Shakur Stevenson Impressed With Floyd Mayweather’s Eye-Opening Take On His Olympics Bronze: “The Realest Sh*t”

Who would have guessed that a fighter like Floyd Mayweather would not see the face of gold at the Olympics? Speaking on his life’s most prominent loss, the 15-time world champion revealed the impact of the Olympics on her career.

At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, 19-year-old Mayweather represented Team USA in their home venue. That season, a massive controversy ensued when the fighter lost to two-time Olympian Serafim Todorov of Bulgaria, in the semi-finals. Most believed that the fight was, all in all, won by Mayweather and not his 27-year-old opponent. Years later, when he kept it real about that fateful night, a fighter of today, Shakur Stevenson reflects on the anecdote with his own perspective.

Lost in the Olympics, but not the bigger picture

A few days ago, on the Pivot podcast, 46-year-old ‘Money’ spilled the beans on his crucial fight at the 1996 Olympics. Revealing how that clash came at a very hard time in his life him. He noted, “My dad leave me and go to prison. I’m 16 years old. I go to the Olympic Games, even though I know I deserved the gold medal, but I’m happy with how my career went. If I had to do it all over again, I’d still be happy to take that bronze medal.”

Not winning the Gold, but instead holding the Bronze is something the 50-undefeated does not regret. He explained, “Because if I didn’t take the Bronze medal, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I feel like I worked harder, much harder. But when I got the Bronze medal, was I hurt? Absolutely. Absolutely. And did I cry? Absolutely. So, with my dad, going to prison, me all by myself, coming on to Las Vegas, getting the big cards ready, then being in control. Not being able to be who I really want to be. What I’m proud about is coming from nothing to something and earning it the hard way.”

Impressed with how Mayweather turned his biggest loss into his biggest weapon in the competitive landscape, the WBC lightweight champion, Shakur Stevenson, rooted an extract of the interview on his stories. Alongside, in the captions, he wrote, “This is the realest sh*t I ever heard.”

Mayweather’s loss in the Olympic semi-finals was highly protested. Even today, after many years have passed and the fighter has significantly proven himself, the repercussions of that tournament continue to leave their mark.

What boxing personalities said about Floyd Mayweather’s Olympic loss?

Echoing what Mayweather noted to Pivot, WBC president, Sulaiman Marucio, in a social media post remarked last year, “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.”

Also Read: IOC Rejecting Manny Pacquiao’s Olympics Plea Is a Blessing in Disguise

Post results, Team USA even protested the results claiming that the judges were intimidated by his Bulgarian opponent, head of the boxing officials. The appeal was rejected but it struck a chord among some. Judge Bill Waeckerle, in his resignation letter to the AIBA, wrote, “I refuse to be part of an organization that continues to conduct its officiating in this manner.“

Do you agree with the 1996 Olympic results? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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