8 pugs who beat Floyd

MANILA, Philippines - WBC/WBA welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. is unbeaten as a pro with a 47-0 record but in the amateurs, he suffered eight setbacks, including a decision to Carlos Navarro who was once knocked out by Manny Pacquiao’s brother Bobby.

Mayweather’s claim of invulnerability is put to a test against Pacquiao in their lineal 147-pound championship showdown in Las Vegas on May 2. For five years, Mayweather avoided taking on Pacquiao and used a variety of excuses to evade the one man whom experts believe is capable of dealing the brash American his first pro loss. Now that the fight is on, Mayweather faces the biggest obstacle in his career. Pacquiao is a volume puncher who swarms all over his opponents. Mayweather likes to pick his spots and relies on defense to make opponents miss.

Most boxing websites show that Mayweather posted an 84-6 record as an amateur. But a careful review of his simon-pure experience indicates he lost eight bouts. The first fighter to beat Mayweather was Pheotis Upshaw on a disqualification in 1992 when he was only 15. California’s Arnulfo Bravo scored a decision over Mayweather in the Junior Olympics in Michigan in 1995. Bravo went on to become an undistinguished pro and retired from the ring in 1997 with a 4-2 mark.

Navarro was the first southpaw to expose Mayweather’s difficulty in battling lefthanders. The Los Angeles native beat Mayweather at the Pan American boxoffs in 1995. Navarro later turned pro and stopped Filipino former world champion Luisito Espinosa in 2004. Bobby Pacquiao knocked out Navarro in 2005. Two-time Olympian Tigran Ouzlian of Greece outpointed Mayweather in Russia in 1995. A year later, Mayweather was outpointed by Mexican Martin Castillo who eventually became a pro and registered a 35-4 record before retiring in 2010.

At the 1996 World Championships in Berlin, Mayweather dropped an 8-6 decision to Algeria’s Noureddine Medjihoud. The Algerian had a forgettable pro career with a 0-3 mark and retired in 2001. Augie Sanchez was the next fighter to defeat Mayweather at the 1996 Olympic boxoffs, narrowly carving out a 12-11 decision. Mayweather, however, avenged the setback twice on scores of 12-8 and 20-10 to clinch the featherweight slot on the US team for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

“(Mayweather) has always been a gifted fighter, always stood out,” said Sanchez quoted by Tris Dixon in Boxing News. “Everyone wanted to see this guy, they wanted to see him fight and see what he could do. Throughout the (amateur) tournaments, it was always ‘Mayweather’s here, Mayweather’s here.’ And I was like, ‘So what? Bring him on.’” Sanchez lost twice to Mayweather in compiling 11 defeats in 186 amateur fights.

At the Olympics, Mayweather suffered his eighth and last loss to Bulgaria’s Serafim Todorov in the semifinals. Todorov won via a 10-9 hairline verdict. On the way to the semifinals, Mayweather halted Kazakhstan’s Bakhtiyar Tileganov in the second round, outpointed Armenia’s Artur Gevorgyan and edged Cuba’s Lorenzo Aragon on points, 12-11. Mayweather became the first American to beat a Cuban in amateur boxing in 20 years.

The loss to Todorov triggered a strong protest from the US delegation. American boxing judge Bill Waeckerle resigned from AIBA in the wake of what he called a highway robbery, accusing AIBA executive Emil Jetchev of Bulgaria of influencing judges to favor his countrymen. Three Bulgarians made it to the Olympic finals that year. Todorov later turned pro and had a 5-1 record from 1998 to 2003.

Mayweather claimed his first Golden Gloves title in 1993 as a 106-pounder. He went up to 114 pounds to win another Golden Gloves belt in 1994 and to 125 pounds for his third crown in 1996. Boxing was the only thing that occupied Mayweather’s mind since he was a boy. He was fitted with his first boxing gloves at the age of 7.

Life was hard for Mayweather growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He slept in a small room with six others, his mother was a drug addict and his father was a drug pusher. When Mayweather turned pro in October 1996, his father was in prison for drug trafficking. By the time his father was released, Mayweather had already logged 14 fights.

Mayweather has been charged at least thrice for domestic violence and jailed for battering Josie Harris, the mother of three of his four children. Because of his violent outbursts, Mayweather is considered to be mentally unstable and a menace to society. His posts in social media indicate an irrational behavior.

As a pro, Mayweather is the villain whom fans pay money to watch and hope he loses. He has so far figured in 13 pay-per-view events with seven pulling in at least one million hits. Mayweather is the only fighter ever to register two pay-per-view blockbusters of at least two million buys, 2.4 million with Oscar de la Hoya in 2007 and 2.2 million with Saul Alvarez in 2013.