Teófilo Stevenson

Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence was a Cuban amateur boxer whose career spanned from 1966 to 1986. He is one of just three boxers ever to win three Olympic gold medals—joining Hungary's László Papp and his fellow Cuban Félix Savón—and also received the Val Barker Trophy in 1972 and the Olympic Order in 1987.

Born in Puerto Padre, Cuba, Stevenson was the son of Teófilo Stevenson Patterson, an immigrant from Saint Vincent who arrived in Cuba in 1923, and Dolores Lawrence, a native Cuban whose parents came from Saint Kitts. The elder Stevenson worked odd jobs before settling in Camagüey, where he taught English to supplement his income. His large frame led local trainers to push him into boxing, but he fought only seven times before quitting, disillusioned by the corrupt pay structure for young fighters.

Young Teófilo was a bright child. At age nine, he began sparring at the same makeshift open-air gym his father had used, under the guidance of former national light heavyweight champion John Herrera. He often fought more experienced boxers, and Herrera believed he "had what it took." Stevenson kept his boxing a secret from his mother until his father finally told her; she was furious but agreed to let him continue as long as his father accompanied him.

Stevenson improved steadily under Herrera in the mid-1960s, winning a junior title and training further in Havana. His success caught the eye of Andrei Chervonenko, a Soviet head coach in Cuba's new state sports system. Professional boxing had been banned in Cuba since 1962 by government resolution 83-A, and all boxing was run by the state-sponsored National Boxing Commission. Chervonenko, a retired boxer sent by the Soviet Union, had created Cuba's Escuela de Boxeo in a run-down Havana gym and began to champion Stevenson.

Stevenson's senior career started at seventeen with a loss to experienced heavyweight Gabriel Garcia in the national championships. He then scored convincing wins over Nancio Carrillo and Juan Perez, two of Cuba's best heavyweights, earning a spot on the national team for the 1970 Central American and Caribbean Boxing Championships. Though he lost in the final after three victories, he was now firmly Cuba's top heavyweight. Back in the gym, Chervonenko and leading Cuban coach Alcides Sagarra refined Stevenson's jab, which became his signature weapon. That jab paid off when he easily beat East Germany's Bernd Anders in Berlin, surprising the crowd and making the amateur boxing world take him seriously.

At the 1972 Munich Olympics, the twenty-year-old Stevenson opened his campaign against experienced Polish fighter Ludwik Denderys. Within thirty seconds, he knocked Denderys down, and the fight was stopped shortly after due to a large cut near the Pole's eye. In the quarterfinals, he faced American Duane Bobick, a gold medalist at the 1971 Pan American Games who had beaten Stevenson before. After a close first round, Stevenson lost the second, but a fierce third round saw him knock Bobick down three times, ending the fight. The victory was broadcast on Cuban television and remains his most memorable performance. He then stopped German Peter Hussing by TKO in the second round of the semifinal, and won the gold medal when Romanian Ion Alexe withdrew from the final due to injury. The Cuban boxing team took three gold medals—their first in Olympic boxing history—plus a silver and a bronze, establishing Cuba's long dominance in amateur boxing and Stevenson as the world's top amateur heavyweight.

Less than two years after Munich, the 22-year-old Stevenson was given a house in Havana and another for his family in Delicias. He later said he had no idea the Delicias house would be so big, joking, "What is this? A bunker?" AIBA president Anwar Chowdhry criticized the gifts, saying such rewards should be for everyone, not just a few. INDER president Conrado Martínez Corona defended the practice, stating that Cuba has an obligation to solve all citizens' problems—nourishment, housing, education, and health—and that it was a pity they couldn't solve these problems for everyone.

Stevenson repeated his Olympic success at the inaugural 1974 World Championships in Havana and again at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, by which time he was a national hero. It was then that he came closest to turning professional: American promoters offered him US$5 million to challenge world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Had he accepted, he would have become the second boxer to go straight from the Olympics to a title fight.