Teófilo Stevenson
Teófilo Stevenson Francisco Lawrence ( born March 29, 1952 in Puerto Padre, Las Tunas, † June 11, 2012 in Havana ) was a Cuban amateur boxer and three -time Olympic champion and world champion.
Career
Teófilo Stevenson began his boxing career in 1966 at the age of fourteen light middleweight with a defeat. From his first twenty fights he lost fourteen. Its discoverers and promoters of the relevant German boxing coach Kurt Rosentritt and the Russian Andrei Chervonenko were counted that were active in the promotion of excellence of the Cuban boxing in the 1960s. Moved up to the heavyweight division, he was in 1968 Cuban junior champion. A year later he already achieved in the Cuban national championship the final, but lost. Between 1972 and 1986, Stevenson finally was eleven Cuban masters. The first international success came to him with the win in the Central American and Caribbean Championships in Havana in September 1970; a title he reached seven times in his career.
Olympic games
In 1972, Stevenson participated in the Olympic Games in Munich. In the semifinals, he beat Peter Hussing and was, after his opponent in the final due to injury could not compete, for the first time Olympic champion. He was also awarded as the first Cuban boxer with the Val Barker Cup for his convincing performance. At the games in Montreal in 1976 and the Olympics in Moscow in 1980, he defended his title in each case and thus became the second boxer after László Papp, who won three consecutive Olympic gold medals. This power only succeeded since the Cuban Félix Savón. The chance of a fourth Olympic gold medal was in 1984 Stevenson denied due to the Cuban boycott of the Games in Los Angeles.
World Championships
Stevenson was three time AIBA World Champion. He first won the title in 1974 at the first World Cup of Amateur Boxing in Havana, but he struck the quarter-finals again Peter Hussing. At the World Championships 1978 in Belgrade, he was able to defend his title and won through, inter alia, against Tony Tubbs through. After the introduction of the super heavyweight he joined in 1981 in this weight class. In 1986 he succeeded in Reno winning the title in the super heavyweight.
Others
Stevenson's eponymous father had emigrated in the 1920s from St. Vincent to Cuba, his mother, Dolores Lawrence, was a Cuban whose parents from the Caribbean island of St. Kitts came.
Among the few boxers who managed to defeat Stevenson, belonged with Bernd Anders and Ulli Kaden two German: Other ( SC Dynamo Berlin) defeated Stevenson in October 1970 in the heavyweight final of the Giraldo Córdova - Cardín Tournament in Havana, Kaden (SG bismuth Gera ) was against Stevenson in the 1980s even win three victories ( six defeats).
It was in the 1970s, similar to later Félix Savón, offers to Stevenson, to compete against the professional world champion Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali. Stevenson was the comparison with Ali not averse, however, did not want to lose his amateur status and violated the 1962 disposal of revolutionary leader Fidel Castro forbid any professional sport. Despite several serious attempts this fight eventually did not materialize.
After Stevenson in Munich the first enemy defeated on the way to his first gold in 1972 in 30 seconds and successfully defended in 1976 in Montreal and 1980 Moscow his gold medal, him several Promoters wanted to attract with increasing millions of dollars to the professional, but he refused. At that time he did the often -quoted remark: " The affection of eight million Cubans is more important to me. "
After his career, he remained connected to the sport of boxing and worked as a coach at youth level. He most recently served as an official in the Cuban boxing federation active and its vice-president.
For a stay in the USA in October 1999 Stevenson added at Miami Airport an employee of United Airlines by a head impact injuries to incisors and mouth after he had felt provoked by derogatory remarks about Fidel Castro, as he stated later. Against his active resistance, he was arrested by several police officers and only came for a deposit of $ 12,500 provisionally released. He escaped a court procedure by illegally defected to Cuba.
Due to heart problems caused by blood clots Teófilo Stevenson was aged under medical treatment. Unexpectedly, he died on June 11, 2012 of a heart attack due to acute ischemia.
Muhammed Ali praised Stevenson with the following words: " Although he has never fought professionally, guarantees the fact to have won three gold medals at three different Olympic Games, that he would have been an excellent match for any reigning champion of the heavyweight or any challenger in its best form. I will always remember the meeting with the great Teófilo in his native Cuba. He was one of the great ones of this world, and was also a warm-hearted man you could embrace. "
Stevenson left a wife and two children. He was buried in the cemetery Cementerio Cristóbal Colón in Havana.
Achievements
Record: 302 Wins - 22 Losses
- Cuban Junior Champion: 1968
- Cuban Master: 1972-1974, 1976, 1978-1982, 1984, 1986
- Winner of the tournament, " Giraldo Córdova Cardín ": 1971, 1972, 1974-1979, 1982
- Winner of chemistry Cup: 1972, 1979, 1984
- Central American and Caribbean champion: 1970-1974, 1977, 1982
- Winners of the Central American and Caribbean Games: 1974, 1982
- Winner of the Pan American Games: 1975, 1979
- World Champion: 1974, 1978, 1986
- Olympic champion: 1972, 1976, 1980