[1] In his previous fight, Mayweather had defeated reigning WBC super lightweight champion Arturo Gatti in dominating fashion to capture his third world title in his third different weight class.

[3] Ricky Hatton, who held the IBF's version of the super lightweight title expressed interest in a unification bout with Mayweather, but his offer was declined and he instead pursued a unification with the WBA's super lightweight champion Carlos Maussa.

[4] In October 2005, it was announced that Mayweather would face former super lightweight champion Sharmba Mitchell on November 19 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.

[5] Mayweather, who in addition to Wright and Hatton was also in talks with Miguel Cotto, Zab Judah, Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley, was criticized for choosing the now 35-year old Mitchell as an opponent being that Mitchell's career was on the decline and he had been dominated in his last major fight against Kostya Tszyu the previous year.

Though Mayweather had previously vowed after his pay-per-view debut against Gatti that he would fight exclusively on pay-per-view going forward, his fight against Mitchell was aired on a standard episode of HBO World Championship Boxing.