A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed. These plant communities cover approximately 9.4% of the Earth's surface (or 30% of total land area), though they once covered much more (about 50% of total land area), in many different regions and function as habitats for organisms, hydrologic flow modulators, and soil conservers, constituting one of the most important aspects of the biosphere. Although forests are classified primarily by trees, the concept of a forest ecosystem includes additional species (such as smaller plants, fungi, bacteria, and animals) as well as physical and chemical processes such as energy flow and nutrient cycling.

A typical forest is composed of the overstory (canopy or upper tree layer) and the understory. The understory is further subdivided into the shrub layer, herb layer, and sometimes also a moss layer. In some complex forests, there is also a well-defined lower tree layer. Forests are central to all human life because they provide a diverse range of resources, they store carbon, aid in regulating our climate, purify water and mitigate natural hazards such as floods. Forests also contain roughly 90% of the world terrestrial biodiversity.

Etymology

The word "forest" comes from Middle English ''forest'', from Old French ''forest'' (also ''forès'') "forest, vast expanse covered by trees", believed to be a borrowing (probably via Frankish or Old High German) of the Medieval Latin word ''foresta'' "open wood". ''Foresta'' was first used by Carolingian scribes in the Capitularies of Charlemagne to refer specifically to the king's royal hunting grounds. The term was not endemic to Romance languages (e.g. native words for "forest" in the Romance languages evolved out of the Latin word ''silva'' "forest, wood"; cf. Italian, Spanish, Portuguese ''selva''; Romanian ''silvă''; Old French ''selve''); and cognates in Romance languages, such as Italian ''foresta'', Spanish and Portuguese ''floresta'', etc. are all ultimately borrowings of the French word.

The exact origin of Medieval Latin ''foresta'' is obscure. Some authorities claim the word derives from the Late Latin phrase ''forestam silvam'', meaning "the outer wood"; others claim the term is a latinisation of the Frankish word *''forhist'' "forest, wooded country", assimilated to ''forestam silvam'' (a common practise among Frankish scribes). Frankish *''forhist'' is attested by Old High German ''forst'' "forest", Middle Low German ''vorst'' "forest", Old English ''fyrhþ'' "forest, woodland, game preserve, hunting ground", and Old Norse ''fýri'' "coniferous forest", all of which derive from Proto-Germanic *''furχísa-'', *''furχíþja-'' "a fir-wood, coniferous forest", from Proto-Indo-European *''perk^wu-'' "a coniferous or mountain forest, wooded height".

Uses of the word "forest" in English to denote any uninhabited area of non-enclosure are now considered archaic. The word was introduced by the Norman rulers of England as a legal term (appearing in Latin texts like the Magna Carta) denoting an uncultivated area legally set aside for hunting by feudal nobility (see Royal Forest). These hunting forests were not necessarily wooded much, if at all. However, as hunting forests did often include considerable areas of woodland, the word "forest" eventually came to mean wooded land more generally. By the start of the fourteenth century the word appeared in English texts, indicating all three senses: the most common one, the legal term and the archaic usage.

Other terms used to mean "an area with a high density of trees" are ''wood, woodland, wold, weald, holt, frith'' and ''firth''. Unlike ''forest'', these are all derived from Old English and were not borrowed from another language. Some classifications now reserve the term ''woodland'' for an area with more open space between trees and distinguish among woodlands, ''open forests'', and ''closed forests'' based on crown cover.

Distribution

found in all regions capable of sustaining tree growth, at altitudes up to the tree line, except where natural fire frequency or other disturbance is too high, or where the environment has been altered by human activity.

The latitudes 10° north and south of the Equator are mostly covered in tropical rainforest, and the latitudes between 53°N and 67°N have boreal forest. As a general rule, forests dominated by angiosperms (''broadleaf forests'') are more species-rich than those dominated by gymnosperms (''conifer'', ''montane'', or ''needleleaf forests''), although exceptions exist.

Forests sometimes contain many tree species only within a small area (as in tropical rain and temperate deciduous forests), or relatively few species over large areas (e.g., taiga and arid montane coniferous forests). Forests are often home to many animal and plant species, and biomass per unit area is high compared to other vegetation communities. Much of this biomass occurs below ground in the root systems and as partially decomposed plant detritus. The woody component of a forest contains lignin, which is relatively slow to decompose compared with other organic materials such as cellulose or carbohydrate.

Forests are differentiated from woodlands by the extent of canopy coverage: in a forest, the branches and the foliage of separate trees often meet or interlock, although there can be gaps of varying sizes within an area referred to as forest. A woodland has a more continuously open canopy, with trees spaced farther apart, which allows more sunlight to penetrate to the ground between them (also see: savanna).

