Would USSR boxers have changed the HW golden age of the 70s?

Not universally true, especially at heavyweight.

 

During the Golden Age of heavyweight boxing in the 1970s (1975 to be specific), a team of mostly teenage US heavyweight boxers beat the Soviet's best team of heavyweights at Madison Square Garden.

Vysotsky, who had just defeated Stevenson AGAIN, was stopped by American heavyweight Jimmy Clark. "Neon" Leon Spinks and Gerry Cooney both scored big wins, too.

Vysotsky was so good at that time that, had he had made the USSR Olympic Team in 1976 (he didn't due to nagging cuts), the Cubans weren't going to send Stevenson, because Teofilo kept losing to him. So Stevenson's Olympic run would've ended in 1972.

Here's a breakdown of the card:

Soviet Boxers Fall to U.S., 6‐4
By Deane McGowen
Nov. 15, 1975
The New York Times
The United States, inferior in experience and ability and a decided underdog before the competition, scored a smashing victory over the Soviet Union's best amateur boxers in an all-heavyweight card at Madison Square Garden last night. The United States won the 10‐bout program, 6 to 4.

And the decisive victory came in the final slugfest when 20‐year‐old Jimmy Clark, a sophomore at West Chester (Pa.) State College, stopped the Soviet squad's best man, Igor Vysotsky of Magadan—which is closer to Alaska than to Moscow.

The United States led, 5 bouts to 4, going into that final contest, and hopes for a victory—individually and for the team—were dim.

Vysotsky had a won‐lost record of 78 and 16 and had recently defeated Teo Stevenson of Cuba, the PanAmerican, Olympic and world amateur titleholder.

But Clark had other ideas. In a bristling battle that saw both men suffer eye cuts in the opening round, Clark turned loose his heavy punches in the third (and final) round.

Vysotsky, who had floored Clark in the first round with a short right to the chin, was battered all over the ring in the last three minutes. The U.S.S.R. fighter's face was a bloody mask, and the referee, Vladimir Yengibaryan, stopped the fight at 1 minute 46 seconds. It was the third technical‐knockout of the night.

The bruising battle left young Clark weary, but jubilant. He said, “It was no fun out there. He was strong, and after I was floored, that just made me fight harder.”

The crowd of 10,106, which paid a gross of $70,477, gave Clark a standing ovation at the end and many of the fans were on their feet cheering throughout the three rounds.

Another notable victory was scored by Gerry Cooney, a 19‐year‐old construction worker from Huntington, L. I. Cooney knocked out. 24‐year old Nikolay Aksyonov of Severodvinsk at 2 minutes 23 seconds of the first round.

The best‐looking fighter of the 20 was Victor Ivanov of Donetsk, a 19‐year‐old who knocked out Greg Sorrentino of Liverpool, N.Y., a protege of Carmen Basilio. Both were sharp, hard‐hitting punchers, but Sorrentino had the misfortune to run into a solid right to the chin that sent him to the canvas, knocked out at 2:23 of the first round.

The only decision that irked the fans was the one that went against Marvin Stinson, Joe Frazier's protege from Philadelphia, who had 18 knockouts in 40 previous bouts.

Victor Uliyanich was awarded the decision, but Stinson suffered from some questionable judging. The American judge voted three rounds to Stinson, the Soviet judge voted three rounds for Uliyanich, and the Canadian judge split his card, 2 to 1, for the Soviet fighter. A Stinson victory would have given the United States a 6‐3 lead, instead of 5‐4, but Jimmy Clark settled the team title for good in the next bout.

THE SUMMARIES

THREE‐ROUND BOUTS

Woody Clark, 195 pounds, Miami, outpointed Aleksandr Nikulln, 203.
Leon Spinks, 194, U.S.M.C., Camp LeJeune, N. C., outpointed Rufrat Riskiev, 183.
Anatol Kliminov, 187, outpointed Johnny Davis, 175, Freeport, L I..
George Chaplin, 198, Baltimore, outpointed Serge Plisov, 209.
Bobby Jordan, 190, Norfolk, Va., stopped Vyachestav Alekseev, 205, at 23 seconds of third round.
Victor Ivanov, 203, knocked out Greg Sorrentino, 195, Liverpool, N. Y., at 2:23 of first round.
Gerald Cooney, 199, Huntington, L. knocked out Nikolay Aksyonov, 215, al 2:28 of first round.
Evgeny Gorstkov, 210, stooped Frank Brown, 215, Detroit, at 1:54 of third round.
Victor Ullyanich, 210, outoointed Marvin Stinson, 205, Philadelphia.
Jimmy Clark, 191, Coatesville, Pa., stooped Igor Vysotsky, 210. at 1:46 of third round.