On Saturday, November 1, 2003, Floyd Mayweather Jr defended his World Boxing Council (WBC) Lightweight title for the third time against Phillip "Timebomb" Ndou at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The fight was also for The Ring Magazine Lightweight title, which Mayweather had previously won and defended twice. Mayweather's purse for the fight was $3 million.
Mayweather went into the fight as the favorite, and he didn't disappoint. Ndou, who was 26 years old at the time, did have his moments, but Mayweather dominated the fight. In the sixth round, Mayweather dropped Ndou with a series of right hands, but the referee, Frank Garza, ruled it a slip.
In the seventh round, Mayweather continued to dominate Ndou, landing numerous straight right hands, left hooks, and body shots. Ndou was on shaky legs after being hit with a series of punches, forcing Garza to stop the fight at 1:50 of the round. Mayweather won by TKO in the seventh round, improving his record to 31-0.
After the fight, Ndou praised Mayweather, saying, "I fought the best in the world, Floyd Mayweather, and he's something special. You can't take anything away from him. He's the champion." Mayweather had promised to knock out Ndou in the sixth round, but he was still happy with his performance.
