Stephenson, Savon, Breland, Papp, Lewis, Pep, Robinson. Andre Ward was pretty tidy as an amatuer as was Nino Benvenuiti.
HTH he was a great amatuer, but he was relatively knewt bo boxing when he won the gold... Dont know how many fights but it wasnt that many and i believe he had only been boxing for a year.. Oscar Delahoya was a great amatuer 22? and only 5 losses!! He was hyped since he was a phenomm kid. Paul Gonzalez was a great amatuer and domiinated every one he fought. He use to spar with top pros as an amatuer and have his way with them. He was already polished and already good enough to beat top contender Alonzo Strongbow Gonzalez in his 3rd fight for the NaBF title... Also outboxed a young orlando Canizalez early in his career (wide Decision). Also won the Val Barker award on the celebrated 84 olympic team... Was a brilliant boxer and freakishly tall for a fly 5-9. He was a contender for a little while but ended up not having a real succesful career. He was a light puncher and he always broke his hands. He ended up being on the shelf and getting rusty and seem to lose his once excellent speed,skills. Evander Holyfield was devastating in the 84 olympics... I cant remember a fighter runing through the competition like he did, he was knocking every body out until he was robbed of winning the gold medal. Like Gonzalez he was world class early on in his career.. To beat a fighter like Qawi in only his 11th fight was very impressive. Bernard Taylor had like almost 500 wins as an amatuer.. He probably would have won the gold if not for the boycott (1980). He almost beat the great Eusebio pedroza in only his 13th fight. Was razor close lot of people thought he won... He was very very good early on but seemed to burn out.. I think it was all those amatuer fights. There is a lot more but just thought id mention those standouts. Oh and of course Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon.
Lot of people thought Davis was considered by many pfp the best fighter on that great 76 olympic team... Leon Spinks was also a great amatuer... Cubas Juan Hernandez.. Cassius Clay,Davey Moore,Donald Curry,Richie Sandoval...... Oh and Michael Dokes too. Didnt he beat Teofilio when he was 16? Or he gave hm a very tough fight forgot the result.
maybe not the greatest amateur of all time but terry norris used to fight 2 tourneys a week. one on saturday and one on sunday over the border. (under a different name). amassing a 291-4 record. in only 3 years while playing baseball and working odd jobs. compare that to bernard taylor who got 480+ fights in 9 years..pretty impressive personally.
In addition to who has already been mentioned, throw in DLH, Mosley and Tarver. All 3 insanely decorated and successful.
Great Photo Nick KO'd Holmes 2 times...If he had the right backing and trainers he had the power and toughness to be an excellent pro...He was an amazing amateur
Wells and Bobick were the 2 top Heavyweights before Duane loss to Stevenson after beating Stevenson 1st time....Most boxing people thought Wells would be better suited for the pro ranks than Duane because of his power but back then the only thing they did with Southpaw Heavyweights was to convert them
Wasn't Ray Robinson unbeaten as an amateur? Lewis has a great record What about that Cuban guy Felix Savon? Also, if wins over ATGs mean anything, then the South Korean guy who exposed RJJ in the Olympics
You are either insane, biased, or know nothing about boxing. There are better and greater US amateur boxers anyway. But I'll go with these: Guillermo Rigondeaux (374-12) 2 times Olympic Champion, 2 times World Champion, 1 Pan-american Champion, 2 times World Cup Champion Roberto Balado (122-9 till he died at 25) 1 time Olympic Champion, 3 times World Champion, 1 Pan-american Champion, 1 Central American and Caribbean Champion. Winner of Val Barker Trophy in Barcelona 1992. Mario Kindelán (358-22) 2 times Olympic Champion, 3 times World Champion, 2 times Pan-american Champion, 2 times Central American and Caribbean Champion. Amateur wins over Felix Trinidad, Miguel Cotto, Amir Khan, and some more. Some say he was a true pro fighting amateur. Besides the previously mentioned Savón, Stevenson, Papp. One thing, Roberto Balado had the potential to be a better HW than Stevenson and Savón. He had the speed and movement of a lightweight.
Ray Leonard Greg Page Howard Davis Jr. Donald Curry Bernard Taylor Clint Jackson Mark Breland Johnny Bumphus Aaron Pryor Leon Spinks Jackie Beard.
Chris Eubank beat some great amateurs including Dennis Milton (who beat Iran Barkley, Frank Tate, Michael Nunn and Reggie Johnson), Bradley Austin (who beat Aaron Davis) and Ray Rivera, but lost to southpaws Darrin Oliver and Lonnie Davis multiple times and Joseph Henry once. He finished 19-7 from '83 to '85, not including arranged gym meets (where he was undefeated), and was known for his jab. Jim Borzell, president of NYC amateur boxing in the 80s, described Eubank as 'the next Mark Breland' before he was forced to turn pro. Breland was probably the best amateur ever, followed by the likes of Stevenson, Tszyu and Khan.