Olympic boxer Teofilo Stevenson dies

AP via Yahoo ^ | June 11, 2012 | Anne-Marie Garcia

[EveningStar]

Cuban boxer Teofilo Stevenson, the three-time Olympic heavyweight champion with a devastating right hand and a gentlemanly demeanor, has died. He was 60.

[Dr. Sivana]

But he was unstoppable in the Olympics and he was a joy to watch. RIP, you commie.

I find it mildly amusing that the Adidas people managed to get this Communist athlete to display their logo on his jacket. (see photo above). Looking at the Stevenson-Tate fight, man he had crisp moves. And even in his later years, his face was still in one piece.

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[SeminoleCounty]

One of the best boxers, ever. And, in an era of great heavyweights, he would have won the title...he was that good.

Probably would have kept Ali from becoming so popular...and probably would have kept George Foreman (first world title), Leon Spinks, and Larry Holmes from ever being world champ

Too bad Castro was such a Commie back then...and would not let Stevenson defect. He would have brought back millions to Cuba with all the prize money he would have won.

[Williams]

Nobody was going to keep Ali from being that popular. If Stevenson was born 1952 didn’t Ali win the championship in the 60’s when Stevenson was still a kid? 1967? S was very good no question as I recall he looked just like Ali back then like a communist twin. He was strong and fast but Ali was really fast, probably better footwork and flurries of punches. Stevenson maybe a stronger punch but not as active.

[OneVike]

Great amateur boxer who never would have had a chance at title if it were not for Castro and the Olympics. He never could have stood toe to toe with Ali or Joe. As far as Foreman goes, all Olympic fights are short, 4 rounds maximum which was Foreman’s forte.

It was distance George couldn’t take, as Ali proved in his rope a dope fight that wore foreman down. Truth is, Ali’s problems today stem from him taking everything King George had to offer. When George wore himself out by punching Ali on the ropes, Ali danced ans dropped the big man.

Only one man in history would have ever beat Ali in a prime against prime fight, Rocky Marciano. Rocky was used to taking a beating like Ali did against George, but Rocky did it while fighting toe to toe in every fight. He never did it while leaning against a rope to tire the opponent out as Ali did his last great comeback fight. Yes, Rocky was the original Italian Stallion that could take the best from the best and survived it all as the only undefeated boxer in history.

However, never ever compare the commie to Ali. Because long before he was Ali, he was Cassius Clay, and there ain’t never been a greater amateur fighter in the history of boxing. I will never fall for the story that Teofilo Stevenson would have been one of the great ones if he had the chance to go pro. His greatness is and always will be compared to the amateurs he boxed.

For everyone who thinks he would have been a great one if he turned pro, I suggest you study the film and compare his fights to the true greats. Stevenson was nothing but an amateur, and Castro knew it. You don’t think Castro would have loved to see his boxer beat the American pros? get real, he would have relished it, but he and hi people knew that Teofilo was an amateur and would not last two rounds.

[Tea Party Terrorist]

Met him and got his autograph when the Cuban national baseball team played the Orioles in Baltimore.

[driftless2]

I don't know if Marciano could have gotten close to Ali in his prime. Ali had been knocked down by lesser fighters like Henry Cooper, but I think he would have taken Rocky seriously enough to stay away. Remember, Liston was supposed to kill him as he had clubbed Floyd Patterson and other fighters. He never got close to Ali. I recall all the "experts" at the time, including a lot of adults I was around, laughing at the the idea that Ali, then still Cassius Clay, could beat Liston.

I think the same thing would have happened to Marciano who was smaller than Liston. He wouldn't have gotten close. Jersey Joe whipped Rocky for 14 rounds, but couldn't stay away the entire fight. But Ali was a lot faster than Jersey Joe.

[Williams]

Very well reasoned. Will just mention that much later in his career Foreman became a master strategic fighter and could go the distance to win. Against lesser opponents, but then he was 50 in his last win.

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

I think the same thing would have happened to Marciano who was smaller than Liston. He wouldn't have gotten close. Jersey Joe whipped Rocky for 14 rounds, but couldn't stay away the entire fight. But Ali was a lot faster than Jersey Joe.

I disagree.

