Mayweather vs Pacquiao: Serafim Todorov - the last man to beat Floyd
Last Updated: 01/05/15 5:39pm
Floyd Mayweather is expected to earn an estimated £160m this weekend while the last man to defeat the American survives on state benefits of just over £300 a month.
Mayweather will put his undefeated professional record on the line against Manny Pacquaio in a welterweight showdown at the MGM Grand which will see the winner claim bragging rights as the best boxer of their generation.
The American is odds on to claim his 48th straight victory since ditching the head-guard and vest in the wake of a defeat in the amateur ranks in the Olympics in 1996.
Mayweather’s hopes of winning gold in Atlanta 19 years ago were ended by a controversial one-point defeat to Serafim Todorov in the semi-finals.
"I never imagined he would become such a star," Bulgarian Todorov told Boxing Junkie. "I had more difficult fights against other boxers. I never thought he would become that good."
The fight was a turning point in both men’s lives; Mayweather used the loss as motivation to turn himself into an undefeated super star, while Todorov rejected a lucrative offer to turn professional and then lost in the final.
"I was 100% sure I would win the gold medal and return in Bulgaria as a champion," Todorov told CNN.
"If I were there right now, I would tell myself to sign the contract and stay in America. If I knew that my life would go downhill from there, I would have signed the contract right away.
"I can't forgive myself. I've been depressed all these years and I really regret it. Since I came back to Bulgaria, every day is torture for me."
However, Todorov, who still watches his fight with Mayweather every day, takes some consolation from the 38-year-old’s unblemished record.
"I feel like a winner and I'm proud because Floyd is unbeaten at the moment and I'm really proud that only I was able to beat him. The whole world knows about me now. I feared they might have forgotten me."
Book Mayweather v Pacquiao, Sky Sports Box Office, May 2, via your Sky remote, phone or online now. If you want to record the event, book via your Sky remote. skysports.com/maypac
