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Roger Mayweather, two-division champ and uncle, trainer to Floyd Mayweather Jr., has passed

Roger Mayweather holds off the advancing Vinny Pazienza en route to a unanimous decision in defense of his WBC 140-pound title in 1988. Photo by: The Ring Magazine via Getty Images
Fighters Network
17
Mar

Two-division world titleholder and renowned trainer Roger Mayweather has died.

TMZ was first to report the story.

‘The Black Mamba’ is best known to younger boxing fans for training his nephew Floyd Mayweather Jr. to several signature victories en route to a 50-0 career in the squared circle, but Roger was an elite boxer in his own right. Possessing a piston-like jab and a cracking right hand, Mayweather was a two-weight champion, which included two defenses of The Ring 130-pound title in 1983 when he was just 23 years old.

Mayweather won his first world title when he stopped Samuel Serrano in the eighth round of a scheduled 15-round bout on January 19, 1983, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Prior to the fight, Serrano had defended the title four consecutive times, and before losing to Yasutsune Uehara, Serrano defended the belt 12 times.



Roger Mayweather nails top-10 contender Harold Brazier during their 1988 fight at Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. Mayweather won a split decision. Photo by: The Ring Magazine via Getty Images

Mayweather (59-13, 35 knockouts) also fought Julio Cesar Chavez (twice), the late Pernell Whitaker, Freddie Pendleton, Vinny Pazienza, Kostya Tszyu, and several other world-class fighters.

To the new generation of boxing fans, he was the longtime trainer of Mayweather Jr. When Floyd’s father, Floyd Sr., served time in prison, it was Roger who took over the reins. In a media conference call in 2007, Roger credited himself for being the driving force behind his nephew’s illustrious career.

“Floyd got to where he is because of me, not because of what Floyd Sr. did,” Roger said in 2007. “He set the groundwork, but I’m the one who got him on pay-per-view.”

Mayweather Jr. won his first pro fight on October 11, 1996, when he knocked out Robert Apodaca inside two rounds. Roger was the trainer at the time; his father was still locked up following his conviction for illegal drug trafficking in 1993. Mayweather Sr. returned as his son’s trainer after he scored a second-round KO of Sam Girard to improve to 14-0 in February 1998.

However, Mayweather fired his father as his trainer shortly after making the fifth defense of his 130-pound title against Gregorio Vargas in March 2000, and returned to work with Roger, who remained with his nephew until Floyd Sr. took over again after Mayweather Jr. outpointed Miguel Cotto to win a world title in a fifth weight class at 154 pounds.

Roger works mitts with his nephew, Floyd during a media workout.

Of Mayweather Jr.’s 50 victories, 34 of them came with Roger as trainer, which included signature wins against Genaro Hernandez, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Cotto, Canelo Alvarez, and Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather had previously discussed his uncle’s poor health to outlet FightHype in August 2015. He believes his uncle took too much punishment in the ring, which led to his lifelong injuries.

“My uncle Roger Mayweather has lost a lot of memory from the sport of boxing,” Floyd said. “He’s only in his 50s, but it seems like he’s an old man in his 80s.”

Seeing his uncle’s struggle first-hand convinced Mayweather to hang up his gloves following his September 2015 victory over Andre Berto to improve to 49-0.

It has been a particularly rough week for Mayweather Jr., who also is dealing with the loss of the mother of his three children — Josie Harris — who was found dead last week at her home in Valencia, California.

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