Unbeaten boxer Abel Mendoza was once tipped to surpass Floyd Mayweather’s famous 50-0 record, but his career has slowed considerably despite moving to within six victories of the benchmark.

The 30-year-old Texan, who currently stands at 44-0 with 32 knockouts on BoxRec, has recorded just two professional victories since January 2025, when World Boxing News highlighted his chances of overtaking Mayweather.

Mendoza was 42-0 at the time and told WBN he would have liked to reach 51-0 before the end of that year if the opportunities came his way.

“If it were up to me, it would be this year! I love to fight and would fight every day if possible,” Mendoza told WBN exclusively.

Almost 21 months later, his career has lost momentum, and the undefeated American is still waiting for the breakthrough fight he wanted.

Abel Mendoza’s Record Dispute

Mendoza has also spent years at odds with BoxRec over victories he believes are missing from his listed record.

In July 2025, WBN documented how his record dropped from 42-0 to 41-0 despite another victory in Colombia.

Mendoza insisted he should have been 45-0, having previously complained about missing victories dating back to 2022.

His current 44-0 listing remains one victory below the tally he claimed last year, although the figure has increased from the 41-0 shown during the previous dispute.

The record confusion has continued alongside a significant reduction in activity.

According to BoxRec, Mendoza’s only traditional professional appearances since December 2024 were victories over Juvenal Herrera in July 2025 and Javier Rodriguez in May 2026.

That represents a sharp decline for a fighter who previously averaged four or five contests annually.

WBN had also highlighted the confusion caused by Team Combat League results appearing alongside Mendoza’s professional recordincluding defeats that do not count toward his traditional 44-0 tally.

Mendoza Addresses His Future

WBN contacted Mendoza this week to clarify his current record and whether he had fought again since May.

The unbeaten lightweight confirmed he had not fought recently but revealed that an announcement was coming.

“I will announce my upcoming fight next week,” Mendoza told WBN.

Mendoza has previously expressed his desire to fight more regularly as he attempts to get his career moving again.

However, beating Mayweather’s record was never his main ambition.

“My goal was never to beat Floyd’s record. It is to become a world champion. If I have got to be 100-0 to do that, then so be it.”

Mendoza remains unbeaten and six victories away from matching Mayweather’s 50-0, but the bigger question is whether his promised announcement will finally lead to the world title opportunity he has spent years chasing.

About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.

With both sides having seemingly reached an impasse in negotiations, Shakur Stevenson has offered his version of events and, unsurprisingly, blames Devin Haney for the collapse of their all-American showdown.

The two pound-for-pounds were in deep talks to collide later this year, or perhaps in early 2027, but it would now seem their hoped-for clash is dead in the water.

Most would assume this could be explained by a money-related issue but, according to Stevenson, it is more to do with a disagreement over the proposed catchweight.

Initially, the slick southpaw said he would only face Haney at a catchweight of 144lbs, while also insisting on a rehydration clause in their contract.

During their negotiations, however, Haney seemingly convinced Stevenson to drop the rehydration clause and agree to meet at 145lbswhere he would be fighting below his usual weight of 147lbs.

Stevenson, meanwhile, would have been moving up from 140lbs following his wide unanimous decision and WBO title-winning victory over Teofimo Lopez in January.

It seems plans have now changed, though, as the 29-year-old has taken to social media and explained his side of the story,

“At the 11th hour, after agreeing to 144 and then 145[lbs]DeeHoe [Haney] had his lawyer email and say that he would only fight at 147. Big waste of everybody’s time.”

At the 11th hour, after agreeing to 144 and then 145, DeeHoe had his lawyer email and say that he would only fight at 147. Big waste of everybody’s time.

— Shakur Stevenson (@ShakurStevenson) October 16, 2026

With Haney no longer a viable option, Stevenson may struggle to squeeze another fight in this year after inking a long-term promotional deal with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing.

As for WBO world welterweight champion Haney, the 27-year-old has not fought since dethroning Brian Norman Jr with a unanimous decision victory last November.

Moses It will hurt has broken his silence and assessed whether Filip Hrgovic truly deserves his respect for winning their dramatic encounter in August.

The pair squared off for the vacant IBF title, with Itauma attempting to become the youngest world heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson dethroned Trevor Berbick in 1986.

For the first eight rounds, the 21-year-old appeared likely to do just that, having landed the cleaner shots, scored an early knockdown and generally outclassed his opponent.

In a stunning turn of events, however, Itauma was reduced to utter exhaustion and Hrgovic, sensing this fatigue, managed to pull off a major upset by stopping his man in round nine.

As a result, the Croatian became his nation’s first world heavyweight champion and, by extension, is now considered one of the division’s leading operators.

Itauma, on the other hand, was forced to suffer his first defeat, amateur or professional, in a contest that he seemed sure to win.

Yet despite the demoralising nature of this setback, Itauma has told Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions that Hrgovic deserves his utmost respect.

“It was a good fight. I didn’t give Hrgovic much respect before the fight [but]during and after [the fight]I did [give him respect].

He deserves it – he won the fight.”

Indeed, Itauma did not appear to respect Hrgovic much during the build-up and, for instance, found it curious that the 34-year-old took pride in having a granite chin.

Well, as it happened, the veteran’s durability, along with his fitness and experience, was why he managed to defeat his quicker and more explosive opponent.