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RIP Teófilo Stevenson
Below is a tribute video of Cuban heavyweight boxer Teófilo Stevenson. Teófilo recently passed away at age 60. As a three time Olympic gold medalist, he was one of the greatest amateur boxers of all time. He possessed a potent blend of size, power, and skill.
Since his passing last week, I’ve seen many bring up old debates regarding Stevenson’s potential as a pro. Many would have loved to see him compete against professional greats such as Muhammad Ali. Stevenson wasn’t without his own amateur rivals however. Despite a dominant career, Teófilo did lose twice to Russian heavyweight Igor Vysotsky. Vysotsky unfortunately missed the 1976 Olympic games due to a serious cut that he experienced in training. Stevenson went on to dominant that year. He later became a coach within the Cuban amateur boxing program.
Regardless of how he would have fared as a pro, Teófilo Stevenson will forever be remembered as one of the greatest amateurs to ever lace up the gloves.
RIP champ
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The strongest arguments prove nothing so long as the conclusions are not verified by experience. Experimental science is the queen of sciences and the goal of all speculation. – Roger Bacon
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Great amateur boxers don’t always make great professional boxers. Stevenson burst on the scene with his famous demolition of another great amateur boxer Duane Bobick. Yes, that Duane Bobick, the one who was infamous for being knocked cold in a matter of seconds by Ken Norton on national television, and who would later be destroyed by the late Big John Tate in one round, and later by South African Kallie Knoetzee in three. But in 1972 Duane Bobick was the golden boy of amateur boxing and was considered a favorite to take the gold medal in the Munich Olympic games. Bobick had already beaten a talented amateur by the name of Larry Holmes and had also beaten Stevenson. Stevenson would go on to destroy Bobick and get his revenge and Duane would start a professional career with a 38 straight wins before suffering that first round knockout to Norton. Could Stevenson have beaten the elite 70′s crop of heavyweights like Ali, Frazier, Foreman, or Holmes? Could Stevenson have even handled some of the top tier contenders from that era like Norton, Quarry, Bonavena, Lyle, Young, Shavers? It’s all speculation because if you would have asked if Stevenson would beat Bobick before the Olympic games of 1972, most boxing experts would have said no. I THINK Stevenson would’ve had a legitimate shot at beating the contenders of that era guys like Norton, Quarry, Young, Shavers, and Lyle etc., but I don’t see him beating Ali, Foreman, or Holmes. I could envision him beating Frazier because of the huge height and reach factor even though Joe did quite well with larger opponents like Buster Mathis, Joe Bugner, and a guy named Ali. But those big guys that Joe beat weren’t heavy punchers and the Cuban was a boxer/puncher. There were rumors that Yank Durham had Frazier avoid fighters like Shavers and Lyle, but Shavers and Lyle were just up and comers when Frazier ruled the roost in 1970-1973.
There was a boxer named Henry Tillman who beat someone named Mike Tyson TWICE in the amateurs on two close controversial decisions. Tillman would go on to win the gold medal in the Olympic games but was a big disappointment as a pro. Another disappointment to a lesser extent as a pro was Howard Davis Jr. of the famed 1976 Olympic squad. Many thought Davis was the best boxer of that team, and if I’m not mistaken he won some kind of award as the outstanding boxer of the ’76 Olympic games to go along with his gold medal in the lightweight division. Davis would go on to become a top contender but would fail to capture a world title. He would lose to Scotland’s Jim Watt in I believe his only chance at the lightweight crown but I could be wrong. Many thought Davis was even more talented than Sugar Ray Leonard coming out of the Olympics, but Davis would never capture a world title like his fellow team members Leon and Michael Spinks, Ray Leonard, John Tate, or Leo Randolph.
There certainly have been dominant amateurs who didn’t pan out as pros. Styles must be considered. Davis Jr. wasn’t a puncher. He was built for points, but didn’t have the pro style. Stevenson could punch and had good range. I believe he could have had a very successful transition into the professional ranks. I wouldn’t have thrown him in with the greats on day one though. He’d need to progress gradually, just like any other pro. Many seem to believe that the old time greats fought for world titles on day one. That wasn’t the case. Even greats like Ali were fed some easier “opponents” early on. Jimmy Robinson is a classic example from early in Ali’s career. Others had flashier records, but not a lot of substance if you took a closer look. For example, look at the opposition that LaMar Clark faced before fighting Ali.
Only Pete Rademacher the 1956 gold medalist who fought Floyd Patterson for the Heavyweight title in his first professional fight. Don’t know how they pulled that one off. And I believe if I’m not mistaken Pete actually floored Patterson before tasting the canvas numerous times himself. I think I read somewhere that LaMar Clark knocked out five guys in one night or something like that, and he was being compared to 1950′s heavyweight contender Rex Layne. Nothing against Floyd but given he was never really a true heavyweight his list of opponents in title fights was pretty underwhelming with the exception of Liston. I think Floyd was actually a better fighter in the mid-Sixties than he was a champion. He fought and beat Eddie Machen, Chuvalo, some felt he beat Quarry in both of their fights, and he certainly beat Jimmy Ellis in one of the worst decisions ever. Floyd would even beat the much heavier, stronger Oscar Bonavena in the early Seventies.
“… one of the greatest amateurs to ever lace up the gloves.”
True, expect very few other people considered that a worth while goal. He missed out on fighting the best fighters of his generation by doing what he did.