Comments Thread For: Top Olympians Who Stayed Away From The Pro Ranks

[CubanGuyNYC]

First thing that came to my head with the thread title was Cubans.

I remember Ch@mp telling someone they're 30 year old men fighting 15 year old boys. Probably the funnies thing he's ever said.

Well, if they compete in 3 Olympic games they do have to be pretty old. Most US boxers for example only compete in 1 Olympics then go pro.

Laszlo Papp should not be on this list since he did compete as a professional.

Some people feel better when they invoke the myth that Cubans were/are so successful at amateur boxing because they're men fighting boys. I would challenge anyone to back that claim. I'm not an expert on amateur or Olympic boxing, but I did some research for a reply to someone's assertion that Teofilo Stevenson enjoyed such an advantage. Below is an excerpt of my reply:

Some examples: Stevenson defeated the American Duane Bobick at the Munich games in 1972. Duane was 22; Teofilo was 20. Stevenson defeated American "Big" John Tate at the Montreal games in 1976. John was 21; Stevenson was 24. Stevenson defeated the Russian Pyotr Zayev for the gold medal at the Moscow games in 1980. Pyotr was 27; Teofilo was 28.

Stevenson won three golds, yet he was 28 when he scored his final medal. Like I said, I'm no expert on the subject, but I would be very surprised if there have been many fifteen year olds competing in boxing at the Olympic games. Can you name any? Or any thirty-year-old Cubans beating them up?

[ShoulderRoll]

I'm not trying to be disrespectful to Cubans but it is what it is. The Olympics happen every 4 years, if you are competing in 3 Olympics that means you have 12 years of experience.

Compare that to the typical American kid who only boxes in 1 Olympics then leaves the amateurs forever.

You're basically pitting a veteran against a novice.

[CubanGuyNYC]

I'm not trying to be disrespectful to Cubans but it is what it is. The Olympics happen every 4 years, if you are competing in 3 Olympics that means you have 12 years of experience.

Compare that to the typical American kid who only boxes in 1 Olympics then leaves the amateurs forever.

You're basically pitting a veteran against a novice.

No disrespect taken. Since I've only researched facts about Stevenson, I must focus on him. Teofilo beat Bobick in his first Olympics (1972), so it's safe to say Stevenson had relatively little experience. Duane was probably the "veteran" at the time.

In 1976, Teofilo beat Tate. John was 21; Stevenson was 24. The age difference wasn't remarkable, in my opinion. You might argue that Tate, although not terribly younger, had significantly less experience than Teofilo. I don't think there's much counterargument there. But consider that "Big" John certainly wasn't a "novice." He was almost certainly boxing from an early age and had significant U.S. amateur experience, like the Golden Gloves.

Stevenson didn't just defeat Americans. He had to beat fighters of the former Soviet bloc to medal. Many of these athletes were about as old and as experienced as he. After destroying Tate, Teofilo won his next match (the gold medal round) versus Romania's Simon, who was only two years younger. In 1980, Stevenson defeated the Soviet Union's Zaev for the gold. There was only a one year age difference between them.

Experience is obviously very valuable, and it can't be said that Stevenson didn't benefit from it. But when some people focus on Cuban "experience," they tend to downplay the talent and ability that our athletes have, as if they only win due to age and "experience." Mike Tyson didn't need much experience to become the youngest heavyweight champion of all time, nor did Floyd Patterson before him.