Does anyone know of any fighters (heavyweights in particular) that could have dominated the sports like the Klit's in past decades had they been allowed to turn pro and not be required to stay amateur for Olympic teams etc..?
Boris Lagutin was a solid LMW from the Soviet Union, who won the bronze in 1960, then gold in 64 and 68. He lost only 11 out of 252 fights. From the little I've seen of him, he had an akward style, a good long jab and straight right, and solid hooks and combinations. Hard to say if he would've dominated, but its doubtless that his presence would be felt.
Another fighter there is footage of is Valeri Limasov, his olympic fight with SRL. He had a great sense of timing and distance, and solid defense. His handspeed was almost comparable to Leonards, and he wasn't bewildered by Leonard's speed and combinations the way so many opponents were. I feel if he had a chance to make it pro and get more experience, we would've seen a lot out of him. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHik6Xy4LjU&feature=related[/ame]
Another one that seems to fit the bill is Alexei Tischenko, he's a modern fighter, but doesn't seem to be going to turn pro. He's been dominating the amateurs though, with 2 Olympic golds and many Amateur Championships at FW and LW. His jab and left hook are solid, as are his fundementals. He beat Gamboa in the amateurs by timing his in and out movement, and establishing his left hand. One of my favorite fights, amateur or pro. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w-CIPAycnE[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS1IObil1dM&feature=related[/ame]
Vasyl Lomachenko - for sure... http://rutube.ru/tracks/3037630.html?v=03cf7dcf2e98b177c6b4ffc5cecf051e
Good shout. Lomachenko is fast and hits hard. He fights nothing like an Eastern European. He'd make waves in the pros.
His ability to change angles from his unconventional southpaw stance and then sink in the straight left as his opponent turns to face him is even more impressive.
Igor vysotsky was U.S.S.R's best heavyweight back then. He had a 3-5 record against Cuba's Stevenson, arguably the best amateur heavyweight ever. Vysotsky also scored the only kO in that series with Stevenson. The main problem Vysotsky would have had in the pro's was the fact that he was a bit of a bleeder and he liked his vodka quite a bit. In all truth there were a myriad of earstwhile Soviet boxers that would have upset the apple carts of many of the American legends.
Ivan Drago Would of been the reigning champion after Balboa's retirement. Union Cane and Tommy Gunn would of been easy title defenses for him.
