 0 Losses, 0 Draws |- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;" | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Res. | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Record | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Opponent | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Type | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Rd., Time | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Date | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Location | style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Notes |- align=center | | ||align=left| Victor Ortiz | | | |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|41–0||align=left| Shane Mosley | | | |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|40–0||align=left| Juan Manuel Márquez | | | |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|39–0||align=left| Ricky Hatton | | | |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|38–0||align=left| Oscar De La Hoya | | | |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|37–0||align=left| Carlos Baldomir | | | |align=left| Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|36–0||align=left| Zab Judah | | | |align=left| Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|35–0||align=left| Sharmba Mitchell | | | |align=left| Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|34–0||align=left| Arturo Gatti | | | |align=left| Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|33–0||align=left| Henry Bruseles | | | |align=left| American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|32–0||align=left| DeMarcus Corley | | | |align=left| Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|31–0||align=left| Phillip N'dou | | | |align=left| Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|30–0||align=left| Victoriano Sosa | | | |align=left| Selland Arena, Fresno, California}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|29–0||align=left| José Luis Castillo | | | |align=left| Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|28–0||align=left| José Luis Castillo | | | |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|27–0||align=left| Jesús Chávez | | | |align=left| Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|26–0||align=left| Carlos Hernández | | | |align=left| Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|25–0||align=left| Diego Corrales | | | |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|24–0||align=left| Emanuel Augustus | | | |align=left| Cobo Center, Detroit, Michigan}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|23–0||align=left| Gregorio Vargas | | | |align=left| MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|22–0||align=left| Carlos Gerena | | | |align=left| Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|21–0||align=left| Justin Juuko | | | |align=left| Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|20–0||align=left| Carlos Rios | | | |align=left| Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|19–0||align=left| Angel Manfredy | | | |align=left| Miccosukee Indian Reservation, Miami, Florida}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|18–0||align=left| Genaro Hernandez | | | |align=left| Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|17–0||align=left| Tony Pep | | | |align=left| Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|16–0||align=left| Gustavo Cuello | | | |align=left| Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|15–0||align=left| Miguel Melo | | | |align=left| Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|14–0||align=left| Sam Girard | | | |align=left| Bally's Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|13–0||align=left| Hector Arroyo | | | |align=left| Grand Casino Biloxi, Biloxi, Mississippi}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|12–0||align=left| Angelo Nuñez | | | |align=left| Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|11–0||align=left| Felipe Garcia | | | |align=left| Qwest Arena, Boise, Idaho}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|10–0||align=left| Louie Leija | | | |align=left| El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|9–0||align=left| Jesús Chávez | | | |align=left| Grand Casino Biloxi, Biloxi, Mississippi}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|8–0||align=left| Larry O'Shields | | | |align=left| Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|7–0||align=left| Tony Duran | | | |align=left| Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|6–0||align=left| Bobby Giepert | | | |align=left| Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|5–0||align=left| Kino Rodriguez | | | |align=left| DeltaPlex Arena, Walker, Michigan}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|4–0||align=left| Edgar Ayala | | | |align=left| Swiss Park Hall, Chula Vista, California}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|3–0||align=left| Jerry Cooper | | | |align=left| Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|2–0||align=left| Reggie Sanders | | | |align=left| Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico}} |align=left| |- align=center |Win |align=center|1–0|| align=left| Roberto Apodaca | ||| |align=left| Texas Station, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left|

Titles in boxing

''Major Sanctioning Bodies:''

WBC World Super Featherweight Champion (130 lbs)

WBC World Lightweight Champion (135 lbs)

''The Ring'' World Lightweight Champion (135 lbs)

WBC World Light Welterweight Champion (140 lbs)

IBF World Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

WBC World Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

''The Ring'' World Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

WBC World Super Welterweight Champion (154 lbs)

''Minor Sanctioning Bodies:''

IBO World Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

IBA World Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

''Lineal Championship titles:''

World Lightweight Champion (130 lbs)

World Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

World Wrestling Entertainment

Mayweather appeared at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s No Way Out pay-per-view on February 17, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was involved in a storyline physical altercation with The Big Show, after Mayweather jumped a security barricade and attacked him with a punching combination, in an attempt to help Rey Mysterio, whom Show threatened to chokeslam. Originally, Mayweather took on a babyface role in the storylines, though met with some reluctance from the fans. The attack resulted in Big Show receiving an actual broken nose, reportedly not part of the storyline. The following night on ''Raw'', Big Show challenged Mayweather to a one on one No Disqualification match at WrestleMania XXIV, which Mayweather accepted. At WrestleMania, Mayweather turned heel by using various underhanded tactics and defeated Big Show by knockout using brass knuckles to maintain his unbeaten record. Mayweather claimed that he was paid $20,000,000 USD for the fight, but WWE's financial statements do not show the number.

