Mayweather legacy faces challenge

BANGKOK: After a career laden with belts, cash and kudos, boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr retired undefeated over 50 fights — but his flawless record faces an unlikely challenge from an obscure Thai fighter known as the “dwarf giant”.At 5ft 2in (1.57m) and weighing just 105lb (47.6kg), minimumweight Wanheng Menayothin is shorter, leaner and significantly less wealthy than Mayweather, who briefly emerged from retirement last year to fight MMA star Conor McGregor for a $100 million purse. If Wanheng triumphs on Wednesday afternoon he will equal Mayweather’s feat of winning 50 successive fights.His WBC minimumweight belt is on the line against Panamanian challenger Leroy Estrada. The fight, to be held outside the town hall of second-tier Thai city Nakhon Ratchasima, has none of the glitz or pay-per-view pull of a Mayweather bout in Las Vegas.But still Wanheng will enter boxing lore with victory — and, at 32 years of age, has time to go one better and match the 51 wins, one draw and no losses set by Mexican flyweight Ricardo Lopez.

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