Mayweathers fight, win together

Thursday, March 13, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

By Dean Juipe

Fighting together for what likely will be the only time in their professional careers, each of the Las Vegas-based Mayweathers won their boxing matches Wednesday night in their native Grand Rapids, Mich.

The card, seen on DirecTV, featured brothers Roger and Jeff Mayweather, as well as their nephew, Olympic bronze medalist Floyd Mayweather Jr.

At the close of the show in the Stadium Arena, Roger asked for and received a ringside microphone and told the crowd of 2,587 that it was "time to pass the torch," implying that he may have fought for the final time.

Roger, 35, won by technical knockout in the 12th and final round of his welterweight bout with Carlos Miranda. Ahead on all three of the judges' cards at the time -- by scores of 109-100, 108-101 and 107-102 -- Roger stopped Miranda at the 2:51 mark. It increased the former world champion's record to 57-12 with 36 KOs. Miranda fell to 16-2.

If Roger is inclined to fight again, a likely opponent is former local rival Greg Haugen, now living and fighting in Washington. Mayweather has been approached with regard to fighting Haugen.

Jeff Mayweather, 33, won his 10-round lightweight bout with Eric Jakubowski by unanimous decision. Jeff, 32-10-5, was up by 80-72 scores on two judges' cards and ahead by a 79-73 count on the third. Jakubowski dropped to 12-5.

Floyd Mayweather Jr., 19, improved his record to 5-0 with four KOs by stopping Kino Rodriguez, 9-10-2, at 1:44 of the first round. A body shot finished Rodriguez for the night.