I remember TEOFILO STEVENSON of Cuba in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. He won Gold. If he turned PRO who could he have beaten?! Would he have been a champ?!
nice Wish you Were Here avatar :good The Stevenson argument is an old one; you can probably find a thread on here :good
I think there is a very, very good chance that he would have ended Ali's legacy if he turned pro. I think that he would have been fighting Ali at the same time that Leon Spinks did, with maybe even less fights than Leon had as a professional. WHo knows, maybe it would be even on his professional debut. The fight was talked about seriously. Imagine the difference to the various legacies if he fought Ali once and beat him and then retired without giving him a rematch!
theres no way on counting how he would have adjusted to the longer distance. its a different sport. in the 1970s stevenson would beat ali in a bout set over 3 rounds because he was the best 3round fighter in the world of that era. Ali was years away from that format.
It wasnt really a different sport in the same way that amateur boxing is today though. The scoring was the same as today, there was no head gear etc. Really, it was just 3 round bouts where the boxers dont get paid.
Its very difficult to say.. In the history of amateur boxing, there have been literally countless numbers of great fighters who looked seemingly invincible, won numerous medals, titles, tournaments, etc.. But as soon as they turned pro, fizzled. Amateur boxing is a totally different ball game than the pros. Stevenson was a man among boys and as he matured, the margin between him and the young fighters he was facing only widened. My thinking is that he'd probably do very well given his natural talent and overall skills that a lot of young men enter the pros without having yet developed. I'm guessing that he would likely have been matched with a lot of very good fighters early, and with reasonably good results.. As for "who" he would have beaten and far he would have gone, its near impossible to say. There are some who say that he was potentially as good or better than Muhammad Ali, but the word "potential" leaves too many questions to be asked.
Of all of the great cuban fighters and great heavyweights, I think Stevenson had the best chance to be a great Heavyweight but there has not yet been a champion out of Cuba but like Russia they were not allowed to turn pro. Stevenson had good hand speed, great power and good movement and height. Its hard to say if he would have made it in the pro's but I would like to have had him as a prospect with Emmanuelle Stewart as his trainer....
Stevenson is overrated.He may could beat a Leon Spinks, and if Leon is up for it, that may not be possible.
I agree a great puncher thats it. He lost to Bobick,Alexe and Milan ,who was a novice,and was kod by Igor Vyssotsky a Russian who did not compete in the Olympics.I think Stevenson was a front runner.
