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BEIJING. CHINA |
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GAMES EDITION |
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Gold in three Olympics?
Only three boxers did it
of TheColumnists.com
Whenever someone asks me who I think was the greatest Olympic boxer of all time, it usually comes down to two of three finalists--none of them Americans and all of them from communist societies.
Hungary's Laszlo Papp and two Cubans--Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon--are the only boxers to ever win Gold Medals in three consecutive Olympic Games. Think of how impressive a feat that is in the rugged sport of boxing. That's being the best in the world over a span of 12 years.
Why aren't there any Americans on the list? That's simple: There was no professional boxing in most communist countries during the era of these three Olympic boxers. That meant men who surely would have turned pro in any Western society instead remained in the amateur ranks, growing in experience every year. Ultimately, they were mature men often matched against American youngsters with only a few years of boxing experience.
But Papp, Stevenson and Savon would have been ring immortals anywhere, as far as I'm concerned.
Papp is the best example to study because the communist government of Hungary actually permitted him to turn pro in 1957 after he had won gold as a middleweight in 1948 and as a light middleweight in 1952 and 1956. At the advanced age, for a pro boxer, of 31, Papp quickly became a world contender. By 1962, he was the middleweight champion of Europe and he was in serious preparation for a world title fight in 1965 when the Hungarian government said "no" and ended his campaigning as a professional.
Papp was a rugged southpaw with a devastating punch. He had an awesome amateur record of 288 victories against only 12 losses. He was undefeated as a pro with 27 wins and two draws with 15 knockout wins. He never fought a top American contender, but defeated several seasoned American pros, including Ralph "Tiger" Jones and Randy Sandy by decision and Eddie Cotton by kayo.
But here's a sure sign he could have had a dazzling pro career had he left the amateur ranks earlier: In the quarterfinals of the 1952 Olympic Games, he knocked out American light middleweight Ellsworth "Spider" Webb, who became one of the best middleweight contenders as a pro, losing a close decision to World Champion Joey Giardello when he challenged for the world middleweight title. Then, in the final bout of the 1956 Games, Papp decisioned Jose Torres, who went on to become the light heavyweight champion of the world as a pro.
Papp remained a national hero in Hungary and coached the Hungarian Olympic boxing team for years. He died in 2003.
Was he the greatest ever Olympic boxer? Possibly, but consider the record of Teofilo Stevenson, who was the first boxer to win three consecutive gold medals in the same weight class (heavyweight) and might easily have added a fourth if Cuba had not boycotted the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles in retaliation for America's boycott of the 1980 Games in Moscow.
That was the year the super-heavyweight division was added and Stevenson might have wound up facing American gold medal winner Tyrell Biggs in that new division. Stevenson had met Biggs earlier that year in amateur competition--and defeated him. But we'll never know how that might have gone.
Stevenson was a tall, rangy heavyweight with a destructive left jab and one-punch knockout power with his sneaky right hand. At Munich in 1972, he faced America's hottest pro prospect Duane Bobick in a preliminary match. Bobick had decisioned Stevenson at the Pan-American Games the prior year and was favored to repeat at the Olympics. He was outboxing Stevenson until the Cuban unleashed a spectacular barrage in the third and final round, knocking Bobick down three times and ending the fight. (Stevenson won the Gold Medal when his Romanian opponent failed to show up for their bout.)
At Montreal in 1976, Stevenson gave his most memorable display of power, knocking out four of his opponents, including America's Big John Tate in one round. (Tate went on to win the World Boxing Assn. heavyweight championship in 1979, but lost it the following year by knockout to Mike Weaver.)
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to send his Romanian challenger to dreamland in their 1976 bout in Montreal. |
After those two incredible Gold Medal victories, Stevenson was offered $5 million to turn professional and come to America to fight Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight title in his first bout. Stevenson turned the offer down, claiming he preferred the adoration of his Cuban following to the temptations of a pro career.
In 1980, Stevenson faced no American challengers because of the U.S. boycott of the Moscow games and easily won his third Gold Medal. He finally ended his amateur career with a record of 302 wins against just 22 losses. He never lost by knockout.
After Stevenson's retirement, his place among Cuban heavyweights was taken by 6 foot 5 Felix Savon, who won Gold Medals in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics. He, too, had a dazzling amateur career with 362 wins and only 21 defeats. In 1992, he defeated American Danell Nicholson in the quarterfinals. In 1996, he decisioned Canadian David Defiagbon for the gold and in 2000 he defeated American Michael Bennett on his way to the final bout against Sultan Ibragimov, a future world heavyweight champion as a pro.
In his amateur days, Savon defeated many future American heavyweight contenders, including rugged David Tua (by KO in the first round) and another future heavyweight champ, Shannon Briggs. Like Stevenson, Savon turned down numerous multi-million dollar offers to turn pro in America.
Though I'm most impressed by Laszlo Papp because he proved his merit as both an amateur and a pro, I think Teofilo Stevenson may have been the very best Olympic boxer--and might have proved it if his nation hadn't boycotted the 1984 games, denying him the chance to be the all-time gold medal winner in Olympic boxing history.
©2008 by Ron Miller. This column first posted Aug. 4, 2008.
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