Ali vs Stevenson 1976

[ShoulderRoll]

Cassius Clay won a gold medal in the Olympics defeating all his opponents pretty easily. So I don't think he would be out of his depth against Stevenson in a 3-round fight.

Stevenson on the other hand would have to adjust much more to stay competitive in a 15 rounder.

[billeau2]

The garbage people believe is staggering. Ali was a very fast starter. Stevenson would not be able to stay with him. Three rounds or fifteen. Greatest hwt champion vs a Cuban amateur. Think.

So George Foreman also was thinking garbage? Ali was thinking garbage? Also, amateur sports does not always imply inferior.

The markers we have which are how Cuban's and others who fought in the Olympics transition from them to the pros indicate that guys make the adjustments. There is no reason to believe Stevenson would not make the adjustments...He would certainly have to change the way he trained for bouts to go longer...

[HOUDINI563]

No one at the time believed Stevenson would be ANY match vs Ali. There was hype but no serious boxing mind felt a pure amateur who only fought three round bouts would be able to do anything vs Ali.

[Zaroku]

--- The great Americano vs the great Cubano, Teofolio Stevenson proposed for the spring of 1976.

Stevenson with much size and youth over Ali, but Fidel nixed the fight, not trusting American officiating and not wanting to turn his biggest star into a political media lightning rod.

Ali instead looked like yesterday's warmed over poo against Jimmy Young that served notice he was never again to be Ali of yore.

Make your case yea or nay as you may.

I was 12years old, and I used to dream about that fight. I’d have to go with Ali, he’s used to going over 10 rounds regularly, and 15 often.
Green k

[OctoberRed]

I was 12years old, and I used to dream about that fight. I’d have to go with Ali, he’s used to going over 10 rounds regularly, and 15 often.
Green k

One of those WHAT IF fights that never came about.

[Zaroku]

One of those WHAT IF fights that never came about.

For sure... my mom tole my dad I was starching calcetinrs/socks at an abnormally unreasonably rate....
my dad tole her, don’t ever knock on his door again...

Yeah, in 76 I was 12, my future high school just opened up, Independence High School, we had 1,600 give or take in my graduating class..

Big hair girls, bangs and all. Had a Farrah faucet Majors poster on my wall.. two years later Salvador Sanchez destroyed lil red on ABC wide World of Sports...

What if... what if.... peace homie..

[rudy]

That straight up style of the Cuban would be easy meat for prime Ali. Very hard to hit prime Ali with a right hand and that’s all Stevenson had. Plus Stevenson was an AMATEUR. NO amateur is doing well with prime Ali. One sided thrashing.

Sad to say but very true, he would just go like every other Cuban, too many of lifestyle change to win the fight, alll cubans loose Hunger when they come to America, must be the good life

[Ben Bolt]

Stevenson was an AMATEUR.

Just a thought …
The Cubans fought under amateur rules, but in fact, like most “amateurs” in the red countries, they were professionals. Boxing was their occupation.
A defeat for a Cuban boxer was not only a personal defeat, but also a defeat for the country and the philosophy of communism.

Comparable to the players of the Soviet Union “amateur” ice hockey team, who were forced to eat and sh *t hockey 11 months a year. Notorious is the story of the player who was denied leaving training camp to go to his father’s funeral.

If the Cuban regime in the 1970-80s had chosen to go in for pro boxing instead of amateur boxing, they probably had created some monster fighters.

[HOUDINI563]

That was always the thought. The Cubans and Soviet amateur fighters were really pros. No they weren’t. They were trained to fight three rounds not 15. They had amateur styles that allowed them to prosper under amateur rules.