A look back at Floyd Mayweather's career at super featherweight

Floyd Mayweather spent the second half of his career primarily fighting in the welterweight division (147lbs). In that prestigious weightclass, 'Money' achieved legendary success, defeating the likes of Zab Judah, Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley, and Manny Pacquiao.

Many fans tend to forget, however, that Mayweather spent a large part of his career fighting in lower weight classes prior to his reign as welterweight champion.

Mayweather left the amateur ranks in 1996 after winning a Bronze Medal at the Atlanta Summer Olympics that summer. The young American boxer then quickly started his professional career in the super featherweight (130lbs) division.

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Floyd Mayweather at 130lbs was a force of nature

While many fans around the world may know 'Money' Mayweather for his safe, methodical, counter-punching style, there was once a time when he was an absolute juggernaut who dominated his opponents with swift, hard-hitting combinations.

During his early run at super featherweight, Mayweather was known as 'Pretty Boy', and his tear through the division should never be forgotten. From 1998 to 2001, he absolutely crushed his competition and made it look easy.

On October 3rd, 1998, he fought for his first world title against WBC super featherweight champion Genaro Hernandez. 'Pretty Boy' was only 21 years old at the time, and there were many questioning whether he could handle a crafty veteran like Hernandez. 'Chicanito' was a phenomenal champion, up to that point, had never lost at 130lbs.

As skilled of a champion as Hernandez was, he simply could not contend with his young opponent's speed, reflexes, and power. Mayweather dominated the bout with effective aggression and battered the champion with blistering combinations. After eight rounds, Hernandez's corner stopped the fight. In his first test for a world title on the global stage, 'Pretty Boy' passed with flying colors.

For his first title defense, Mayweather destroyed Angel Manfredy via second-round TKO. Towards the end of the final round, Mayweather staggered his opponent with a hard right hand. 'Pretty Boy' quickly went in for the kill and launched a devastating combination while Manfredy was on the ropes, forcing a referee stoppage. Prior to his fight with Mayweather, Angel had beaten popular boxers such as Arturo Gatti and Jorge Paez. 'Pretty Boy', however, was simply in a different league.

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Floyd Mayweather's victory over Diego Corrales is one of the greatest wins of his career

After racking up five impressive title defenses, Floyd Mayweather put his WBC Championship on the line against division giant Diego Corrales in 2001.

Corrales was undefeated (33-0) entering the bout and a former IBF super featherweight champion. Many fans believed this would be Mayweather's toughest fight. After all, Corrales had advantages in height, reach, power, and overall size.

However, in front of an excited crowd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, 'Pretty Boy' put on a show.

Floyd Mayweather knocked Corrales down five times. The former Olympian's precision and speed was superhuman, as he peppered his larger opponent seemingly at will. His reflexes were also incredible; Corrales barely managed to hit the young champion. What was supposed to be an even matchup between the two undefeated stars turned out to be an outright slaughter.

'Pretty Boy' won the contest in the 10th round after Corrales' corner had seen enough. With such a dominant victory, Mayweather's status as one of the best boxers on the planet shot through a different stratosphere. After his win over Corrales, Mayweather would defend his title two more times before moving up to lightweight (135lbs), where he would have one of the toughest fights of his career against Jose Luis Castillo.

Later on in his career, when he began fighting at welterweight and above, Floyd Mayweather's style of fighting became much more scientific. His punch output lowered significantly, and he no longer showed the same tenacity and aggression. This change in style, while not pleasing to watch for a great number of fans, helped elongate his career and prevented him from sustaining significant punishment. It also proved to be an impossible puzzle that no opponent was able to figure out.

It's important to remember that while 'Money' may have been a professor inside the ring at 130 pounds, 'Pretty Boy' was a terrifying beast.