How would Teofilo Stevenson done in the pro's???

[4Corners]

Say hypothetically....he turns pro in the Late 70's at age 25, how does his career end up???

How would he have done against Ken Norton, Larry Holmes, Ron Lyle, Jimmy Young, Earnie Shavers, Trevor Berbick, Michael Dokes, Mike Weaver, than eventually guys like Tim Wihterspoon, Mike Tyson, and Evander Holyfield when he gets older????

[katjack]

He might have done good but you never know with the great amateurs. Pro boxing is so different and a lot of great amateurs have failed.

[KidGalvain]

Savon and Stevenson would both had done very well (Imo)

Off Topic
Something interesting....

Did you know Wladimir Klitschko actually avoided a death trap due to Vitali getting caught for steroids?

At the ATL Olympics.. Vitali was originally going to fight at SHW.. with a totally weight drained Wlad to fight at HW.. Felix Savon was in that bracket (the only guy to KO Tua) and taking into consideration Wlad's extremely shaky chin, Savon's vast experience+the weight drain.. there was only one logical conclusion. Shattered Wlad.. Luckily Vitali got caught for PEDS and Wlad went up to SHW and fought lesser fighters to the Gold.



I think both Savon and Tefilo would have adjusted wonderfully and done real damage in the late 70's 80's and 90's eras...

Savon was as tall as Lewis/Wlad and could have bulked up to 240+ standards..

These two guys were not fat Solis.. (disgraceful ***) but the pride of Cuba. .They wouldn't have failed due to laziness or lack of dedication. Of course I think Tefilo would have had a easier time due to the easier era he was going to be in (late 70's early/mid 80's)

Savon on the other hand would had to go through Bowe-Lewis-Tyson-Holyfield-
and the 2nd tier of
Tucker-Mercer-Tua-Bruno-type fighters

even the 3rd tier of Morrisons and Mccalls would have been tough fights.

[BROOKLYN CESAR]

IMO he would have done extremely well and savon wouldve done well also!!!

[Cuban Linx]

Savon could have done well, but not Stevenson.

Back in the Stevenson era, When Castro went into power The Soviets sent over their best trainers to train the Cuban boxers in the European style. Cuban boxing went from American style fighting of just throwing hooks and slugging, like Kid Gavilan, to adopting a European Methodology of utilizing a jab and hitting and not getting hit. Stevenson was dominant in a developing era of Cuban boxing. I don't think that pure amateur style would have translated greatly into the pro's and I think he would have lost to Muhammad Ali had they ever fought.

Over the years once they integrated that style and added some adjustments, you could see the difference with fighters like Rigondeaux and Savon to a fighter just starting out in Stevenson.

[CubanGuyNYC]

Savon could have done well, but not Stevenson.

Back in the Stevenson era, When Castro went into power The Soviets sent over their best trainers to train the Cuban boxers in the European style. Cuban boxing went from American style fighting of just throwing hooks and slugging, like Kid Gavilan, to adopting a European Methodology of utilizing a jab and hitting and not getting hit. Stevenson was dominant in a developing era of Cuban boxing. I don't think that pure amateur style would have translated greatly into the pro's and I think he would have lost to Muhammad Ali had they ever fought.

Over the years once they integrated that style and added some adjustments, you could see the difference with fighters like Rigondeaux and Savon to a fighter just starting out in Stevenson.

Solid post. Like so many others, I've wondered how Stevenson would've fared as a pro. Teofilo was a hero to me as a kid, and I would love to think he would've been great, but I'm not so sure. Something about his style makes me think that the transition might not have gone perfectly. (You explain this pretty well.) Very tough to say how Stevenson would've turned out. I didn't have such doubts with guys like Gamboa and Rigondeaux. I always knew those guys would have success if they turned pro.

[*ANGRY CUBAN*]

Teofilo and Savon would done good but there are some other that would have been greats..Lorenzo Aragon, Mario Kindelan, Roberto Balado, Ariel Hernandez..Cuba allways have been full of unused boxing champions..