Among the major forested biomes are:

rain forest (tropical and temperate)

taiga

temperate hardwood forest

tropical dry forest

Classification

Forests can be classified in different ways and to different degrees of specificity. One such way is in terms of the "biome" in which they exist, combined with leaf longevity of the dominant species (whether they are evergreen or deciduous). Another distinction is whether the forests are composed predominantly of broadleaf trees, coniferous (needle-leaved) trees, or mixed.

Boreal forests occupy the subarctic zone and are generally evergreen and coniferous.

Temperate zones support both broadleaf deciduous forests (''e.g.'', temperate deciduous forest) and evergreen coniferous forests (''e.g.'', temperate coniferous forests and temperate rainforests). Warm temperate zones support broadleaf evergreen forests, including laurel forests.

Tropical and subtropical forests include tropical and subtropical moist forests, tropical and subtropical dry forests, and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests.

Physiognomy classifies forests based on their overall physical structure or developmental stage (e.g. old growth vs. second growth).

Forests can also be classified more specifically based on the climate and the dominant tree species present, resulting in numerous different forest types (e.g., ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forest).

A number of global forest classification systems have been proposed, but none has gained universal acceptance. UNEP-WCMC's forest category classification system is a simplification of other more complex systems (e.g. UNESCO's forest and woodland 'subformations'). This system divides the world's forests into 26 major types, which reflect climatic zones as well as the principal types of trees. These 26 major types can be reclassified into 6 broader categories: temperate needleleaf; temperate broadleaf and mixed; tropical moist; tropical dry; sparse trees and parkland; and forest plantations. Each category is described as a separate section below.

Temperate needleleaf

Temperate needleleaf forests mostly occupy the higher latitude regions of the northern hemisphere, as well as high altitude zones and some warm temperate areas, especially on nutrient-poor or otherwise unfavourable soils. These forests are composed entirely, or nearly so, of coniferous species (Coniferophyta). In the Northern Hemisphere pines Pinus, spruces Picea, larches Larix, silver firs Abies, Douglas firs Pseudotsuga and hemlocks Tsuga, make up the canopy, but other taxa are also important. In the Southern Hemisphere, most coniferous trees (members of the Araucariaceae and Podocarpaceae) occur in mixtures with broadleaf species that are classed as broadleaf and mixed forests.

Temperate broadleaf and mixed

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests include a substantial component of trees in the Anthophyta. They are generally characteristic of the warmer temperate latitudes, but extend to cool temperate ones, particularly in the southern hemisphere. They include such forest types as the mixed deciduous forests of the United States and their counterparts in China and Japan, the broadleaf evergreen rain forests of Japan, Chile and Tasmania, the sclerophyllous forests of Australia, Central Chile, the Mediterranean and California, and the southern beech Nothofagus forests of Chile and New Zealand.

Tropical moist

Tropical moist forests include many different forest types. The best known and most extensive are the lowland evergreen broadleaf rainforests include, for example: the seasonally inundated várzea and igapó forests and the terra firma forests of the Amazon Basin; the peat swamp forests and moist dipterocarp forests of Southeast Asia; and the high forests of the Congo Basin. The forests of tropical mountains are also included in this broad category, generally divided into upper and lower montane formations on the basis of their physiognomy, which varies with altitude. The montane forests include cloud forest, those forests at middle to high altitude, which derive a significant part of their water budget from cloud, and support a rich abundance of vascular and nonvascular epiphytes. Mangrove forests also fall within this broad category, as do most of the tropical coniferous forests of Central America.

Tropical dry

Tropical dry forests are characteristic of areas in the tropics affected by seasonal drought. The seasonality of rainfall is usually reflected in the deciduousness of the forest canopy, with most trees being leafless for several months of the year. However, under some conditions, e.g. less fertile soils or less predictable drought regimes, the proportion of evergreen species increases and the forests are characterised as "sclerophyllous". Thorn forest, a dense forest of low stature with a high frequency of thorny or spiny species, is found where drought is prolonged, and especially where grazing animals are plentiful. On very poor soils, and especially where fire is a recurrent phenomenon, woody savannas develop (see 'sparse trees and parkland').

Sparse trees and parkland

Sparse trees and parkland are forests with open canopies of 10-30% crown cover. They occur principally in areas of transition from forested to non-forested landscapes. The two major zones in which these ecosystems occur are in the boreal region and in the seasonally dry tropics. At high latitudes, north of the main zone of boreal forest or taiga, growing conditions are not adequate to maintain a continuous closed forest cover, so tree cover is both sparse and discontinuous. This vegetation is variously called open taiga, open lichen woodland, and forest tundra. It is species-poor, has high bryophyte cover, and is frequently affected by fire.

Forest plantations

Forest plantations, generally intended for the production of timber and pulpwood increase the total area of forest worldwide. Commonly mono-specific and/or composed of introduced tree species, these ecosystems are not generally important as habitat for native biodiversity. However, they can be managed in ways that enhance their biodiversity protection functions and they are important providers of ecosystem services such as maintaining nutrient capital, protecting watersheds and soil structure as well as storing carbon. They may also play an important role in alleviating pressure on natural forests for timber and fuelwood production.

