In his professional career, Floyd Mayweather is an undefeated 49-0, but the boxing champion has been beaten before — almost 20 years ago.
Two men in particular can claim they defeated the pound-for-pound greatest fighter of this generation. Neither of the men have seen even a glimpse of the same success Mayweather experienced.
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Augie Sanchez knew Mayweather since he was young. A product of Las Vegas, Sanchez's gym served as the training grounds for Mayweather's two wold-title-winning uncles. As two of the brightest boxing prospects, Sanchez and Mayweather began competiting — and winning — Golden Gloves tournaments and ended up on the same team, though in two different weight classes. Mayweather weighed in at 112, while Sanchez filled out sooner and competed at 125.
They quickly grew close, even rooming together at the 1994 United States Olympic Festival in St. Louis.
“He was a nice guy,” Sanchez told the New York Times. “Very talkative, very open. We kind of clicked right away when we were together. It’s kind of cool. I didn’t know we would eventually fight each other.”
Eventually, Mayweather bulked up and began fighting in the same weight class as Sanchez. The first time the two met in the ring, Mayweather won in a close decision. The second time, things didn't go quite as well and Mayweather lost to Sanchez in a 12-11 decision during the 1996 Olympic trials. He would have a chance to redeem himself since the United States used a best-of-three method to select their team that year.
Mayweather won handedly in both of the bouts, 22-8 and 20-10, respectively.
“I might have just been discouraged because I had to fight him again and I was like, Wait, I thought I already qualified for the Olympics,” Sanchez said. “Or maybe he was just a better fighter those days. Or both."
Either way, Mayweather was going to the Olympics in Atlanta where he would eventually suffer his most recent — and controversial — loss to Bulgarian boxer Serafim Todorov.
“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.”
Todorov is currently unemployed living in one of the poorest cities in Bulgaria after a failed professional boxing career, curtailed by strict government actions, but he'll always have the memory of beating Mayweather.
The decision has been marred by the speculation of a corrupt judge — even the referee raised Mayweather's hand initially before declaring Todorov the winner. While Mayweather set out to claim the top spot for his country, he had to settle for bronze. It was the last time he lost a bout.
The loss marked the end of Mayweather's amateur career. The boxer has won every time he's stepped in the ring including his megafight against Manny Pacquiao.