If Félix Savón went pro...

As soon as I seen that variation pullcounter I automatically thought of Floyd vs Cotto. He pasted Cotto with it throughout, In fact I think that was the shot that hurt Cotto in the 12th. no it was a right hand uppercut combo that hurt Cotto

that john ruíz was a different animal to the Savón that Tua fought. or am i supposed to believe that ruíz could counter like Savón and had a right hand like he did? useless to compare the two fights I'm comparing 1 fighter, Tua. 24 Year old Tua doesn't get dropped by that shot that Savon hit him with. A guy with 4+ years experience at world level and in his physical prime will and did have a massive advantage against someone starting out. Would you be impressed with Wlad beating fighters that have had 5 pro fights? That's what Savon was basically doing, using his greater experience to beat green competition.

6ft5 slick Cuban, 82" reach with the handspeed of a middleweight & dynamite in both hands. You talk about athletic big men of today, maayn you gotta see this cat to believe it. During his run, Savon was a physical specimen. As you point out, Felix was quite athletic. However, I just can't help but wonder how that athleticism would've carried over to a professional career. Looking at Savon's videos, it's easy to imagine that he'd maintain that Olympian physique; but here's a good chance Felix would've put on a few pounds and lost a step. Just look at the young Briggs and Tua, how lean they appeared...not to mention Solis....

Savon was a beast. I'm sure he would've done well as a pro, but it's tough to say how he would've done against a post-prison Tyson, prime Holyfield and Lennox Lewis, among others. I don't see how anyone could confidently predict that an amateur champion, no matter how dominant, would've beaten all those men. As a few have already mentioned, Stevenson was offered a fight with Ali. Teofilo was a hero of mine growing up, but it's really tough to say that one of the greatest amateur fighters of all time would beat (arguably) the greatest heavyweight of all time. Can anyone even be sure Stevenson would beat Frazier or Foreman?

how do you think at an educated guess he'd of done? For those who are unfamiliar with the name he is the most accomplished amateur to ever live winning 3 olympic golds back-to-back, 6 golds at world championships & won the Cuban national championships 14 times consecutively. He knocked Tua out in the AMS, as well as Brewster & Briggs. Beat Krasniqi, Davey boy Izon, Ibragimov, Chagaev, Odlandier Solis 6ft5 slick Cuban, 82" reach with the handspeed of a middleweight & dynamite in both hands. You talk about athletic big men of today, maayn you gotta see this cat to believe it. I've seen a couple of videos of him. He was not bad, and was using his height and reach well. I think Stevenson was better. Hungarian Laszlo Papp, 20 years before Stevenson, and first ever to win 3 successive Olympic Golds, was recognised with a major WBC award in the 1980s, as being the best amateur and professional fighter in history-until then anyway. This may have been a bit of an exaggeration, but he was a couple of classes above Savon. His amateur record was 312-6. Some say 312-10. he won at middle first, then Jr. Middle twice. The amazing thing about him was that he was only 5'5", shorter than many bantamweights. He was the only Communist country boxer to fight as a professional, allowed because of his exceptional skills.

Savon was 24 and Tua 19. At 24 Tua was wrecking John Ruiz in the first round. That Tua was a different animal to the 19 year old kid that fought Savon. that john ruíz was a different animal to the Savón that Tua fought. or am i supposed to believe that ruíz could counter like Savón and had a right hand like he did? useless to compare the two fights

Beofre Felix, there was Teofilo Stevenson. He was offered by Muhammad Ali a whooping $1 000 000 for his first professional fight with the HW belt on line but Teofilo said, "You can have all the money in the world, I will have my Cuba". it is slightly less well known that Stevenson offered Ali to opportunity to instead fight him 5 times over 5 days, 3x3minutes each bout, just like Ali had done previously in international amateur tournaments. Ali insisted it could only be a single 15 rounder or nothing at all.

Hpoe do you explain he beat Mercer being six years younger then? Savon was 21 and Mercer 27, and they fought in Atlanta.

Savon was 24 and Tua 19. At 24 Tua was wrecking John Ruiz in the first round. That Tua was a different animal to the 19 year old kid that fought Savon.While true to an EXTENT, it doesn't change the fact Savon was head and shoulders above everyone in the amateurs and proved time and time again. I really don't see how it's fair to discredit him like that. He's won 17 medals in total, and of those 17 medals, a shocking 16 were all gold. You have to be an elite fighter to make those sort of accomplishments, plain and simple. You don't win 16 gold medals, 3 of them being Olympic gold medals, for no reason. Anyway, how would he do in the pros? Hard to say exactly 'cause amateurs don't always translate well to the pros, but Savon was one of a kind and I'd be hard pressed to believe he wouldn't of least won a belt.

Yep sure did. Was some slick skills for such a large guy who was facing one of the hardest hitting HW's ever in history. Also upon chekcing tua, Briggs, lewis etc age. Savon was not much older, say 5-6 years in most cases. So maybe he wasnt picking on kids as much as everyone thinks. Savon was 24 and Tua 19. At 24 Tua was wrecking John Ruiz in the first round. That Tua was a different animal to the 19 year old kid that fought Savon.

Not to be a raging *****....but anyone else notice the Floyd like defensive manouvere and defensive posture, then slide down the rope to counter in the Tua fight??/ Yep sure did. Was some slick skills for such a large guy who was facing one of the hardest hitting HW's ever in history. Also upon chekcing tua, Briggs, lewis etc age. Savon was not much older, say 5-6 years in most cases. So maybe he wasnt picking on kids as much as everyone thinks.

Not to be a raging *****....but anyone else notice the Floyd like defensive manouvere and defensive posture, then slide down the rope to counter in the Tua fight??/ As soon as I seen that variation pullcounter I automatically thought of Floyd vs Cotto. He pasted Cotto with it throughout, In fact I think that was the shot that hurt Cotto in the 12th.

Not to be a raging *****....but anyone else notice the Floyd like defensive manouvere and defensive posture, then slide down the rope to counter in the Tua fight??/

Beofre Felix, there was Teofilo Stevenson. He was offered by Muhammad Ali a whooping $1 000 000 for his first professional fight with the HW belt on line but Teofilo said, "You can have all the money in the world, I will have my Cuba".

5 years older than Tua 4 years older than Briggs 6 years older than Brewster 8 years older than Ibragimov 9 years older than Chagaev 13 years older than Solis A fighter changes a lot in 4 years especially when they are young and still learning.

I have always been of the impression that he had a significant advantage against all the future pro's he fought. As said above he was a man vs boy's similar to the guy who beat Amir Khan in athens. It would have been the likes of either Klitshcko borther facing Seth Mitchells/tyson fury. the gap in experience size and strength would be to much for the young guns to cope with. Does anyone know if Savon ever fought lewis or either Klit brother in the am's?

He'd have done alright nothing special. He had a lot more experience and was grown man fighting mostly kids in the ams. He was surprisingly young. He always looked older than he was, I was under the same impression tbh Most of the guys above mentioned are his age!

He'd have done alright nothing special. He had a lot more experience and was grown man fighting mostly kids in the ams.