Forest categories

28 forest categories are used to enable the translation of forest types from national and regional classification systems to a harmonised global one:

Temperate and boreal forest types

# Evergreen needleleaf forest - Natural forest with > 30% canopy cover, in which the canopy is predominantly (> 75%) needleleaf and evergreen. # Deciduous needleleaf forests - Natural forests with > 30% canopy cover, in which the canopy is predominantly (> 75%) needleleaf and deciduous. # Mixed broadleaf/needleleaf forest - Natural forest with > 30% canopy cover, in which the canopy is composed of a more or less even mixture of needleleaf and broadleaf crowns (between 50:50% and 25:75%). # Broadleaf evergreen forest - Natural forests with > 30% canopy cover, the canopy being > 75% evergreen and broadleaf. # Deciduous broadleaf forest - Natural forests with > 30% canopy cover, in which > 75% of the canopy is deciduous and broadleaves predominate (> 75% of canopy cover). # Freshwater swamp forest - Natural forests with > 30% canopy cover, composed of trees with any mixture of leaf type and seasonality, but in which the predominant environmental characteristic is a waterlogged soil. # Sclerophyllous dry forest - Natural forest with > 30% canopy cover, in which the canopy is mainly composed of sclerophyllous broadleaves and is > 75% evergreen. # Disturbed natural forest - Any forest type above that has in its interior significant areas of disturbance by people, including clearing, felling for wood extraction, anthropogenic fires, road construction, etc. # Sparse trees and parkland - Natural forests in which the tree canopy cover is between 10-30%, such as in the steppe regions of the world. Trees of any type (e.g., needleleaf, broadleaf, palms). # Exotic species plantation - Intensively managed forests with > 30% canopy cover, which have been planted by people with species not naturally occurring in that country. # Native species plantation - Intensively managed forests with > 30% canopy cover, which have been planted by people with species that occur naturally in that country. # *Unspecified forest plantation - Forest plantations showing extent only with no further information about their type, This data currently only refers to the Ukraine. # *Unclassified forest data - Forest data showing forest extent only with no further information about their type.

Those marked * have been created as a result of data holdings which do not specify the forest type, hence 26 categories are quoted, not 28 shown here.

Tropical forest types

# Lowland evergreen broadleaf rain forest - Natural forests with > 30% canopy cover, below altitude that display little or no seasonality, the canopy being >75% evergreen broadleaf. # Lower montane forest - Natural forests with > 30% canopy cover, between 1200–1800 m altitude, with any seasonality regime and leaf type mixture. # Upper montane forest - Natural forests with > 30% canopy cover, above altitude, with any seasonality regime and leaf type mixture. # Freshwater swamp forest - Natural forests with > 30% canopy cover, below altitude, composed of trees with any mixture of leaf type and seasonality, but in which the predominant environmental characteristic is a waterlogged soil. # Semi-evergreen moist broadleaf forest - Natural forests with > 30% canopy cover, below altitude in which between 50-75% of the canopy is evergreen, > 75% are broadleaves, and the trees display seasonality of flowering and fruiting. # Mixed broadleaf/needleleaf forest - Natural forests with > 30% canopy cover, below altitude, in which the canopy is composed of a more or less even mixture of needleleaf and broadleaf crowns (between 50:50% and 25:75%). # Needleleaf forest - Natural forest with > 30% canopy cover, below altitude, in which the canopy is predominantly (> 75%) needleleaf. # Mangroves - Natural forests with > 30% canopy cover, composed of species of mangrove tree, generally along coasts in or near brackish or seawater. # Disturbed natural forest - Any forest type above that has in its interior significant areas of disturbance by people, including clearing, felling for wood extraction, anthropogenic fires, road construction, etc. # Deciduous/semi-deciduous broadleaf forest - Natural forests with > 30% canopy cover, below altitude in which between 50-100% of the canopy is deciduous and broadleaves predominate (> 75% of canopy cover). # Sclerophyllous dry forest - Natural forests with > 30% canopy cover, below altitude, in which the canopy is mainly composed of sclerophyllous broadleaves and is > 75% evergreen. # Thorn forest - Natural forests with > 30% canopy cover, below altitude, in which the canopy is mainly composed of deciduous trees with thorns and succulent phanerophytes with thorns may be frequent. # Sparse trees and parkland - Natural forests in which the tree canopy cover is between 10-30%, such as in the savannah regions of the world. Trees of any type (e.g., needleleaf, broadleaf, palms). # Exotic species plantation - Intensively managed forests with > 30% canopy cover, which have been planted by people with species not naturally occurring in that country. # Native species plantation - Intensively managed forests with > 30% canopy cover, which have been planted by people with species that occur naturally in that country.

