| Teofilo Stevenson |
Website Links For Stevenson |
Information AboutTeofilo Stevenson |
|
Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence or '''Teófilo Stevenson''' (born March 29 , 1952 ) is a former Cuba n Boxer who made history in amateur Boxing , but who refused to turn professional. Many people consider him to be one of the greatest Olympic boxers in history, alongside László Papp . He was born in Puerto Padre , Cuba . His father Teófilo was an immigrant from Saint Vincent . His mother Dolores was a native Cuban , but her parents were immigrants from Saint Kitts . That's why Stevenson speaks English very well. He represented his country in the 1972 Olympic Games of Munich . He won the Gold medal, and then in the 1976 games, held in Montreal , Stevenson repeated the feat. By then, he had become a national hero in Cuba, where he had become a household name. This was the point where he was the closest to signing a professional contract, American fight promoters offering him the amount of five million Dollars to challenge world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in his first professional bout, which would have made him the second boxer to go straight from the Olympics into a professional debut with the world's Heavyweight crown on the line, after Pete Rademacher . But he refused, asking ''What's five million dollars worth, when I have the love of five million Cubans?'' Stevenson went to the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and became the second boxer ever, after Papp, to win three Olympic boxing gold medals. At the 2000 Summer Olympics , Félix Savón , also from Cuba, became the third boxer to achieve this. Stevenson might have won a fourth gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, but the Soviet Union boycotted the games in retaliation for the United States boycott of the 1980 Moscow competition. Cuba followed the Soviet's lead, and Stevenson was deprived of the chance to earn a fourth gold. For consolation, he beat the Olympic champion Tyrell Biggs in February 1984 . He retired from boxing shortly after the olympics. During his career as a boxer, he has won 302 fights and lost only 22. Stevenson was named coach of Cuba's amateur boxing program, and Cuban President Fidel Castro presented him with a mansion in an exclusive residential area, a practice that Castro is known for. In 1999 , he ran into trouble at Miami International Airport when, before boarding a United Airlines chartered jet that would take the Cuban national boxing team home, he allegedly headbutted a 41 year old United ticket counter employee, causing him to break his teeth. He was arrested, but soon after, he was released and returned home. Stevenson defended himself, saying he was provoked by a torrent of verbal abuse. When Stevenson refused to turn professional and fight Ali, the heavyweight scene was vibrant, with fighters of the calibre of Ken Norton , Larry Holmes , George Foreman and Joe Frazier competing. Stevenson would certainly have stirred up the professional boxing world, and fight fans continue to debate the possible outcomes had he fought in the halcyon days of heavyweight boxing. In the opening credits of TV show Malcolm In The Middle , Teofilo Stevenson is the boxer that inadvertently knocks out the referee. EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|