Mayweather was the guest host for WWE Raw in Las Vegas on August 24, 2009. He interfered with a tag team match that resulted in a loss for the Big Show (now heel again) and his partner Chris Jericho as Mayweather gave Montel Vontavious Porter brass knuckles to use to knock Jericho out, giving Porter and his new tag team partner Mark Henry the win and a shot at the Unified WWE Tag Team Titles at WWE Breaking Point against Big Show and Jericho. He then celebrated with Henry and Porter, thus turning face. Later on in the night he was involved in a backstage segment with Mr. McMahon, D-Generation X, and Carlito where he helped Mr. McMahon get ready for his 6 Man Tag Team Match against Legacy along with DX. During the segment, McMahon knocked out Carlito.

Dancing with the Stars

Mayweather appeared on the fifth season of Dancing with the Stars. His partner was the famous Ukrainian American born professional ballroom dancer Karina Smirnoff. On October 16, 2007, Karina and Floyd were the fourth couple to be eliminated from the competition and came in 9th place.

Domestic violence cases

On September 9, 2010, it was reported that Mayweather was being sought by police for questioning after his former girlfriend, Josie Harris, filed a domestic battery report against him. Harris has accused Mayweather of battery in the past, but those charges were later dropped in July 2005 after Harris testified that she had lied and that Mayweather had not, in fact, assaulted her. Mayweather was taken into custody on September 10, 2010, but was released after posting $3000 bail. Initially, Mayweather was charged with felony theft stemming from the disappearance of Harris's iPhone, but on September 16, 2010, two felony coercion charges and one felony robbery charge were added to the case, along with one misdemeanor domestic battery charge and three misdemeanor harassment charges. If convicted of all charges, Mayweather could face up to 34 years in prison.

Honours, awards and recognitions

1993 Michigan State Golden Gloves Champion, 106 Lbs 1993 National Golden Gloves Champion, 106 Lbs 1994 Michigan State Golden Gloves Champion, 112 Lbs

1994 National Golden Gloves Champion, 112 Lbs; Outstanding Boxer Award

1995 National PAL Champion, 125 Lbs; Outstanding Boxer Award

1995 U.S. National Amateur Featherweight Champion, 125 Lbs

1995 Competed at Featherweight at the World Amateur Boxing Championships 1996 Michigan State Golden Gloves Champion, 125 Lbs 1996 National Golden Gloves Champion, 125 Lbs

1996 Qualified as a Featherweight for the United States Olympic Team

1996 Atlanta Olympics Featherweight Bronze medalist

1998 and 2007 International Boxing Award (Muhammed Ali Boxing Award) Fighter of the Year

1998 and 2007 ''The Ring'' Magazine Fighter of the Year

2000–09 Yahoo Sports, Best of the Decade 2002 World Boxing Hall of Fame Fighter of the Year

2005, 2006 and 2007 The Ring 'number one' pound for pound (Year-End)

2005 and 2007 World Boxing Council Boxer of the Year

2007 Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year

2007 ESPN Fighter of the Year 2007 Forbes Magazine, Ranked "Number 14" Richest Celebrity Paydays 2007 New York Daily News Fighter of the Year 2007 World Boxing Council Event of the Year (The World Awaits) 2007 World Boxing Council Knockout of the Year (against Ricky Hatton)

2007, 2008 and 2010 Best Fighter ESPY Award

2007, 2008 and 2010 ''The Ring'' Magazine Event of the Year 2008 Yahoo Sports, Ranked "Number 6" Most Powerful People in Boxing

2009 ''The Ring'' Magazine Comeback of the Year

2010 Yahoo! Sports Boxing's Most Influential (ranked 70th) 2010 Forbes Magazine Celebrity 100 (ranked 31st) 2010 Forbes Magazine, The World's 50 Top-Earning Athletes (ranked 2nd) 2010 Sports Illustrated, The 50 Highest-Earning American Athletes (ranked 3rd)

See also

List of current world boxing champions

List of ''The Ring'' world champions

List of WBC world champions

List of IBF world champions

List of IBO world champions

List of Super Featherweight boxing champions

List of lightweight boxing champions

list of light welterweight boxing champions

List of welterweight boxing champions

List of super welterweight boxing champions

List of boxing triple champions

List of boxing quadruple champions

List of boxing quintuple champions

Notes

External links

Official website

* Estrangement of Mayweather, Jr. and Sr. by Jon Saraceno, June 26, 2005, ''USA Today''.

Olympic article on Mayweather, Jr. by Andy Johnston, July 6, 1996, ''Augusta Chronicle''.

A new chapter begins for Floyd Mayweather by Jeff Mayweather, November 1, 2005, ''BraggingRightsCorner.com''.

