Ricardo Mayorga (L) fighting Andrew Lewis on July 28, 2001, in Los Angeles. The bout was stopped due to a headbutt and ruled a no-contest, but Mayorga won the rematch eight months later to gain his first world title. Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images.

Throughout the first decade of the 21^st century nobody played the villain better than Ricardo Mayorga.

The heavy-handed Nicaraguan won world titles at welterweight and junior middleweight, playing the antagonist to the likes of Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas, Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto.

Mayorga grew up poor in Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua in Central America.

“It was really tough, we were very poor,” Mayorga told RingTV.com through promoter Ivalyo Gotzev. “I used to go to the beach where there were mango trees so I could feed the family, who were very hungry. Sometimes we had tortillas with salt and water, that’s all we had.

“I always used to fight in the streets and in school. A teacher of mine took me to the gym because I was always fighting; he put me in a boxing gym.”

When Mayorga got older he would go to truck stops and pick fights for money with truck drivers who were much bigger than him to help provide for his family.

Although the late, great Alexis Arguello had shown the way, there was very little professional boxing in Nicaragua. Mayorga headed to Costa Rica where he made his pro debut, 22 years to the day before his upcoming rematch with Mosley.

Mayorga gave up 16 pounds to Humberto Aranda, a 1988 Olympian, and was stopped in six rounds. He won his next seven – all by KO – before a two-year hiatus. He resurfaced in 1998 and in the fall of 2000, fighting in Venezuela, he impressed Don King enough for the veteran promoter to sign him.

A few months later King introduced Mayorga to America, placing him on the undercard of Kostya Tzsyu-Sharmba Mitchell. Victory set up a summer showdown with Andrew Lewis for the WBA strap; the fight was curtailed by a clash of heads.

“El Matador” made good on his second opportunity, knocking out “Six Heads” in five rounds in what he describes as the best performance of his career.

He parlayed the win into a RING/WBA/WBC unification against the heavily favored Vernon Forrest in early 2003. The aggressive Mayorga stopped Forrest in the third round, then won the rematch by majority decision.

His reputation as the craziest man in boxing was further enhanced by a story of him taking King’s son Carl out for a spin in the hills of Managua.

“I had a sports car. I put Carl King in the car and started racing around,” Mayorga said. “I went head-on with this big container and passed between the wheels. Carl King was so scared when he got out he was shaking and vomited.“

After a loss to IBF boss Cory Spinks and a comeback win over Eric Mitchell, the beer swilling, cigarette-smoking Nicaraguan fighter was able to goad Felix Trinidad into a fight. Mayorga showed a world-class chin but finally touched down in the eighth round and referee Steve Smoger called off the fight.

Mayorga vs. De La Hoya

For the next nine years Mayorga would alternate between wins and losses. He beat Michele Piccirillo for the WBC junior middleweight title before losing it to Oscar De La Hoya in his first defense, nine months later. He got back in the win column by beating Fernando Vargas before losing to Mosley. He was stopped by Miguel Cotto in 2011 in the final round. After a brief foray into mixed martial arts, he returned in the final quarter of last year.

Despite turning 42 in October, Mayorga (31-8-1, 25 knockouts) remains as bombastic as ever, keen to face Mosley for the second time on Saturday at the Forum in Inglewood, California, though rumors persist that the fight is in jeopardy due to a contract dispute between Mayorga and King. If all goes as planned, the fight will be distributed by Integrated Sports on Pay-Per-View for $49.95.

“I‘ll knock him out in three,” he boasted. “He took me to the last second of the last round and now I‘m going to return the favor. I‘m going to beat him inside three. I will knock him out and avenge my loss to him.”

In mid-August Mayorga kindly spoke to RingTV.com about the best he has faced in 10 key categories.

BEST SKILLS
Shane Mosley: The best I’ve faced by far was Shane Mosley because his ring generalship, his agility in the ring and speed. As a boxer he had the best skills of anyone I fought.

BEST JAB
Mosley: Again it’s Mosley, he’s extremely fast and he has a great jab.

BEST DEFENSE
Oscar De La Hoya: The best defense was Oscar De La Hoya. He had great movement, he put himself in position for a good defense. He was the hardest to hit.

BEST CHIN
De La Hoya: It’s hard to tell because everyone I hit I hurt. I would say De La Hoya.

BEST PUNCHER
Miguel Cotto: He knew how to punch and when he hit me I felt he had the most power behind it.

Ricardo Mayorga (R) and Shane Mosley square off in their first fight, on Sept. 27, 2008. Photo by Harry How/Getty Images.

FASTEST HANDS
Mosley: He set things up with a nice jab, he threw fast combinations, better than anyone I faced.

FASTEST FEET
Mosley: He had the best foot movement. Again for positioning, ring generalship and the best boxing skills, he exceeded everyone’s speed.

SMARTEST
Cory Spinks: I pick Cory Spinks because he ran from me all night. He was the smartest.

STRONGEST
Cotto: The strongest one in the ring was Miguel Cotto. He was the hardest one to move around, his body felt the heaviest.

BEST OVERALL
Mosley: In my book it’s Shane Mosley. He’s the most complete fighter I have ever faced.

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected] and you can follow him at www.twitter.com/AnsonWainwright