Forest loss and management

''Main articles: Forestry, Logging and Deforestation''

The scientific study of forest species and their interaction with the environment is referred to as forest ecology, while the management of forests is often referred to as forestry. Forest management has changed considerably over the last few centuries, with rapid changes from the 1980s onwards culminating in a practice now referred to as sustainable forest management. Forest ecologists concentrate on forest patterns and processes, usually with the aim of elucidating cause and effect relationships. Foresters who practice sustainable forest management focus on the integration of ecological, social and economic values, often in consultation with local communities and other stakeholders.

Anthropogenic factors that can affect forests include logging, urban sprawl, human-caused forest fires, acid rain, invasive species, and the slash and burn practices of swidden agriculture or shifting cultivation. The loss and re-growth of forest leads to a distinction between two broad types of forest, primary or old-growth forest and secondary forest. There are also many natural factors that can cause changes in forests over time including forest fires, insects, diseases, weather, competition between species, etc. In 1997, the World Resources Institute recorded that only 20% of the world's original forests remained in large intact tracts of undisturbed forest. More than 75% of these intact forests lie in three countries - the Boreal forests of Russia and Canada and the rainforest of Brazil. In 2006 this information on intact forests was updated using latest available satellite imagery.

Canada has about of forest land. More than 90% of forest land is publicly owned and about 50% of the total forest area is allocated for harvesting. These allocated areas are managed using the principles of sustainable forest management, which includes extensive consultation with local stakeholders. About eight percent of Canada’s forest is legally protected from resource development (Global Forest Watch Canada)(Natural Resources Canada). Much more forest land — about 40 percent of the total forest land base — is subject to varying degrees of protection through processes such as integrated land use planning or defined management areas such as certified forests (Natural Resources Canada).

These maps represent only virgin forest lost. Some regrowth has occurred but not to the age, size or extent of 1620 due to population increases and food cultivation. ''From William B. Greeley's, The Relation of Geography to Timber Supply, Economic Geography, 1925, vol. 1, p. 1-11. Source of "Today" map: compiled by George Draffan from roadless area map in The Big Outside: A Descriptive Inventory of the Big Wilderness Areas of the United States, by Dave Foreman and Howie Wolke (Harmony Books, 1992)''.'

By December 2006, over 1,237,000 square kilometers of forest land in Canada (about half the global total) had been certified as being sustainably managed (Canadian Sustainable Forestry Certification Coalition). Clearcutting, first used in the latter half of the 20th century, is less expensive, but devastating to the environment and companies are required by law to ensure that harvested areas are adequately regenerated. Most Canadian provinces have regulations limiting the size of clearcuts, although some older clearcuts can range upwards of in size which were cut over several years. China instituted a ban on logging, beginning in 1998, due to the destruction caused by clearcutting. Selective cutting avoids the erosion, and flooding, that result from clearcutting.

In the United States, most forests have historically been affected by humans to some degree, though in recent years improved forestry practices has helped regulate or moderate large scale or severe impacts. However, the United States Forest Service estimates a net loss of about 2 million hectares (4,942,000 acres) between 1997 and 2020; this estimate includes conversion of forest land to other uses, including urban and suburban development, as well as afforestation and natural reversion of abandoned crop and pasture land to forest. However, in many areas of the United States, the area of forest is stable or increasing, particularly in many northern states. The opposite problem from flooding has plagued national forests, with loggers complaining that a lack of thinning and proper forest management has resulted in large forest fires.

Old-growth forest contains mainly natural patterns of biodiversity in established seral patterns, and they contain mainly species native to the region and habitat. The natural formations and processes have not been affected by humans with a frequency or intensity to change the natural structure and components of the habitat. Secondary forest contains significant elements of species which were originally from other regions or habitats.

Smaller areas of woodland in cities may be managed as Urban forestry, sometimes within public parks. These are often created for human benefits; Attention Restoration Theory argues that spending time in nature reduces stress and improves health, while forest schools and kindergartens help young people to develop social as well as scientific skills in forests. These typically need to be close to where the children live, for practical logistics.

See also

Agroforestry

Ancient Woodland, an official classification of ancient forest in the United Kingdom.

Biomass

Biomass (ecology)

Bioproduct

Biosphere

Boreal forest

Canopy

Close to nature forestry

Cloud forest

Chase (land)

Deforestation

Dendrometry

Ecological succession

Forest management

Forest migration

Forest pathology

Intact forest landscape

Jungle (terrain)

Kelp forest (A forest made mostly if not entirely of Kelp; an underwater forest)

Natural environment

Natural landscape

Old-growth forest (ancient forest, virgin forest, primary forest)

