Lists of great Olympic boxers are stuffed full of the names of fighters who used the Games as a springboard for a lucrative future in the professional ranks, from Cassius Clay to Oscar De La Hoya and beyond.

But for some, either prohibited by politics or simply disinterested by the professional option, the Olympics remained the pinnacle of their respective careers, and winning multiple medals became the greatest challenge.

As amateur boxing nudges closer than ever to its professional counterpart through competitions like the World Series of Boxing, we take a look at five of the best performers in an Olympic ring down the years.

TEOFILO STEVENSON: Stevenson was a Cuban colossus whose consecutive Olympic heavyweight titles in 1972, 1976 and 1980 made him an icon of Fidel Castro's Cuban revolution as well as one of the most recognised Olympians in any sport. His most memorable performance was a 1972 stoppage of fancied American Duane Bobick, when a cluster of brutal blows clubbed the American to the canvas three times in the third round. Stevenson's sheer bulk and power belied an unerring accuracy which rendered him virtually unbeatable. Offered US 1million to turn professional and fight Muhammad Ali, he reportedly replied: "What is one million dollars compared to the love of eight million Cubans?" Stevenson died earlier this month at the age of 60.

FELIX SAVON: Savon was a heavyweight superstar who managed the impossible by stepping into the legendary Stevenson's shoes and emulating his mentor's achievements by winning three consecutive Olympic heavyweight gold medals, announcing his retirement after claiming his third and final gold in Sydney in 2000. Inevitably, there was talk of Savon - also a six-time world champion - turning professional and perhaps taking on Mike Tyson. But like Stevenson, Savon resisted the allure.

HARRY MALLIN: Londoner Mallin was Britain's first Olympic boxing star, taking middleweight gold in Antwerp in 1920 and repeating the feat at the 1924 Games in Paris. Mallin was an exceptional fighter who dominated his opponents to the extent that he purportedly never lost an amateur bout, reigning throughout the early 1920s in both Britain and beyond. Mallin decided against turning professional, and retired rather than defend his Olympic title in Amsterdam in 1928.

VALERI POPENCHENKO: Popenchenko was arguably the greatest of Soviet boxers, shielded from the lure of professionalism and pushed through a rigorous fitness programme at the Dynamo club in what was then Leningrad. He claimed Olympic gold in some style in Tokyo in 1964, with a series of powerful performances which yielded three inside-the-distance wins and one 5-0 shutout from his four bouts. His performances earned Popenchenko the prestigious Val Barker Trophy for best boxer at the Games.