Abel Mendoza is just eight wins away from tying Floyd Mayweather’s unblemished 50-0 record.

Mendoza has flown under the radar during his nine-year stretch in the paid ranks but has compiled an impressive 42-0 record.

The undefeated lightweight has mostly beaten journeymen on club shows, although there are a few prospects mixed amongst his résumé.

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In his last outing in December, he made short work of Yonnaiquer Rondon (22-4-1) and prior to that, he outclassed German Ivan Meraz (65-72-3) in June.

Terence Crawford is the current world champion with the longest unbeaten streak at 41-0 but as he nears his 38th birthday it seems highly unlikely he will make it to 50 fights.

Mendoza, meanwhile, has time on his hands at 29 years old though he will have to step up his level of opposition if he wants to get anywhere near Mayweather and Crawford’s achievements.

At 42-0, Mayweather had already won world titles in five different weight classes while Mendoza isn’t even ranked by any of the four major sanctioning bodies at 135lbs.

He could easily surpass Mayweather’s legendary 50-0 record without facing a world-level foe but he wouldn’t gain much respect from the boxing fraternity.

“My Goal was never to beat Floyd’s record. It is to become a world champion,” Mendoza told World Boxing News.

“If I have got to be 100-0 to do that, then so be it.”

Mendoza’s BoxRec made the rounds on social media over the weekend and caught the attention of Mayweather’s protege Curmel Moton, who moved to 7-0 on Saturday night with a destructive third-round stoppage of Cuba’s Frank Zaldivar.

Moton commented three trash can emojis on a screenshot of Mendoza’s record.

The response prompted fans to call for a fight between the pair.

To which, Moton remarked: “I’d do him so bad!”

Moton isn’t the first fighter to take a swipe at Mendoza’s record.

Fellow unbeaten lightweight J’hon Ingram (6-0) also recently labelled Mendoza a ‘bum’ on social media.

Responding to the slack he has caught from other boxers, Mendoza added: “People criticize for anything, but when I prove them wrong, they’ll find something else to criticize me for.”

“I’ve been called out so many times by so many different fighters, but I need to fight someone who is a top-rated contender, not someone who has never even fought eight rounds.

“Hopefully, my team has a good strategy to negotiate those fights.”

In the eyes of many, Floyd Mayweather is one of, if not the greatest fighter in boxing history.

The 47-year-old from Grand Rapids, Michigan walked away from boxing in 2017 having won all 50 of his professional contests.

He won world titles in five weight classes, defeating the likes of Canelo Alvarez, Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya throughout his incredible career.

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There was one man, however, who has accused ‘Money’ of avoiding a fight with him. That man is Brazilian boxing legend and two-weight world champion Acelino Freitas, who is often regarded as one of the most underrated fighters of all time.

Freitas rose from a poverty-stricken childhood to become an accomplished fighter who captured world titles at lightweight and super featherweight, in a career that spanned 22-years.

Speaking in an interview with BoxingScene, ‘Popo’ spoke of how he believed Mayweather ‘ran’ from him during his campaign at super featherweight.

“So many were running from me when I made 10 defenses [of lightweight and super featherweight titles].

I wanted to fight Floyd Mayweather but he did not want to fight me. It was easier for these guys to run from me. You can’t blame them.”

Freitas lost on just two occasions throughout his 43-fight career. He defeated the likes of Joel Casamayor and Barry Jones during his tenure, but did fall short in his 2004 contest with the late-great Diego Corrales, suffering a tenth-round stoppage victory at the hands of ‘Chico’.

‘Popo’ retired from unofficially professional boxing in 2017, but has since had four exhibition contests in his native Brazil.

Floyd Mayweather is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers to ever live, retiring with an exceptional professional record of 50-0-0.

During his career, Mayweather beat many historic names, including Oscar De La Hoya, Canelo Alvarez, and Manny Pacquiao. His success inside the ring was a product of his legendary training regimen. Mayweather was always a true student of the sport of boxing.

Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has now revealed the insane amount of work that ‘Money’ Mayweather put in day in and day out.

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Speaking to IFL TV, Hearn said:

I said to Floyd last night, ‘wow, Shakur [Stevenson] sparred 14, 4-minute rounds.’ He [Floyd] said, when he used to spar, his first round would be nine minutes. And after that, every round would be six minutes

– Eddie Hearn

Further speaking about Mayweather’s legendary roadwork, Hearn added:

I asked him to tell me about his roadwork, and he said he would run five to seven miles every day – sometimes fast, sometimes slow. And I just think it’s interesting how the game’s evolved and how conditioning’s evolved. But I don’t think – and some of the new-age tech guys will disagree with me – you can substitute roadwork. Over time, tell me a fighter than hasn’t run, that hasn’t put the miles in.

– Eddie Hearn

Floyd Mayweather mastered the art of “hit and don’t get hit.” He was also in phenomenal condition for all of his fights. Mayweather’s work ethic paid its due dividends as he walked away from the sport unbeaten on top of becoming one of the richest athletes ever.

Former five-division champion Floyd Mayweather was in the spotlight a few days ago when employees of the Mayweather Gym in Los Angeles staged a protest outside the facility on Highland Avenue over non-payment of wages.

However, the latest update on the matter has absolved the undefeated legend of the sport from any wrongdoing.

A report from the Daily Mail highlighted that the employees claimed they hadn’t been paid by the boxing legend’s ‘Money Team’ company for weeks. In retaliation for the alleged nonpayment of wages, disgruntled staffers brought out signs and shouted during the protest to raise awareness of their situation, as they were unable to cover their daily expenses.

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One sign at the protest said, “modern-day slavery” while the other read “The $ Team has no $,” accusing Mayweather’s money team of bankruptcy. “We’re out here just letting everybody know that they have not been treating us right,” one employee told Daily Mail.

“Even if you work for a different company and you ain’t getting paid, you’re scared to show up and say something because you know how businesses do. They silence you and they fire you because everything’s ‘at will.’”

They accused the Mayweather of Boxing and Fitness group of violating the California Labor Code. However, boxing insider Rick Glaser hopped on X today to shed light on the reality of the matter. “Allegations of non-payment of wages against @FloydMayweather are false,” Glaser wrote. “This Mayweather Gym in LA is a franchise that Floyd gets a franchise fee for.”

Glaser also added, “Floyd himself has nothing to do with thee assets or liabilities of this. These reports are misleading, & defamatory.” It’s also worth noting that the staffers staging the protest had claimed that they were not aware whether Mayweather himself was in the loop about their situation.

However, this isn’t the first time a Mayweather Gym has faced the threat of closure. Last year in May, Mayweather’s gym in Elk Grove was shut down due to a breach of contract involving $30,000 in unpaid rent. In the meantime, the bankruptcy allegations never really made any sense because the boxing legend was spending millions some time ago.

Mayweather started investing in real estate in October by spending $402 million to purchase a portfolio of more than 60 buildings in New York City. He went on to invest an unspecified amount in the 601W Companies, which have a collection of 18 buildings and 10 million square feet of space worth a staggering $10 billion.

While money was leaving Mayweather’s accounts, he sold his home in Miami’s Biscayne Bay for $22 million. The boxing legend also acquired a stake in the former Versace Mansion—it has been transformed into a luxury hotel in Miami Beach. He then entered into a joint venture with Go Partners by investing $100 million into a sprawling portfolio in New York, featuring both luxury and market-rate housing.

That being said, the nonpayment of wages issue seems to be unraveling, as Rick Glaser has come out in Floyd Mayweather’s support. He calls the gym a franchise and clears Mayweather of any wrongdoing. Meanwhile, Mayweather himself hasn’t addressed the situation.