WBC President Exposes Floyd Mayweather’s Pivotal “Failure” That Shaped the Legend

In the year 1996, Floyd Mayweather Jr. took part in the Olympics. Following three back-to-back wins including one victory by RSC, Mayweather reached the semi-final and squared off against Bulgarian boxer Serafim Todorov. In a controversial decision that saw Judge Bill Waeckerle quit on the grounds of “incompetent scoring“, Mayweather lost against Todorov and received a bronze medal.

Decades after, the current WBC President shared a brief clip of Floyd Mayweather’s interview after his Olympics defeat. The WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman captioned the post, “Failure is the mother of all the success. This moment shaped the character of one of the greatest careers in the history of #boxing @FloydMayweather”. In the clip, the former NFL defensive back and NBC reporter Beasley Reece asked for Mayweather’s comment on the scoring. To which Mayweather replied, “I felt like I won the fight”.

When a judge refused to work after Floyd Mayweather received a controversial defeat at the Olympics

WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman believes this loss at the Olympics shaped Floyd Mayweather into the person that he is today. However, the decision against Mayweather at the 1996 Olympics propelled controversy. Not only Floyd Mayweather but also Judge Bill Waeckerle felt that the American boxer had done enough to win the fight. Hence, after Mayweather’s defeat, in his resignation letter addressed to the AIBA President, as covered by AP News in 1996, Waeckerle said, “I refuse to be part of an organization that continues to conduct its officiating in this manner“.

The then U.S. boxing coach Al Mitchell supported the protest. “They are a bunch of mobsters. They need to get rid of the whole group,” he’d stated. According to U.S. team manager Gerald Smith, there were moments in the match where Mayweather succeeded but was not taken into consideration by those who were judging. After this defeat at the Olympics, Mayweather turned pro and fought professionally till 2017. Currently, Mayweather is doing exhibitions all over the globe.

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What did you think about Mayweather’s Olympic loss in 1996? In addition, what do you have to say about WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman’s views on the same? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

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