Permaforestry

Plantation

Primeval forest, a term often used interchangeably with old growth forest

Rainforest

Red forest

REDD-plus

Rocky Mountains

Silviculture

Subalpine forest

Taiga, a biome characterized by coniferous forests

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests

Temperate coniferous forests

Tree allometry

Tree farm

Tropical rainforest

Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests

Wildcrafting

Woodland management

References

External links

Forests in danger

Roadmap to Recovery: The World's Last Intact Forest Landscapes

Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 by the FAO

CoolForests.org - Conservation Cools the Planet

Google - public data "Forest area (sq. km)"

Category:Habitats Category:Trees Category:Ecosystems

als:Wald ang:Ƿeald ar:غابة an:Selva arc:ܥܒܐ ast:Viesca gn:Ka'aguy az:Meşə be:Лес be-x-old:Лес bh:जंगल bar:Woid br:Koadeg bg:Гора ca:Bosc cv:Вăрман cs:Les cy:Coedwig da:Skov de:Wald et:Mets el:Δάσος myv:Вирь es:Bosque eo:Arbaro eu:Baso fa:جنگل fr:Forêt fy:Bosk ga:Foraois gd:Coille gl:Bosque gan:森林 ko:숲 hy:Անտառ hi:वन hr:Šuma io:Foresto id:Hutan ia:Foreste is:Skógur it:Foresta he:יער jv:Alas kn:ಕಾಡು ka:ტყე kk:Орман kv:Вӧр ht:Forè ku:Daristan mrj:Шӹргӹ lo:ປ່າໄມ້ la:Silva lv:Mežs lb:Bësch lt:Miškas ln:Zámba hu:Erdő mg:Ala ml:വനം mr:वन ms:Hutan nah:Cuauhtlah nl:Bos nds-nl:Bos ne:जंगल ja:森林 no:Skog nn:Skog nrm:Forêt oc:Bòsc pl:Las pt:Floresta ro:Pădure qu:Sach'a-sach'a ru:Лес sah:Тыа scn:Guddefi si:වනාන්තරය simple:Forest sk:Les sl:Gozd sr:Шума sh:Šuma su:Leuweung fi:Metsä sv:Skog tl:Gubat ta:காடு te:అడవి th:ป่าไม้ tg:Ҷангал chr:ᎠᏙᎯ ᎢᎾᎨ tr:Orman uk:Ліс ug:Orman vi:Rừng wa:Bwès (d' åbes) vls:Bus war:Kagurangan yi:וואלד zh-yue:森林 bat-smg:Mėšks zh:森林

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	George Winston
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
origin	Michigan, U.S.
genre	Contemporary Instrumental
Instrument	Piano Solo acoustic guitar Solo harmonica
occupation	Musician
years active	1972–present
label	Takoma Records Windham Hill Records Dancing Cat Records
website	GeorgeWinston.com
notable instruments	}}

George Winston (born 1949) is an American pianist who was born in Michigan, and grew up mainly in Miles City, Montana as well as Mississippi and Florida. He attended Stetson University in Deland, Florida and lives in Santa Cruz, California.

Background

George Winston was first recorded by John Fahey for Fahey's Takoma Records. The album ''Ballads and Blues'' disappeared without much notice, although it was later reissued on Winston's Dancing Cat Records. However, in 1979, William Ackerman talked with Winston about having Winston record for Ackerman's new record label, Windham Hill Records. At first Winston played some guitar pieces he liked and then he played some of his nighttime music on the piano, which became the basis for the record ''Autumn'', which Ackerman produced. ''Autumn'' soon became the best-selling record in the Windham Hill catalog, and his albums ''December'' and ''Winter into Spring'' both went platinum (million-plus sales in the United States). He has recorded 7 more solo piano albums, and he is one of the best known performers playing contemporary instrumental music.

Winston was 16 when Charles Schulz's ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' premiered in 1965, and he ran out and bought the soundtrack the next day. He eagerly awaited each new Peanuts special to hear Vince Guaraldi's newest music. He was greatly saddened when Guaraldi died of a sudden heart attack in 1976. In 1996, Winston released ''Linus and Lucy – The Music of Vince Guaraldi''. Much of the album is devoted to the theme music Guaraldi wrote for the animated Peanuts cartoons: 15 television specials and one feature film from 1965 until Guaraldi’s death in 1976. "I love his melodies and his chord progressions," Winston said of Guaraldi. "He has a really personal way of doing voicings." Winston recorded a follow-up album, released in February 2010, entitled ''Love Will Come – The Music of Vince Guaraldi, Volume 2''.

Winston's 2002 album ''Night Divides the Day – The Music of the Doors'' took the music of the 1960s band The Doors and transformed it into solo pianos. The title of Winston's album is a lyric from "Break on Through (To the Other Side)", the first track of the Doors' self-titled first album.

