Igor Vysotsky...

He'd beat Ortiz

 

Igor Vysotsky actually beat Stevenson twice. A pressure fighter, he was something of a two handed Rocky Marciano type, with power in both hands and the reputation to KO a man with either hand and at any distance with any punch! And a southpaw. Actually a bit better than Marciano as a boxer.

His chin was excellent, but he was cut prone. His record was 161-24.

Had he gone professional, you could argue he'd be the man to beat Post Manilla, but pre-Larry Holmes.

 

The Soviet Union would not even allow him in the Olympics due to his propensity at spilling blood (his own). They deemed him a risk in a long tournament. Sort of doubtful he would have at much of a go of it in the pros without the eyes opening up.

 

Yes, but he suffered a really bad cut in 1976 via sparring and was never quite the same. Keep in mind, back then they had no head gear and often had 4-5 fights a month for a tournament. So a scratch sustained did not have time to heal. By the 2nd fight it could be a problem, and by the third or fourth match a stoppage.

As a pro I think he's still cut prone, but I do not think his cuts would be as big of an issue as there is a lot of time between fights. And his management would make sure any of them healed properly.

Had he gone pro in his 50th fight, he could have been very dangerous. Perhaps as cut prone as Jerry Quarry who won some significant matches. He hit harder and had as good as chin as Jerry in my opinion. Quarry was a bit quicker.

 

I've read a lot about him, too. I heard if he'd qualified for the USSR's 1976 Olympic team, the Cubans weren't going to send Stevenson, because Stevenson didn't do well against him. The Cubans were going to send someone else. But Vysotsky didn't go, so Stevenson went and won his second of three gold medals.

Given the longer distances in the pros, I don't know how well Visotsky would've done. If his skin couldn't hold up for three-round fights, I doubt it would hold up for 10, 12 or 15 rounds.

 

Is he one of the 3 Russians Ali had an exhibition with?

 

Jimmy Clark stopped him in a USA-USSR Dual Meet in New York in 1975.

So, I don't know if Igor would've been the "man to beat" if he'd turned pro. Clark never amounted to much as a pro.

http://www.nytimes.com/1975/11/15/archives/soviet-boxers-fall-to-us-64-ustops-ussr-boxers.html?_r=0

 

Yes. Those fights were pretty tame, just slapping and taking it easy, but Ali hit him with a couple hard jabs that snapped his head back. Igor didn't look like he moved his head very well.

 

That USA-USSR Dual Meet would've been cool to see. "Neon" Leon fought on that card. So did Gerry Cooney and Johnny Davis and George Chaplin.

Pretty interesting group.

 

All three guys looked great.

Ali was old and still handled them pretty well.

 

Well, it says Igor at 210 pounds was 78-16 at that point. He finished at 161-24, meaning he was 83 and 8 in his last 91 fights.

Stevenson was utterly dominant and as far as I can tell never stopped until he meet Vysotsky. So heck yes he had serious pro potential.

 

Here's a good interview with Igor about 10 years ago.

https://www.boxing247.com/weblog/archives/111180