Can Mayweather become the new De La Hoya? by Brent Matteo Alderson, May 1, 2006, ''BoxingScene.com''.

|- |- |- |- |- {{s-ttl | title=WBC Super Featherweight Champion| years=October 3, 1998 – April 20, 2002Vacated}} |- {{s-ttl | title=WBC Lightweight Champion| years=April 20, 2002 – May 22, 2004Vacated}} |- {{s-ttl | title=Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion | years=April 20, 2002 – May 22, 2004Vacated}} |- {{s-ttl | title=WBC Super Lightweight Champion | years=June 25, 2005 – March 23, 2006Vacated}} |- |- {{s-ttl | title=IBF Welterweight Champion | years=April 8, 2006 – June 20, 2006Vacated}} |- {{s-ttl | title=WBC Welterweight Champion | years=November 4, 2006 – June 7, 2008Retired}} |- {{s-ttl | title=Ring Magazine Welterweight Champion | years=November 4, 2006 – June 7, 2008Retired}} |- {{s-ttl | title=WBC Super Welterweight Champion| years=May 6, 2007 – July 4, 2007 Status Changed:''Emeritus champion''}} |-

Category:Boxers from Michigan Category:African American boxers Category:People from Grand Rapids, Michigan Category:Light-welterweight boxers Category:Welterweight boxers Category:Super-featherweight boxers Category:Lightweight boxers Category:World Boxing Council Champions Category:International Boxing Federation Champions Category:Boxers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States Category:Olympic boxers of the United States Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:American boxers Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:Olympic medalists in boxing

ar:فلويد مايويذر جونيور da:Floyd Mayweather Jr. de:Floyd Mayweather junior es:Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fr:Floyd Mayweather Jr. it:Floyd Mayweather Jr. lv:Floids Meivezers ja:フロイド・メイウェザー・ジュニア pl:Floyd Mayweather Jr. pt:Floyd Mayweather, Jr. ru:Мэйуэзер, Флойд fi:Floyd Mayweather Jr. sv:Floyd Mayweather Jr. th:ฟลอยด์ เมย์เวทเธอร์ จูเนียร์ zh-yue:Floyd Mayweather, Jr zh:弗洛伊德·梅威瑟

This is a list of people whose names in English are commonly appended with the phrase "''the Great''", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as ''e Bozorg'' and ''e azam'' in Persian and Urdu respectively.

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus) assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "''the Great''".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers

Abbas I of Persia (1571-1629), Shah of Iran

Akbar (1542-1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India

Alain I of Albret (1440-1522), French aristocrat

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia

Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia

Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias

Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex

Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire

Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty

Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),

Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire

Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand

Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland

Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)

Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736-1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)

Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden

Casimir III the Great (1310-1370), King of Poland

Catherine the Great (1729-1796), Empress of Russian

Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India

Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans

Chulalongkorn (1853-1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)

Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks

Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen

Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman Emperor

Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire

Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire

Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent

Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse

Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile

Frederick the Great (1712-1786), King of Prussia

Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire

Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594-1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader

Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea

Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC

Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)

Henry IV of France (1553-1610), King of France and King of Navarre

Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea

Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris

Hugh Magnus of France (1007-1025), co-King of France

Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057-1101)

Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat

Ivan III of Russia (1440-1505), Tsar of Russia

John I of Portugal (1358-1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve

John II of Aragon (1398-1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre

Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor

Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i

Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India

Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010-1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia

Kublai Khan (1215-1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty

Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales

Louis I of Hungary (1326-1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland

Mangrai the Great (1238-1317), Lanna, northern Thailand

Emperor Meiji (1852-1912), Emperor of Japan

Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)

Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)

Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom

Mstislav I of Kiev (1076-1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus

Narai (1633-1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)

Naresuan (1555-1605), King of Ayutthaya

Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine

Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)

K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque

Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka

Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia

Peter the Great (1672-1725), Tsar of Russia

Peter III of Aragon (1239-1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily

Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar

Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar

Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.

Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014-1044), Tamil King of India

Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt

Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)

Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082-1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties

Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)

Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev

Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent

Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre

Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire

Sejong the Great (1397-1450), Korean king

Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia

Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire

Stephen III of Moldavia (1433-1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)

Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks

Taksin (1734-1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)

Timur (1336-1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty

Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie

Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire

Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor

Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia

Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia

Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire

Valdemar I of Denmark (1131-1182), King of Denmark

Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor

Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus

Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy

William I, Count of Burgundy (1020-1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon

William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou

Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)

Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China

Religious figures

Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492-586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East

Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366, hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia

Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian

Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt

Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader

Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian

Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)

Euthymius the Great (377-473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint

Gertrude the Great (1256-c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint

Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604)

Hiyya the Great, 3rd-century rabbi, Palestine

Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)

Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400-461)

Macarius of Egypt (c. 300-391), Egyptian hermit

Pope Nicholas I (c. 800-867)

Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople

William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites

Other

Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies

Emmy the Great, folk singer

Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III

Prokop the Great, Hussite general in Bohemia

See also

Epithet

List of monarchs by nickname

List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I

James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus

Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater

Notes

Category:Monarchs Great, List of people known as The Category:Greatest Nationals Category:Epithets

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