[manueltf]

Savon could have done well, but not Stevenson.

Back in the Stevenson era, When Castro went into power The Soviets sent over their best trainers to train the Cuban boxers in the European style. Cuban boxing went from American style fighting of just throwing hooks and slugging, like Kid Gavilan, to adopting a European Methodology of utilizing a jab and hitting and not getting hit. Stevenson was dominant in a developing era of Cuban boxing. I don't think that pure amateur style would have translated greatly into the pro's and I think he would have lost to Muhammad Ali had they ever fought.

Over the years once they integrated that style and added some adjustments, you could see the difference with fighters like Rigondeaux and Savon to a fighter just starting out in Stevenson.

I'm not agree with you.

It's true that Stevenson belong to a developing era of Cuban boxing, but he was gifted with an exceptional genetics and he was lucky having a professor and scientific trainer as Andrei Chervonenko.

Stevenson was far better than Savon (they were in two different levels and the gap was big) and I think he could have dominated HW pro. By this time only Ali had similar technical skills but Stevenson's power with both hands was exceptional. Bets, experts and promoters offered Stevenson many chances to win a world belt in his first fight and then dominate the HW division including Ali.
Stevenson is second in my list of best boxers in Cuban history (Rigo, Stevenson, Chocolate, Gavilan, Napoles, Adolfo Horta,... )

I loved Savon but, despite his 3 olympic gold medals, he is not a top 10 pxp in Cuban boxing history and even is not a top 10 pxp in Cuban amateur boxing history. In HW division Balado was a far better boxer than him and even Solis (a real shame) was better.

[MikeRo1972]

Savon could have done well, but not Stevenson.

Back in the Stevenson era, When Castro went into power The Soviets sent over their best trainers to train the Cuban boxers in the European style. Cuban boxing went from American style fighting of just throwing hooks and slugging, like Kid Gavilan, to adopting a European Methodology of utilizing a jab and hitting and not getting hit. Stevenson was dominant in a developing era of Cuban boxing. I don't think that pure amateur style would have translated greatly into the pro's and I think he would have lost to Muhammad Ali had they ever fought.

Over the years once they integrated that style and added some adjustments, you could see the difference with fighters like Rigondeaux and Savon to a fighter just starting out in Stevenson.

Respectfully, I don't agree. IMO In those times amateur styles translated directly into pros. Not like recent times where Olympic boxing is a tap-tap fencing match where it doesn't translate at all. In addition his record was 66-11 with only 21 going to points. I don't think he would have beaten Ali but I think he would have been elite.

[manueltf]

Respectfully, I don't agree. IMO In those times amateur styles translated directly into pros. Not like recent times where Olympic boxing is a tap-tap fencing match where it doesn't translate at all. In addition his record was 66-11 with only 21 going to points. I don't think he would have beaten Ali but I think he would have been elite.

Agree with you about amateur styles in those times but... I insist, almost everybody picked Stevenson to defeat Ali

There were different agreements, from 1975 to 1979, between International Amateur Boxing Association and the WBC. Also participated the Cuban Boxing Federation and different promoters, including Don King. The idea was a 15 rounds fight divided in 3 fights of 5 rounds. Thus Stevenson could preserve his amateur status. Finally, with a fight date fixed and a money deal, Ali refused to fight.

Stevenson physical conditions were exceptionals. He was taller (6'5'') and stronger (by far, the most powerful puncher I ever saw) than all big HW (Ali, Frasier and Foreman), he also was very fast and a very good technician. Foreman, who covered Olympic Games in 1976, said that Stevenson was the most dominant HW he ever saw (I heard him, maybe this tape is in youtube, I will search).

Furthermore, Ali's second stage in boxing was worse than first, some times he adopted an strange defensive strategy and received many punches. In 3 rounds Ali could win by points, in 15 rounds Ali could be badly knocked out.