Concerts

Winston dresses unassumingly for his shows, playing in stocking feet, stating that it quiets his "hard beat pounding" left foot. For years, the balding, bearded Winston would walk out on stage in a flannel shirt and jeans, and the audience would think he was a technician, coming to tune the 9-foot Steinways that are his piano of choice. As ''The Boston Globe'' reported in 1986, “Much of his playing is introspective, mood-setting and, frequently, tranquilizing. Casting my gaze about the auditorium, I observed members of the audience with their attention fixed upon the pianist and others absorbing the music with eyes closed. Winston is not a self-indulgent performer who protracts his renditions to the point where he dangerously tiptoes between a yawn and a snore. Instead, he keeps his presentations pithy and free of excess and his audience awake.”

On April 19, 2010 he appeared as the sole guest on show 575 of the multimedia WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour. Twenty minutes into the program he describes an unusual method of playing the piano he developed that was inspired by watching blues guitar players. He can be seen reaching into the piano with his left hand muting the strings while he is playing with his right hand "Breaths, An African in New York".

Career

When growing up his interest in music was listening to instrumentals in the R&B, rock, pop, and jazz genres, especially by organists. When he heard The Doors in 1967 he was inspired to start playing the organ. In 1971 he switched to solo piano after hearing recordings from the 1920s and the 1930s of the great stride pianist Thomas “Fats” Waller, and soon after of Waller’s contemporaries Teddy Wilson, Earl Hines, and Donald Lambert. Many of Winston’s melodic pieces are self-described as "rural folk piano" or "folk piano", which is a style he came up with in 1971 to have an approach to complement the uptempo stride piano. These melodic pieces evoke the essence of a season and reflect natural landscapes. The third style he plays, and is currently working on the most, is New Orleans R&B piano, influenced mainly by Professor Longhair, James Booker, and Henry Butler, as well as Dr. John and Jon Cleary.

Winston also is known for his two tribute albums to jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, composer for the first sixteen ''Peanuts'' animated films, who died suddenly in 1976.

Outside of his own piano compositions, adaptations of other people’s songs, and performances, he plays blues harmonica (mainly Appalachian fiddle tunes) and solo acoustic guitar (mainly Appalachian fiddle tunes, and Hawaiian slack-key guitar). While he mainly plays these instruments in concert and not on recordings, both his harmonica and guitar playing can be heard on his benefit album ''Remembrance - A Memorial Benefit'', which was released shortly after 9/11. In 2006, he recorded another benefit album ''Gulf Coast Blues & Impressions: A Hurricane Relief Benefit'', and a second hurricane relief benefit album is planned.

Winston also produces recordings of Hawaiian slack-key guitarists for his own record label, Dancing Cat Records, including artists Keola Beamer, Sonny Chillingworth, Leonard Kwan, Ray Kane, Cyril Pahinui, Led Kaapana, Dennis Kamakahi, Bla Pahinui, Martin Pahinui, George Kahumoku, Moses Kahumoku, George Kuo, Ozzie Kotani, and others. He is also working on recording several old-time musicians, including the venerable harmonica player/folksinger Sam Hinton, harmonica player Rick Epping, and multi-instrumentalist Curt Bouterse.

Discography

1972 ''Ballads and Blues''

1980 ''Autumn''

1982 ''Winter into Spring''

1982 ''December''

1991 ''Summer''

1994 ''Forest''

1996 Linus and Lucy – The Music of Vince Guaraldi

1998 ''All The Seasons''

1999 ''Plains''

2001 ''Remembrance - A Memorial Benefit''

2002 ''Winter Into Spring (20th Ann Edt)''

2002 Night Divides the Day – The Music of the Doors

2005 ''Montana – A Love Story''

2006 ''Gulf Coast Blues & Impressions: A Hurricane Relief Benefit''

2010 Love Will Come – The Music of Vince Guaraldi, Volume 2

Soundtracks

1984 ''The Velveteen Rabbit''

1988 ''This is America Charlie Brown—The Birth of the Constitution''

1995 ''Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes''

2002 ''Pumpkin Circle''

2003 ''Bread Comes to Life''

References

External links

Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:American pianists Category:Musicians from Montana Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Stetson University alumni Category:Musicians from Michigan Category:Windham Hill Records artists

de:George Winston es:George Winston fa:جورج وینستون fr:George Winston ko:조지 윈스턴 it:George Winston ja:ジョージ・ウィンストン pl:George Winston pt:George Winston ru:Уинстон, Джордж simple:George Winston zh:乔治·温斯顿

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
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

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
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

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Vanessa Daou
born	October 4, 1967St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
genre	Electronica, acid jazz, nu jazz, trip hop, pop, spoken word, Electronic dance music, jazz, dance pop, house, trance, chill out, eurodance, downtempo, ambient music|ambient]],
occupation	Singer, songwriter, poet, visual artist, dancer
years active	1990–present
labels	Columbia Records, Tribal Records, Lotus Records, MCA, DaouMusic, Oxygen Music Works, EMI France
associated acts	The Daou, Vandal
website	www.vanessadaou.com
background	solo_singer }}

Vanessa Daou (born October 4, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, visual artist and dancer. Most notably a musician, her work is known among electronica, nu jazz and trip hop circles for her trademark spoken word and aspirated singing style as well as its erotic and literary subtexts.

