Much has been said about the career that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has carved out for himself in professional boxing.

While some fans of the sport have labeled him a “tough guy to watch,” analysts and experts agree that he is truly one of the greatest scientific developments the world has ever seen.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a natural. He simply had all the innate abilities necessary to succeed in boxing, and he finished his professional career without ever tasting defeat. However, he left his home Olympics with nothing more than a bronze medal after losing to Serafim Todorov. The Bulgarian won 10-9 on points, although the result was controversial.

The referee initially raised Mayweather Jr.’s hand, but later declared Todorov the winner, prompting an official protest from the U.S. Olympic team. This appeal was unsuccessful and Mayweather’s defeat was upheld, much to his chagrin, and he was later seen in tears when the announcement was made.

What’s even more bizarre is that Todorov didn’t even win the gold medal, only the silver in Atlanta. However, he wasn’t always the perfect weaver we know him to be, as the American actually experienced failure in his amateur career.

Atlanta hosted the 1996 Olympics and Mayweather was scheduled to compete in the featherweight division. He was expected to win the gold medal due to his talent and dominance in the amateur scene. It was assumed that if Todorov was good enough to beat Mayweather, he would have no problem with his next opponent.

The tragedy left a sour taste in Mayweather’s mouth, but he has since made it clear that he uses the pain as fuel for the next phase of his boxing career.