Floyd Mayweather’s Toughest Opponent Lost Title in Bizarre Referee Incident

The toughest opponent of Floyd Mayweather's legendary professional career lost his world title in a bizarre incident with the referee.

Mayweather enjoyed a decorated boxing career and fought all comers from a series of different generations.

The fighter, who was originally nicknamed 'Pretty Boy' before he changed his moniker to 'Money', beat the likes of Diego Corrales and Zab Judah during his rise up the ranks.

Once he established himself as a house-hold name in the United States, Mayweather earned victories over his era's best, including Oscar De La Hoya and the late, great Ricky Hatton, before beating Canelo Alvarez to name but a few.

But Mayweather credits the unheralded Emanuel Augustus as his toughest opponent following their 2000 clash.

He stopped Augustus in the ninth round of their bout.

Floyd Mayweather called Emanuel Augustus the toughest opponent of his career. Image: Getty

Mayweather revealed: "Emmanuel Augustus was my toughest opponent. His record didn't show his skill-set, but the guy was unbelievable.

"He’s a true warrior, a true champion. Before the fight, I heard he had got robbed [by bad decisions] a lot of times - and I believe that's true.

"Good fight," he added. "He’s a tough motherf**ker. I had to dig deep."

Augustus, who made his pro debut in 1994, had suffered 16 defeats prior to meeting Mayweather.

Despite his chequered record, he went onto claim the IBA world super-lightweight title following his victory over Alex Trujillo in 2004.

But the Chicago native surrendered the IBA strap in his first defence against Tomas Barrientes in bizarre circumstances.

Emanuel Augustus lost his IBA world title in 2004 following an incident with the referee. Image: Getty

Augustus, who was 29 at the time, lost his world title when referee Laurence Cole halted the fight and disqualified the title-holder because he refused to look him in the eye for pushing and talking.

The boxer said he was on the verge of winning by knockout when the infractions occurred and was ahead on all three judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage.

"I had the dude hurt, I thought I did, I hit him with some good shots," he said. "I was getting this dude like a pit bull. I had him."

Dick Cole, the head of the Texas commission, claimed Augustus pushed the referee and refused to abide by commands in the sixth round.

He explained: "He took his opponent and tried to push him up against the ropes, then he pushed the referee. Then (referee Laurence Cole) told him 'I'm not going to tolerate it'.

"He told him 'I'm not going to tolerate no rough tactics'. He could have disqualified him for even touching the referee."

Cole said the referee did not want to stop the fight but could not let it continue if Augustus would not obey the commands.

Augustus later admitted to committing some infractions but felt the stoppage was overkill.