Formative years

Daou was born and spent her early childhood in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, relocating in 1984 to attend boarding school in Massachusetts. As a young adult, she attended Vassar College for two years and spent several years in New York City's Hell's Kitchen area before earning a scholarship to study dance at Columbia University. There, she would train with choreographer Eric Hawkins and explore visual art with Barry Moser and poetry with Kenneth Koch, whom she cites as having sparked her interest in spoken word. Daou ultimately graduated cum laude with a visual arts and art history degree from Barnard College/Columbia and frequently appeared in her senior year at Postcrypt Coffeehouse, the university's on-campus poetry lounge.

Early recordings

While still a student, Daou began her career recording for NuGroove Records, one of New York's seminal underground electronica labels. Demos that Daou had recorded with new husband/producer/musical collaborator Peter Daou (a nephew of novelist Erica Jong) caught the attention of two NuGroove DJs, and they invited her to provide guest vocals on a developing track. The experiment led to the label's top-selling single "It Could Not Happen," which later was released on Network Records in the United Kingdom. The Daous also performed as "Vandal" at Los Angeles' Stranger Than Fiction rave at the Shrine Auditorium in 1990.

''Head Music''

Daou's underground success brought her to the attention of Columbia Records, which signed her to a seven-album record deal. Vanessa, along with a five-piece band including Peter Daou on keyboards, released ''Head Music'' as The Daou in 1992. An airy fusion of rock, jazz and funk, ''Head Music'' enjoyed moderate success and received praiseworthy reviews in the New York Times Sunday Arts & Leisure section and CREAM and ''Billboard'' magazines. The album's first single "Surrender Yourself" was remixed by Danny Tenaglia and reached #1 on Billboard's Dance Chart. Creative disagreements with Columbia would see Vanessa negotiate out of her contract and subsequently release ''Head Music's'' next two singles for the independent Tribal Records.

MCA years

''Zipless''

In 1994 Daou, now billed as a solo act, recorded ''Zipless'', a sexually-charged collection of pieces inspired by the work of husband Peter's aunt, the poet/novelist Erica Jong. A slight stylistic evolution from ''Head Music,'' ''Zipless'' employed a somewhat more synthesized sound and introduced Daou's foray into recorded spoken word. The Daous released ''Zipless'' on their own label, Lotus Records. The album quickly established a cult following and attracted the attention of Bob Krasnow, the music A&R executive whose artist signings include Anita Baker, Björk, Natalie Merchant and Metallica. Krasnow signed Vanessa to his fledgling MCA Records subsidiary Krasnow Entertainment and re-released ''Zipless'' in 1995.

''Zipless'' garnered favorable international press, with features and reviews in TIME, Billboard Spotlight Review, Bikini, Vibe, Wire, Mix Mag, URB, the Toronto Star and Le Monde magazines, among other publications. The first single, "Near the Black Forest," was featured in heavy rotation on VH1 and, along with followup single "Sunday Afternoons," enjoyed moderate radio rotation. Daou toured nationally with New York rapper Guru and his hip hop-jazz fusion project Jazzmatazz, playing at venues such as L.A.'s House of Blues and Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco.

''Slow To Burn''

In 1995 MCA underwent significant management changes, at which time the company faltered on the momentum that had been building for several months around ''Zipless.'' Vanessa recorded a sophomore solo album, Slow To Burn, and released it in the Fall of that year. With each song a vignette inspired by the biographies of such celebrated female artisans as Billie Holiday, Gertrude Stein and Frida Kahlo, Slow To Burn enjoyed moderate to heavy smooth jazz format radio play with its first single "Two to Tango." It was featured in reviews in VIBE, URB, Billboard, Curve, and Cover magazines. Two to Tango was remixed by Danny Tenaglia and reached the top of Billboard's Dance Chart, remaining at #1 for three weeks. It was featured in the Matthew Perry film ''Fools Rush In.'' Two other songs from the album,"If I Could (What I Would Do For You)" and "How Do You Feel?," were featured in the films ''An American Werewolf in Paris'' and ''Idle Hands,'' respectively.

In the winter of 1996 Seagram took over MCA and Doug Morris, a reputed adversary of Bob Krasnow, became president of the record label. Krasnow soon retired and folded his namesake label. Daou chose to leave as well, and negotiated out of her contract with MCA.

A return to the indie world

''Plutonium Glow''

Over the next couple years Daou again chose to release her records independently. With some support from Benny Medina/Handprint Entertainment, she released 1997's dancy, cosmic exploration-themed ''Plutonium Glow,'' on her own DaouMusic label. The project was one of the earliest albums by a former major-label artist to be marketed and sold on the internet. The online release was followed by a 1998 UK re-release by independent international distributor Oxygen Music Works. This latter version featured an alternate song sequencing and a new track, "Alive," in place of "Visions of You."

