Agreed. The reality is that the offer was probably still on the table in roughly the same form. After the Olympics, he could had the offer examined, weighed his options, and had pretty much the same starting point as Mayweather.

I won't bother to speculate whether he would have had the same success from that starting point. But he did NOT lose all opportunities in the instant he turned that deal down.

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

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.