Since I couldn't dig up much stuff on Stevenson after he left the ring, I asked Cassidy to fill in the gaps for me. "He was treated like a rock star. He had won 38 professional fights, 32 by knockout, and was boxing’s latest “Great White Hope”. Stevenson knocked him down three times in the third and final round. @tyler. He drank a lot. In his heyday, how would Stevenson have fared against the top dogs on the 70s, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and George Foreman? His response, "but what's a million dollars compared to the love of eight million Cubans" is perspective on a country where athletes' talents are government property. In fact, with Stevenson's power and Ali's pride, it may have been dangerous. Louis had reason to complain about the seedings after facing under-seeded Teofilo Stevenson in a tough first-round match and then drawing another big under-seed in Jeffries for his second fight. His skills as a boxer? His opposition had been undistinguished, however, and a victory over Teofilo Stevenson at the 1971 Pan Am Games was Bobick’s only true claim to fame. He even seemed to buckle Stevenson's knees in the first round with two overhand rights. I posed the question to Foreman. He had the Foreman-like power that would knock opponents silly with punches he did not even step into. But still, odds are Stevenson's going to come to Ali and like most big, slow hitters (Liston and Foreman) Ali would counter him to death. He was 35 years old with his skills in serious decline, as it was just months before his loss to the pedestrian Leon Spinks. He dominated his opponents with an authority that can only be compared to Mike Tyson's knockout streak. Defensively, he was vulnerable against a fighter with exceptional reach and a great jab, as Biggs was able to land against the Cuban sensation. 02-23A Teofilo Stevenson . It is impossible to compare a legendary amateur, no matter the skill set, to the consensus greatest heavyweight of all time that is Muhammad Ali. yes bro stevenson did not beat any big named fighter because he did not turn professional but he surely had the potential of becoming a big time boxer. "He took his time like a pro. As an amateur, Tony Tubbs competed in 253 bouts, compiling a record of 240 wins and 13 losses—primarily in the heavyweight division. "This is what I … Then he came at you. He'd have kept the heavyweight title the same way he did in the amateurs. The film contains the last known interview of Stevenson before his death. Castro loved him. Stevenson's Olympic track record only shows his skills over four two-minute rounds. Ron Lyle was an élite member of the fighting brotherhood of American heavyweights from the 1970s that included Muhammad Ali, Ken Norton, George Foreman, Jerry Quarry, Joe Frazier and Earnie Shavers. He had the best right hand in amateur history. Ali too was susceptible to the jab, as he held his hands low, so the fighters would likely tear each other apart with their jabs and straights. Teofilo Stevenson, who has died of heart disease at the age of 60, was one of the best heavyweight boxers of his generation, and was widely regarded as … Acolo îşi fac loc şi amintirile înfruntărilor speciale cu două legende ale pugilatului: George Foreman (SUA) şi Teofilo Stevenson (Cuba). Boxing was huge, too, before '76, with American gold medalists Cassius Clay in '60, Joe Frazier in '64, and George Foreman in '68, and IIRC, Duane Bobick losing the '72 heavyweight gold to Cuba's Teofilo Stevenson. Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon are legendary heavyweights – on the amateur level. He won the Val Barker Trophy (1972) and was honoured with the Olympic Order (1987). At this point, you are probably asking yourself: "If he is so great, then why haven't I heard of him?" He never turned pro ... a shame. 04-03 Roger Menetrey ... 14-03 George Foreman . Stevenson declined. Update: @mike. Stevenson is one of only three boxers to win three Olympic gold medals, alongside Hungarian László Papp and fellow Cuban Félix Savón. If the likes of Foreman and Frazier could not keep Ali on the canvas (only Frazier got him there, once), it would do the two of them an injustice to hand a theoretical KO to Stevenson. He claimed to be “the greatest”, but it took more than loud proclamations for Ali to win over millions of people and actually be remembered as The Greatest by so many boxing fans [1]. However, these knockouts were against amateurs. Smokin’ Joe Frazier won gold in 1964, and George Foreman grilled all competitors to do the same in 1968. 04-03 Roger Menetrey JAPAN. For the rest of us, the outlets of sports media have failed us. The world had never seen a heavyweight with the tools Stevenson brought into the ring. Price. SEPTEMBER 21 -- Wide World of … Muhammad Ali vs Teofilo Stevenson who would win?. ... Con una pegada similar -o quizá mínimamente menor- a George Foreman y una estatura impresionante. He created the documentary, "A Fighting Chance," which delves into the Cuban boxer experience. 