ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Crafty and powerful, Floyd Mayweather Jr. made the jump in weight class look easy.
Mayweather, one of boxing's brightest young stars, overwhelmed DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley on Saturday in a 140-pound WBC elimination bout.
Shaking off two minor injuries and a fourth-round scare, Mayweather knocked Corley down twice and toyed with him for much of the 12-round fight, coasting to victory and a possible showdown with junior welterweight champ Arturo Gatti.
"Mayweather can flat-out fight," said Corley trainer Don Turner. "He's like magic."
Corley had no magic of his own. The 29-year-old lefty from Washington, D.C. entered the ring wearing an Army camouflage jacket and a gas mask over his head. But there was no hiding from Mayweather, who mixed in right leads and uppercuts, left leads and jabs.
The 27-year-old Mayweather, of Las Vegas, patiently waited for openings when Corley went on the offensive, countering with lightning-quick leads that carried much more power.
In the fourth round, Corley looked as if he had a chance. He caught Mayweather with a hard right to the head that seemed to stagger him, knocking him into the ropes. Corley (28-3-1) then moved in with a dozen unanswered punches, but couldn't put him away.
Mayweather (32-0) said he hurt his right hand in that round, and that he injured his left shoulder during training for it.
He didn't look hurt, though.
In the eighth, he dazed Corley with a right uppercut and left hook coming out of a clinch, then chased him across the ring before landing a left-right combination that dropped Corley to the canvas.
In the ninth round, Corley fell to one knee in what was ruled a slip. Mayweather reached down, put his gloves under Corley's armpits and hoisted him up to his feet, eliciting a round of applause from the crowd in Boardwalk Hall.
In the 10th, a five-punch combination put him down again, just about sealing the victory.
"He makes you move into the punches," Turner said.
Mayweather, a former Olympic bronze medalist who has won WBC titles as a super featherweight and lightweight, brought the crowd of 6,103 to its feet several times with his rapid-fire combinations and deft defense.
"Chop Chop was tough, a solid fighter," he said. "He had good punches. But I was never in any kind of danger and I was never hurt."
It was the second straight loss for Corley, who lost a split decision to Zab Judah last July.
"I could've gone more rounds," said Corley, who conceded "Mayweather has great hand speed."
At any weight, apparently.
"True champions fight through their injuries," he said afterward.