Serafim Todorov got the better of Floyd Mayweather but his career did not pan out as he would have hoped.
Floyd Mayweather retired from professional boxing with a perfect 50-0 record and has since been having fun and making a lot of money through various exhibition bouts.
‘Money’ beat a total of 16 world champions inside the squared circle and won titles in five different weight classes. You have to go as far back as 1996 for his last loss, which came at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mayweather was just 19 years of age at the time and took on Serafim Todorov of Bulgaria in the semi-final.
He was eight years older than Mayweather and his experienced proved key as he beat ‘Pretty Boy’ 10-9 on the scorecards, meaning Mayweather collected a bronze medal.
Three-time gold medalist Todorov progressed to the final and took home the silver medal after suffering a defeat to Somluck Kamsing of Thailand.
Mayweather quickly recovered from the set-back and has gone on to become the richest and most successful boxer by some distance – claiming his superfight with Conor McGregor resulted in him becoming a billionaire.
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The same cannot be said for Todorov, who turned down an offer from a group of promoters in the United States and later tried to represent Turkey at the 1997 World Amateur Boxing Champions because he felt his home nation were not giving him the correct backing.
The national allegiance switch did not happen though, with the Bulgarian Boxing Federation standing firm. As a result, Todorov would retire from boxing 2003.
After 12 years away, he returned to the ring in 2015 at the age of 46 and beat Aleksandar Chukaleiski via unanimous decision in a four-round welterweight contest, as per Boxing News Online.
That same year, however, the New York Times did a detailed piece on him and revealed he was living on a pension that pays him just $435 per month. He didn’t even have a flat screen TV the last time he was heard from.
Living in a modest first-floor unit in Pazardzhik with his wife, son and daughter-in-law, his jobs have varied from working as a driver, in a grocery store and in a sausage factory.
Reflecting on his triumph over one of the greats and how he never kicked on, he said: “My experience was much stronger. I beat all the Russians, all the Cubans, some Americans, Germans, Olympic champions.
“I was making fun of them in the ring. British, French – I beat them all. I was very smart. I was a very beautiful and attractive fighter to watch. You must be an artist in the ring. I was an artist.
“It was just like any other fight, to be honest – I had beaten much stronger fighters.
“I wanted to hope that things here could get better. It was stupid. I came back and I found hell.”
Mayweather was told about Todorov’s situation and passed on his best wishes, as well as questioning why he didn’t transition into a trainer role if his exploits inside the ring didn’t work out.
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“I wish him nothing but the best,” he told World Boxing News.
“I don’t know why he didn’t become a boxing trainer because at the time when we fought, he was already a lot older than I was.
“I was fighting at the elite stage at 16. I wanted to turn pro at 14, but it never happened. Five years later, I turned pro at 19. Within a year, I was a champion.”