Artwork from the ''Plutonium Glow'' era was showcased in an exhibit called "Plutonium Show" at Untitled (SPACE) Gallery in New Haven, Conn. A piece from the show entitled "Music Box" subsequently went on for display at a National Arts Club student exhibition, securing the Jeffrey Seyfert Memorial Prize.

''Dear John Coltrane''

In 1999, Daou released ''Dear John Coltrane'' on the Oxygen imprint. Somewhat more heady and nostalgic in the vein of ''Slow to Burn'' than danceable like ''Plutonium Glow,'' the homage to the legendary jazz saxophonist met with warm reception by fans, but sparse marketing, press, club and radio support.

''Make You Love''

Daou's next album ''Make You Love'', inspired by the travails of a girlfriend living in Paris, was co-released in 2000 on Daou's own label imprint and EMI in France. Generally positive reviews for Make You Love were featured in Le Monde, Elle, Magic, and Billbard Spotlight Review, and many critics received the album as Daou's most pop-oriented. The album's song "Julliette" was used in a scene for U.S. television series Dawson's Creek; the single "A Little Bit of Pain" was used in Lifetime TV movie ''Sex, Lies and Obsession;'' and in the fall of 2000 Daou promoted the project as guest on a seven-week concert tour of France by pop vocalist Etienne Daho. The song "Make Believe" from ''Plutonium Glow'' was re-recorded as a duet with Daho for his ''Corps et armes'' album.

Hiatus and return

On the heels of ''Make You Love,'' Daou would take a seven-year hiatus from releasing new material. Her catalog was tapped for various music compilations and for the soundtrack to 2005 French film ''Lila Says,'' but Daou would devote this time largely to visual arts, writing and academic pursuits.

''Joe Sent Me''

In 2007, Daou announced on her official website that some of her work during this time was being compiled for an upcoming multimedia project, introduced under the working title ''Then, at Midnight.'' The project, ostensibly a new music album with related graphical content, ultimately would undergo a name change to ''Joe Sent Me,'' a nod to the popular U.S. Prohibition-era password to enter red-light district clubs.

Several pivotal moments during Daou's hiatus would shape her new output—the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New York, where she remains a resident; an apparent split in 2004 from husband Peter; and inspiring travel experiences among them.

Daou says of the project:

The Idea behind ''Joe Sent Me'' was inspired by a recent walk in New York City's Times Square, and my memory of a trip I made to Barcelona in 2006. What I remember most about the city was its uniquely dynamic and vibrant clash of the myriad sounds of the Spanish language, the co-mingling of its cultures and countries....I've created Joe Sent Me to reflect the way my mind reconstructs my memory of Barcelona.... the aim is to break down each poem into its component parts: word/page, sound/mouth, structure/form, rhythm/repetition, reader/interpreter, eye/viewer, meaning/intonation, imagination/interpretation.

On May 19, 2008, audio clips, lyrics and interactive graphic content heralding ''Joe Sent Me'' premiered on the website for the Barcelona Poetry Symposium. The material thereafter became available on Daou's own site, and the album itself was released in November 2008 via Daou's online marketplace, daourecords.com. In May 2009, a program of original dances based on the music of ''Joe Sent Me'' debuted at Mercer County Community College's Kelsey Theatre, performed by the school's Mercer Dance Ensemble.

''Love Among the Shadowed Thing''

On Jan. 31, 2010, a collection of four tone poems from Daou, collectively titled ''Love Among the Shadowed Things'', debuted on the seasonal ''Weird Tales for Winter'' segment of Jonny Mugwump & The Exotic Pylon, an experimental radio series broadcasting on London's community radio/Radio Art-format Resonance 104.4 FM.

Composed around the themes "Dream," "Snow," "Shadow" and "Night," the poems that comprise ''Love Among the Shadowed Things'' are stream-of-consciousness collages of spoken word, sparse free jazz accompaniment and thickly layered sound effects. Daou describes this aural meditation on a particular December night as a juxtapositioning of things "secular and temporal ... familiar ... mystifying ... universal and eternal Edwin Posse blessing."

Discography

Albums

''Head Music'' (with The Daou) - 1992

''Zipless'' - 1994

''Slow to Burn'' - 1995

''Plutonium Glow'' - 1997/1998 (two releases)

''Dear John Coltrane'' - 1999

''Make You Love'' - 2000

''Joe Sent Me'' - 2008

Singles

Near The Black Forest

Sunday Afternoons

Two To Tango

How Do You Feel

A Little Bit Of Pain

See also

''Acid Jazz

''Fusion

References

External links

Vanessa Daou Official Site

Vanessa Daou interview at allaboutjazz.com

Interview of Vanessa Daou in french, november 2007

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:American dance musicians Category:United States Virgin Islands musicians Category:Barnard College alumni

it:Vanessa Daou