

The Last Man to Beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. Still Regrets It - sgloutnikov
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/04/sports/the-last-man-to-beat-floyd-mayweather-jr-still-regrets-it.html?smid=fb-nytimes&bicmst=1409232722000&bicmet=1419773522000&bicmp=AD&smtyp=aut&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id

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jakejake
I found the story really interesting. It's tough because you don't always
recognize which opportunities lead you to great things, and which are dead
ends. Only in hindsight can you see it.

Though for this guy, I'm not sure it would have made much difference. He
turned down a great offer arrogantly without even considering it, then
proceeded to go on a drinking binge and blame others for his problems. This
isn't really the mentality and behavior of successful people.

You’re never a loser until you quit trying. - Mike Ditka

~~~
esharte
Signing a contract in a language you don't understand is not an opportunity
anyone on here should recommend.

The guy was a few days before an Olympic final he rightly should have won.

After that would have been the time for dealing with offers.

~~~
jakejake
All of that is true, yet there he is... broke, bitter and full of regret.

~~~
tonster
True, but like you pointed out, it might not have made a difference as he
proceeded to go on a drinking binge and be bitter about the whole situation.
Perhaps if he kept his head on straight, he would've still had a moderately
successful career in boxing.

I couldn't agree more with true greats are persistent individuals. He simply
let his emotions get the best of him.

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brianbreslin
That title is misleading. He doesn't regret beating Floyd, he regrets not
pursuing the contracts the promoters were offering him.

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pooogie
Interesting read, and I found a summary for those who stopped reading because
the article was a little too long:
[http://www.complex.com/sports/2015/04/serafim-todorov-
beatin...](http://www.complex.com/sports/2015/04/serafim-todorov-beating-
floyd-mayweather-1996-summer-olympics-worst-thing-ever)

From the article I understand the promoters were impressed by his performance
and offered him a professional contract, but he simply said no without a
reason so they went to Mayweather instead. So shouldn't he actually be blaming
his troubles on refusing their offer instead of beating Mayweather?

~~~
emerongi
He did say that if he had lost to Mayweather, he would have tried harder
afterwards. Instead he kind of gave up after the missed opportunities.

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buckbova
I know it's not the point of the article but Olympic boxing is very different
from pro boxing.

~~~
rambambam
What's the point of saying this without an explanation? I'm curious now,
what's the difference?

~~~
IkmoIkmo
You could say it's a completely different sport. It's hard to explain because
at its core, it's still boxing. A ring, a ref, gloves, punching.

But what makes boxing boxing isn't punching each other in the face. The game
is to win, and that game has rules which mean the world in terms of tactics
and strategy.

For example, in Amateur boxing you virtually always wear headgear, in pro
boxing virtually never.

In amateur boxing you don't get points for a knockdown, which can often be a
dealbreaker in close pro fights.

In amateur boxing you can have a 3-round match, or a 4 round match. And a 4
round match will be two minutes. That's 8 minutes of fighting, versus Pro
boxing where you can have 12 matches of 3 minutes for 36 minutes, that's a
massive difference.

It's like comparing the sprint to a marathon, tactics and strategy aren't the
same and while they're both running, they're a different sport. Amateur and
Pro is a bit like that. On the other hand, it's not, because you can have
multiple of such amateur fights in a single day, while the elite pro boxers
fight once every 3 to 6 months. It's more like doing a marathon versus running
multiple sprints.

Because of the headgear, the 30% shorter rounds, the much fewer rounds and the
lack of points for knockdowns, amateur boxing is much more about scoring
points very quickly, than doing damage and getting a knockout. It's really
hard for two equally skilled fighters to get a knockout with headgear within
just 3 rounds, especially at the young ages most amateur fighters fight at.
Judges also focus everything on counting scoring blows. In pro fights, judges
also take into account aggressiveness, ring dominance, initiative, punch
volume etc, not necessarily on paper or officially, but it plays a bigger role
in judging.

Lastly, the scoring is different. In pro boxing every round is its own battle,
because you win or lose rounds, and those add up to your score that win or
lose you the match. In amateur boxing, rounds are more arbitrary units, as you
can't win or lose a round. The amount of legal blows you get on your opponent
is added up for each round, and those get summed up. This difference opens up
lots of different strategies.

Then there's tons of small differences. Things like glove weights and
materials being different (pro is more spartan). Things like grease being
allowed or not. A standing 8 count in amateur boxing (if you're in trouble,
the ref gives you some time out, in pro you're fucked. You'll likely get a
knock down and lose points, or a KO). In amateur fights can and often are
stopped with bleeding and swelling, in pro it continues to a pretty extreme
extent.

A really big part which is a bit ambiguous, are fouls. In pro boxing refs are
very lenient about clinch tactics. Things like pushing with the shoulders,
leaning on the head, stepping on the foot etc happen over and over again and
only get warned late in the game usually when it's excessive. It depends on
the fight and the ref. It sounds small, but they compleeeetely change the
game.

Lastly, money. Pro's are of course, paid. And it's a career. That changes
everything. It means that aggressiveness is part of your gameplan, not because
it'll make you win, but because win or lose, you'll get paid more the next
fight. Amateur boxing is a different world, more olympic, no money, a focus on
the win above all.

Anyway any boxer will tell you they're completely different sports.

------
marincounty
The guy has loyality. "I wanted to hope that things here could get better,” he
said. He was young and couldn't predict the future. It has happened to so many
of us.

What stuck out is you can have a house over your head at $400 euros/month? In
the United States, unless you get lucky(section 8, low income housing, family)
at $435/month you are homeless.

~~~
icebraining
_What stuck out is you can have a house over your head at $400 euros /month?
In the United States, unless you get lucky(section 8, low income housing,
family) at $435/month you are homeless._

On the other hand, the _average_ wage is <$500/month, and the minimum is
<$200/month.

