Cuban Fighters Success: Teofilo Stevenson GOAT HW if He Turned Pro?

I know....

Even if he had three, it's still not enough to make a plating for a WBC belt.

 

When he passed I know people were going crazy about how him and Ali would've been a great matchup. As others have said it would be difficult to say. He had potential, no doubt.

I only wish he was born a little earlier so we could've seen a Foreman-Stevenson fight.

Did he think he would lose those Cuban fans had he turned pro. Is the point of that line about his fans being just enough?

 

You should've wished he was born before Castro was in power.

He could've been a pro back in the 50's.

Imagine Marciano taking on against him.

 

The Cuban superstars who don't defect have very good reason not to. They have an intense love for their country, and are looked at as gods on that island for the rest of their lives. There is really no reason to leave, the money is simply not worth it.

 

I've seen a couple of documentaries about the Cuban amateur system (Sons of Cuba and a similar BBC4 Storyville). They both featured aged all-time greats who now lived in complete poverty. It seems the state doesn't do much for their boxers once their usefulness has passed.

And re "the love of the people" stopping their talented amateurs from defecting. I imagine the possibility that all their remaining relatives will be judged as subversives and locked up in prison camps might also be a factor.

 

He would have gotten KTFO fighting men instead of boys is what would have happened.

 

It's hard to imagine but that would have been quite a test. Really would've shown how for real Teofilo was.

 

Who knows? Back then the championship distance was 15 rounds. It's possible he's one of those guys that can't do that.

And it's possible he could have. We don't have enough information.

 

Depends on his chin.

 

And endurance.

 

A 3 round fighter beating Ali? atsch

 

Neon Leon did it and he was not half the fighter Stevenson was, TS could had done it or not but I'm sure he would had being a heck of a fighter, and for those saying that he was a man beating boys I remind you that he was a boy when he won his first Olympic medal just like every other Cuban has done and that is a fact, the first he was 20-21 if I recall correctly juts like Rigondeaux, Gamboa, etc.. were 19-20, and now Robeisy 18, another fact is that back then the stiffer competition came from communist countries, countries that didn't have professional sports, men against boys, I don't think so.

 

Endurance? Those amateur boxers have to fight twice in one day and keep the weight, they fight 4 or 5 times in one week, I'm sure endurance would had not been any problem, they were made of the same stuff that men are made today...

 

He had some spectacular tools at amateur level, including genuine one punch knockout power. However, you can't accurately gauge anyone's pro potential just from their amateur career.

His problems with Vysotsky do suggest that his upright style could have left him open in the pro ranks.

 

atsch that's not the same thing.