Floyd Mayweather Jr is the greatest boxer to have ever lived. He is a global boxing champion living like a king after retiring from professional boxing.
The 44-year-old has a sparkling record of going undefeated for more than a decade when he reigned supreme in the ring.
However, before his meteoric rise and bulking up, the five-division world champion suffered two defeats just before the year 2000. He was an amateur boxer then.
And these are the only two little-known defeats before he geared up and ruled the world of boxing with 49 wins and zero losses.
Floyd Mayweather. [Forbes]
Mayweather Amateur Losses
During the 1996 Olympic trials, Mayweather lost 12-11 to his closest buddy Augie Sanchez. The two trained together and fought many battles together and won each of them.
Mayweather fought Sanchez after bulking up but lost in the trial but he never gave up. He still had a long way to go but not before his last and most controversial loss.
After losing to Sanchez in the trials, he made the cut following US’ best-of-three selection method in 1996.
He was to face Bulgarian boxer Serafim Todorov which marked Mayweather’s end to amateur boxing.
Todorov was at the peak of the boxing league and successfully fought many other boxers of his time.
And he never forgot about his fight with Mayweather. It was the most controversial in the Summer Olympic Games history when a corrupt judge was accused of favoring Todorov.
The referee officiating the match raised Mayweather’s hand but quickly announced Todorov the winner.
Today, Todorov cannot understand just how Mayweather became the boxing star that he is.
“I never imagined he would become such a star,” Todorov told Boxing Junkie. “I had more difficult fights against other boxers. I never thought he would become that good. He was a strong athlete, but lacking in technique. I didn’t have to show everything I am capable of.”
But, fate is something you cannot run away from. Todorov is nowhere close to Mayweather’s success in life despite knocking him out and failing to see his technique.
The Bulgarian reels in unemployment courtesy of a failed career in boxing. He resides in the poorest of cities in Bulgaria while Mayweather lives his dream life in the US.
Ever since the 1996 Summer Olympic Games loss as an amateur, Mayweather never lost any other fight 21 years later.
Big Controversial Win
In April 2002, the all-time American boxing champion controversially won a high-octane fight against Mexican Jose Luis Castillo. The Las Vegas fight was his last as a two-weight world champion up at lightweight.
Castillo was gritty and seemed to overwhelm Mayweather by the final bell with a 115-111 loss.
In a twist of events, Mayweather’s hand was raised signifying him as the new winner, and boos rent the air immediately. HBO through its commentator Jim Lampley justified this decision saying Mayweather triumphed in the 10th, 11th, and 12th rounds.
In December 2002, Castillo faced Mayweather for a rematch that cemented the latter’s victory fanning down their rivalry.
Mayweather Vs Manny Pacquiao Fight
His last and high stake fight that drew the world’s attention was against Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao in 2015. It was touted as the “fight of the century”.
Here’s the thing. This fight dates back to 2009 when predictions poured in that this would be the most bruising fight in boxing history.
Both teams from the two boxing champions hurdled the fight until 2015 when Pacquaio and Mayweather met in the ring. The debacle went down at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
The American boxing champion won by a unanimous decision by two judges posting 116–112 and the other 118–110. Sadly, fans termed it a big flop adding it was nothing close to what they anticipated.
Floyd Mayweather. [Essentially Sports]
Disappointment
While the audience expected a fiery boxing debacle, both Mayweather and Pacquiao fell short of the expectations. Mayweather was all defensive in the ring while Pacquiao struggled to throw punches thanks to a shoulder injury.
Reports after the fight indicate Pacquiao was healing his right shoulder injury before the fight but it came back to bite him in the fourth round. It also emerged that Mayweather was injected with IV fluids with clearance by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
But, the Nevada State Athletic Commission had not authorized this. Despite it all, he carried the day this being his last high stake fight in the ring earning $250 million from this fight alone.
Mayweather $1.1 Billion Fortune From Boxing
Cumulatively, Mayweather is the wealthiest boxer of his time raking in an estimated $1.1 billion from his boxing career, Forbes cites.
According to Celebrity net worth, the American boxer icon is worth at least $450 million.
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