2- Wladimir Klitscho is a better professional fighter than Odlanier Solis but as an amateur Solis was better. MARCH 31 -- World Heavyweight Championship fight between George Forman and Ken Norton, won by Foreman with a second round TKO. Biggs defeated Lennox Lewis as an amateur and is said to have taken it to Tyson in a sparring match as youths and won the 1984 Olympic gold. And when Stevenson does land his right hand bomb, Ali, unlike the 19 year old American fighters, is still going to be there, hitting him back. Quite simply, Stevenson looks like someone took the DNA of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman into a lab and came out with Muhammad Foreman. Feel free to leave comments thanking me for my work or calling me an idiot for my thoughts. 14-13B Nino Benvenuti . In order to cash in on his skills, Stevenson would have had to abandon his country and his people and he was simply too much of a nationalist to do so. You can follow Alexander on twitter @thesportsdude7 or become a fan on his Bleacher Report profile. Bobick did not get out of the quarterfinals. He said, with a smile, 'I've spent enough time in gyms.' Non Stop Boxing ... Stevenson vs George Foreman Stevenson vs Joe Frazier 12-22-2009, 12:58 PM #2: JOM'S. He was bigger (6'5″, 220 pounds) and deadlier than George Foreman, yet boxed with effortless grace and intelligence. ", Trainer: Bujaj 'the best fighter in the world', Brooklyn's Collazo can't beat Khan's best, Tyson: Today's fighters 'have to stand up', Collazo: 'There's nothing intimidating to me', Battle of the Serrano sisters? Well, (and Butler's article goes into much further detail of this aspect) Stevenson was Cuban, and it would have taken deserting his home land to become a professional boxer. "Basically, he was living the life of a celebrity, as much as you can live that life in Cuba," Cassidy told me. That being said, if Stevenson is going to win, it has to be by knockout. Winner by first-round TKO, GEORGE FOREMAN.---2 Joe Louis vs. 15 James J. Jeffries. His ferocious display made the boxing world pause and take notice. I posed the question to Foreman. thanks for the good answer. Stevenson was at his peak. With George Foreman, Leon Gast, Larry Merchant, S.L. In fact, Stevenson was once offered $5 million to fight Muhammad Ali. MANILA ICE . In 1978 Tubbs lost in the quarterfinals of the world Cup to Cuban boxer Teofilo Stevenson. After reading Butler's article, I called one of my best friends, the only person I know who can go toe-to-toe with me in boxing history, and asked him if the name Teofilo Stevenson meant anything to him. Incidentally, it is the 40th anniversary of Stevenson winning his first gold medal in Munich Germany back in 1972. It may happen, Spiritual awakening carries Collazo forward, Roach has full slate with Cotto, Provodnikov, Paul Malignaggi strikes a blow vs. obesity. It's also ironic that one of the biggest stars in the history of Olympic boxing, Cuban sensation Teofilo Stevenson, recently passed. Holmes was an inch and a half shorter - but had a 3 inch reach advantage over Stevenson, and Lewis was a 1/2 inch taller, with a 6 inch reach advantage! Amateur career. People waved at him and honked their horns all the time when they saw him. I have Ali in an epic, hard-fought split decision. He would travel often with the team. … Foreman was an inch shorter than Stevenson, but had a 1/2 inch reach advantage. He held some perfunctory positions with the boxing team. ... Muhammad Ali v Teofilo Stevenson. George Foreman v Earnie Shavers. Simply from looking at skills and physicality alone, Stevenson would have been as difficult a match-up for Ali as any boxer who ever lived. The fight we can best judge Stevenson, in regards to how his skills would have transferred to the professional level, was that against Tyrell Biggs, best known as the fighter who talked trash to Mike Tyson (a terrible life decision) only to be beaten mercilessly for seven rounds. TEOFILO STEVENSON recibe a Muhammad Ali en La Habana el 18 de enero de 1996. 1- Teofilo Stevenson will outbox Big George Foreman in 3 rounds. There was more. I turned to Bobby Cassidy Jr., a writer-filmmaker-playwrite living on Long Island. He likely would have added a record-setting fourth gold, had Cuba not boycotted the 1984 Olympics. Except that at a shade under 6'4," he was taller than both of those legendary fighters. 02-23 Teofilo Stevenson JAPAN . Directed by Brin-Jonathan Butler. Foreman was far stronger, and would have simply cut off the ring, and overpowered Stevenson. Remember that Ali had knocked out George Foreman in one of the most memorable and shocking fights in heavyweight history only two years earlier. “Stevenson is the best – better than Foreman or Frazier and as good as Ali,” said Bob Surkein, a former boxer and the head referee at Montreal. 