How Olympics defeat sparked Floyd Mayweather’s unbeaten pro legacy while rival’s career went wildly different direction
FLOYD MAYWEATHER'S last-ever defeat sparked an unbeaten professional legacy - while victory left his opponent doomed.
Mayweather was just 19 when he made it into the 1996 Olympic semi-finals in Atlanta against little-known Bulgarian Serafim Todorov.
And he looked to be on his way to the final after the referee Hamad Hafaz Shouman raised his hand following three convincing rounds.
Except confusion ensued around the arena when it was in fact Todorov's name announced as the winner - to the shock of all.
Mayweather was so devastated and full of emotion that he could barely get his words out in the aftermath.
Fighting back tears, he told NBC: "I feel I won that fight."
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Mayweather then let out a cry and walked away from the interview as he was too heartbroken to speak.
That pain followed the American legend throughout his career and it ultimately proved inspirational to his unmatched 50-0 pro record.
Mayweather, now 47, told ex-NFL star : “Am I happy with my amateur career? Absolutely.
"Am I happy with the bronze medal and not winning gold? Absolutely. The referee raised my hand because he thought I won.
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"But I am glad that the fight went how it went because it made me work that much harder as a professional – not to feel that same pain again. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me.”
Mayweather made his pro debut just months on from Olympic heartache while Todorov rejected lucrative deals to stay amateur.
Todorov - who took silver after losing the 1996 Olympic featherweight final - was locked in a dispute with the Bulgarian Boxing Federation.
He even tried to switch alliances to represent Turkey in the 1997 World Championships - a year after his controversial win over Mayweather.
The move was barred and Todorov refused to represent Bulgaria again - finishing his amateur boxing career in 2003.
In the years since, Mayweather became boxing's richest prizefighter of all time, topping Forbes' rich list of the decade in 2019 with over £700MILLION made.
Todorov meanwhile barely had enough to get by.
He was living in a house in Peshtera, located in the southern area of Bulgaria, but he was forced to sell it to after falling on hard times.
In 2015, tracked the former Olympian down and revealed he and his wife were working in sausage factories and supermarkets.
"I’m really happy because that made me strive and work hard to get to where I’m at today."
Mayweather officially hung up his gloves in 2017 after beating ex-UFC champion Conor McGregor, 36, in a lucrative crossover clash.
But even in retirement, the money continues to come in with Mayweather still boxing in exhibition bouts.
His next is a rematch against the grandson of notorious New York crime boss John Gotti on August 24 in Mexico.
Gotti III was disqualified last year before a brawl in the ring.
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Todorov on the other hand has kept a low profile although a movie about his life was said to be in the works.
So it may not be the last we hear of the man who gave Mayweather his last loss.