
via Getty
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – JUNE 06: Floyd Mayweather receives attention in his corner during his contracted exhibition boxing match against Logan Paul at Hard Rock Stadium on June 06, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

via Getty
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – JUNE 06: Floyd Mayweather receives attention in his corner during his contracted exhibition boxing match against Logan Paul at Hard Rock Stadium on June 06, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
In January 2001, Floyd Mayweather stepped inside the ring against multi-weight division champ Diego Corrales aka ‘Chico’, who was considered at a physical advantage and was surely seen as a threat to Mayweather’s rising status. He was skilled and had enough potential to push the latter into a dangerous situation. Despite these allusions, ‘The Pretty Boy’ showed no signs of stress.
He was so confident of his win that he took active participation in derailing Corrales. Following the tornado of trash talk, he unleashed his fists in such a beautiful style that two decades later people remember it and label it the best performance of Mayweather’s boxing career.
Defending his super-featherweight title for the sixth time, ‘Money’ dropped Corrales several times before wrapping up the showdown in the 10th round with a TKO win. The challenger Corrales had no response to Mayweather’s offense and defense. Though he kept pressing in, he could not build the pressure he wanted as Mayweather classed him with an unearthly set of boxing skills. His dominating performance electrified spectators in MGM Grand Garden.
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Recently, the video clip of this fight surfaced on social media and caught fans’ attention.
Fans admired Mayweather but did not forget to mention Corrales, who died in 2007. His life was cut short in an unfortunate motorcycle accident that took place 10 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip.
How did fans remember Corrales?
A fan wrote, “Corrales used to be a freaking warrior.”
Another fan wrote, “This was the Floyd a lot of us like to remember. What a fighter. What a performance. Perfect that night.”
“Mayweather ???? Really ???? I was used to see him in track n field really this is mayweather ????”, another fan wrote.
“This is back when Floyd had KO power before hurting his hands”, another fan wrote.
Another fan wrote, “This is when he used to let his hands go, masterclass performance.”
The same video surfaced on Twitter from the handle ‘Top Rank Boxing’. A fan wrote, “RIP Chico”.
RIP Chico 🙏🏽
— PAUTA Y FLOW (@kaiishome) January 20, 2023
Beat the dog -💩outta Chico. (Rip🙏🏾)
— Razor Sharp (@MrVSharp) January 20, 2023
Pretty boy Floyd > money Mayweather
— Hoes Mad 24x (@aurias7) January 20, 2023
Rip Diego. He never talked to his dad again after this.
— 𝓦𝓪𝓭𝓮 𝓦𝓲𝓵𝓼𝓸𝓷 (@WadeWilsonxp) January 20, 2023
My favorite Floyd fight of all time. You have to remember how this fight was built up. Almost everyone said Chico was too big and strong for PBF.
— Akhtarzamir (@Akhtarzamir_one) January 20, 2023
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That ain’t Floyd, that’s prettyboy!!! Whole different animal or more like a sniper 🥊
— BoxingsBoring20s (@BoringBoxing20s) January 20, 2023
Chico had great potential as a fighter. The boxing world mourned his death. After losing to Mayweather in 2001, he made a terrific comeback. In 2005, he defeated legendary Luis Castillo, which became his signature performance. Mayweather on the other hand, still competes to this day. He recently compared his career to that of NBA star Lebron James and said that he’s been a professional since the latter was a child.
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What do you think of Corrales as a fighter? Let us know in the comments below.
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