02-23 Teofilo Stevenson . The press in Cuba doesn't enjoy the same freedom ours does, so when word emerged that boxing star Teofilo Stevenson had died on June 11, I wondered how much of what would emerge would be truth and how much would be propaganda. In his heyday, how would Stevenson have fared against the top dogs on the 70s, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and George Foreman? "I asked him how come he didn't train fighters, like so many of his contemporaries did. Big George always has a puncher chance but 3 rounds isn't long enough for him to get lucky. In the '84 Biggs vs. Stevenson match-up, we get a good look at what the Cuban sensation would have looked like as a pro. Except that at a … 15 Sep 1978: Muhammad Ali wins his third World Heavyweight Title against Leon Spinks. He had no idea who I was talking about. He was hallucinating from dehydration.” Foreman retired from boxing with a record of 45-2 (42 KOs) and became an ordained minister. He was Fidel's favorite athlete because, really, he was the face of the machine for so long. He crushed Biggs with a short right hook (and yes, it was the hook, not a low blow, as Biggs claimed—watch the video repeatedly if you like) in the second round. Yeah, those could be described as a hybrid between Foreman and Ali as well: Quicker and more fluid than Foreman with more power than Ali. In spite of this professional embarrassment, it is worth noting that Biggs was an exceptionally talented, 6'5" physical specimen. Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence (29 March 1952 – 11 June 2012) was a Cuban amateur boxer, who competed from 1966 to 1986. He might have become a five-time Olympic champion had the Cuban authorities allowed the Cuban boxing team to participate in the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics, which … He was the first Cuban athlete to become an international star under Castro.". Thanks for reading. ... Stevenson won over 300 amateur fights and was a 3 time Olympic gold medalist in 1972, 1976 and 1980. How would Stevenson fare against a prime Ali and the rest of greats from the famed 1970s era (Ali, Foreman, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton) of heavyweight boxing? The determining factor: We know Ali can go 15 rounds with the best. A short film directed by Brin-Jonathan Butler exploring the Muhammad Ali and Teofilo Stevenson's matchup, one of the great mythical "what-if" fights in heavyweight history. Stevenson won over 300 amateur fights, three World Championships and three Olympic gold medals. Quite simply, Stevenson looks like someone took the DNA of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman into a lab and came out with Muhammad Foreman. Ok, if you are over 35, you have probably heard of Teofilo Stevenson. Offensively, Stevenson could land whenever he wanted. Gil Clancy, Foreman’s trainer, said, “It was hot as hell in the ring. teofilo stevenson vs george foreman? By 1977, when Stevenson was offered the fight with Ali, it is unlikely the great Ali could have beaten Stevenson. I think the clsest they came to fighting was in 1977. "Eram convins că produc miracolul" Cu americanul şi-a încrucişat mănuşile la Olimpiada de la Mexico City ('68), prima competiţie majoră pentru ambii boxeri. Mandatory Credit: Allsport UK/Allsport, Muhammad Ali vs. Teofilo Stevenson and the Fight that Never Was. In a 1976 match between the USSR and the United States, Tubbs lost by knockout in the second round to future Soviet Heavyweight Champion Igor Vysotsky.. And just how good was he? July 2, 1973: Teofilo Stevenson TKO2 Joe Frazier Smokin’ Joe had, in his last fight, been slaughtered by George Foreman in the “Down Goes Frazier Fight”, and there were a lot of questions about whether Frazier had the chin to handle a big puncher. I consider myself a boxing junkie, and at 23 years old had never heard of Stevenson until I read an article, "Muhammad Ali vs. Teofilo Stevenson and the Fight that Never Was," by Brin-Jonathan Butler. Returned to boxing in 1987 to raise money for the George Foreman Youth and Community Center, which he founded in Houston in 1984. It is difficult to tell when his drug problems started to affect his skills, as he was in rehab as early as 1985. "Stevenson was better than all of us," the Hall of Famer declared. In 1976, after Stevenson won his second gold medal, he was offered $5 million to turn pro and challenge Muhammad Ali for the title. He had beaten George Foreman in '74 to regain the world heavyweight title and had defended it against Joe Frazier a year later in the Thrilla in Manila to … But it is fun to think about isn't it? 14-13A Nino Benvenuti . But he was more of an ambassador for the sports programs and for the revolution. 14-03A George Foreman (Tiny bend) 14-13 Nino Benvenuti. Shortly after Stevenson's death, George Foreman told me Stevenson was far and away the best heavyweight fighter of his era. ... That means Wilder (42-0-1) has scored a knockout in 98 percent his victories, an all-time record. Stevenson had later avenged the defeat in style at the 1972 Munich Olympics. It was the same amount that had been offered to Foreman. First Cuban athlete to become an international star under Castro. `` of his.... 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