Floyd Mayweather retired with an undefeated 50-0 pro record but lost eight times in the amateurs including Olympic heartbreak
Floyd Mayweather may have never tasted defeat as a pro, but he is familiar with the gut-wrenching feeling from his amateur days.
The boxing icon is widely considered to be one of the greatest professional pugilists of all time and famously retired with an unblemished 50-0 record.
2
During the course of a pro career stretching from 1996 to 2017, Mayweather picked up 12 major world championships in five weight classes from super featherweight to super welterweight and beat 24 former or current world champions.
As an amateur, Mayweather also enjoyed plenty of success.
'TBE' won three national Golden Gloves championships in 1993, 1994 and 1996 - and scooped a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
However, he was unable to maintain an undefeated record in his vested years.
READ MORE ON BOXING
Mayweather lost eight times in a 92-fight amateur career (84-8) against varying levels of opposition.
Many sites list him as being 84-6 while others claim he had even lost as many as nine fights, yet there is only proof of eight - most of which aren’t accompanied by video footage.
The first defeat Mayweather suffered in the unpaid ranks was a points loss to Arnulfo Bravo at the 1994 United States Junior National Championships.
Bravo was a decent amateur, who won the 1995 national Golden Gloves (112lbs) but wasn't able to replicate the same kind of successes in the pros.
Most read in Boxing
Floyd Mayweather's eight amateur losses
- Lost on points to Arnulfo Bravo at 1994 United States Junior National Championships
- Lost on points to Martin Castillo at a 1994 United States vs Mexico dual meet in Las Vegas, Nevada
- Lost on points to Carlos Navarro at the 1995 United States Pan American Games Trials
- Lost on points to Juan Carlos Ramirez at a 1995 United States vs. Mexico dual meet at Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista, Arizona
- Lost on points to Noureddine Madjhoud in second round of 1995 World Championships in Berlin
- Lost via walk over to Trigran Ouzlian at 1995 Centennial tournament in Moscow
- Lost on points to Augie Sanchez at 1996 United States Olympic Trials
- Lost on points to Serafim Todorov in semi-finals of 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia
He fought six times in the paid ranks from 1996 to 1997, compiling an unremarkable 4-2 record.
The next man to beat Mayweather was Martin Castillo at a 1994 United States vs Mexico dual meet in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Floyd Mayweather drops Victor Ortiz with sucker punch KO after the Mexican tries to headbutt him midway through the fight
Castillo (35-4) is the only fighter to have beaten Mayweather in the amateurs and then gone on to win a world title in the pros.
The Mexican puncher was crowned WBA super-flyweight champion in 2004 by dismantling Alexander Munoz and defended it four times before having it snatched off him by Noburo Nashiro.
He also challenged for the IBF and WBO super-flyweight titles but came up short.
Losses to Carlos Navarro and Juan Carlos Ramirez followed in 1995 for Mayweather before he qualified for his first major senior tournament - the 1995 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.
He won his opening bout against Marian Leondraliu of Romania but lost in the second round to Algeria's Noureddine Madjhoud, who retired with a 0-3 pro record.
Despite the magnitude of the event, there isn't any footage of the fight online, although Mayweather reportedly had a broken hand heading into the contest.
2
The next defeat on his record came against Trigran Ouzlian at the 1995 Centennial tournament in Moscow, Russia via a walkover.
For the uninitiated, this is a victory awarded by default to a competitor due to their opponent's absence.
Mayweather rebounded well in 1996, kicking the year off in style by winning gold at the Michigan Golden Gloves and National Golden Gloves en route to the US Olympic qualifiers.
There, 'Money' was defeated by Augie Sanchez, whom he fought four times in the amateurs and beat thrice.
Mayweather went on to best Sanchez in back-to-back Olympic box-offs, to book his place at the Atlanta Games where he lost in the semi-finals to Serafim Todorov under controversial circumstances.
Most believed Mayweather had done enough to progress to the Olympic final but some questionable officiating brought him bronze.
Even referee Hamad Hafaz Shouman of Egypt mistakenly raised Mayweather's hand before calling both men back to the centre of the ring to declare Todorov the winner.
Team USA filed a protest over the decision, claiming the judges had been intimidated by Bulgaria's Emil Jetchev (head of the boxing officials) into favouring his fellow countryman by a 10-9 decision.
However, the result was never overturned.
Read More on talkSPORT
In the immediate aftermath of his controversial defeat, a heartbroken Mayweather burst into tears during an interview with NBC and turned over as a pro thereafter.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Boxing WhatsApp channel
Get the latest fight news, reaction and the best opinion from talkSPORT pundits in our Boxing WhatsApp channel.
Follow our Boxing channel HERE.