Marciano was indefatigable. Best inside fighter I ever saw. A lot like Walt Fraizer. After Rocky beat Archie Moore in Rocky's last fight, Moore said it was like walking into airplane propellers.

A computer simulation...see the Super_Fight gave Rocky a victory over Ali.

[OneVike]

Ahh the immortal Archie Moore. Archie was the George Foreman of his day. Probably the greatest light heavyweight boxer there ever was. The light heavyweight division was created to give those who could not compete against the true heavyweight boxers a chance to fight and win. He was never quite good enough to compete against the best heavyweights of his time until he got older, but he was good enough to fight them from time to time.

Considered by some to be the 4th greatest all around boxer of all time. Every generation has that guy who is never the best, but he ages better than the rest so eventually he becomes almost as good as the best. His years of boxing gave him the knowledge and ability to read his opponent better.

At 56 I have always been athletic in things I can do, but I was always second string in my talent. As time went on I learned how to be smarter in sports and eventually I was more competitive. In my years I have watched those I could never compete against become older and less of a threat. Now I can beat them, or at least go toe to toe with them while earning their respect that I am as good as them, I just had to wait for them to slow down a bit.

As for younger guys, until my spinal troubles began the last few years, I could hold my own with them by being smarter then them. I speak about competition of a pure amateur level like softball, tennis, wrestling, track etc. etc.

Well at the level of professional competition, that was Archie Moore, he outlasted them all because he had great genes and stayed in excellent shape, while time and genetics caught up to the others.

Marciano took out Moore in the 9th inning. Moore was then 39, and 7 years later at 46 he lost in four to Ali.

Ali was 29 when he knocked Moore out and had the pleasure of training under him so he knew his weaknesses. Ali had already fought 15 pro fights, but he started boxing at 12 years old. So Ali had 17 years of some of the best training and competition to hone his skills by the time he knocked out the 46 year old. Still Moore went 4 rounds with Ali.

I said Ali was the greatest amateur boxer there ever was, he was also one of the greatest pros, but not the best.

Marciano did not put on a boxing glove until he was 20 years old. An old man in terms of starting a boxing career. Yet he never ever lost a fight, not as an amateur when he boxed in the army, nor as he worked his way up the ranks to meet and then Jersey Joe Walcott for the undisputed heavyweight championship.

The only reason he went pro was because when he tried out as a catcher for the Chicago Cubs, he was unable to accurately throw the ball to second base. So Chicago let him go and he decided he would box.

Imagine if someone took him at 12, and honed his natural skills as a boxer? Imagine how devastating he would have been if he learned proper strategy in the ring.

No, he wasn’t nimble on his feet like Ali, and he never learned how to properly step around to avoid getting hit. If he did, he probably would have dropped every opponent in the second round. Instead he took a beating as he patiently learned on the job against each and every opponent. Waiting for the time when his opponent would make that one mistake. A mistake every person who ever fought Rocky eventually made. Some early in the fight, some later, but they all made it. The mistake that the dumb Italian was wearing down and so they dropped their guard.

Probably the biggest thing his opponents could never wrap their brain around was the fact that Marciano wasn’t a boxer. Not in the sense that we and most boxing aficionados think of when we think of what a boxer is. No, Rocky was the guy everyone thought they should beat, but never could because he had a heart to win.

When I think of Marciano, I think of Secretariat. They both became stronger the longer they went. If you could not take Marciano out early, he was going to outlast you, because he knew you would make that mistake. Secretariat had a heart that was about 1/4 larger than a normal horse, he could run forever if he to. If Belmont was twice as long a track, he would have defeated the field by 300 lengths.

If Marciano had to go twenty rounds to defeat an opponent, he would have lasted and won. He was a throwback of his time. A throwback to the early days of boxing when there were no round limits. A time when men fought until one could not pick his ass up off the canvas any longer. After Marciano retired, they began changing the rules so that no one like him would ever have a chance again.

In today’s boxing world, Rocky would not have a chance, because they would stop the fight before he warmed up. Hell, most fighter who fought before 1960 would not have a chance today, that’s why I don’t watch boxing any longer. I would rather watch a UCF match. It’s not boxing, but it’s the closest thing we will see when it comes to a man putting his heart and soul into a fight, but even then the rules do get in the way.