Félix Savón

Félix Savón Fabre (born 22 September 1967) is a Cuban former amateur boxer who competed from 1980 to 2000. Considered one of the all-time greatest amateurs, he became three-time Olympic gold medalist, and the World Champion six times in a row, all in the heavyweight division. In 1988, when he was favored by many to win the gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics, the Cuban government boycotted the event.Cuban Heavyweight
(Associated Press,) ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', 3 August 1990, p. 22. Savón is particularly known for having rejected numerous multimillion-dollar offers to defect and leave Cuba permanently to fight Mike Tyson as a professional.

Early life

He was born in San Vicente, in Guantánamo Province, Cuba. His ring debut occurred in 1980, in Guantánamo.

Savón's inspiration to become a boxer was his renowned countryman, three-time Olympic champion Teófilo Stevenson (he later was perceived by the Western media as Stevenson's successor)

Career

During his career, in which he did not turn professional, he managed a career record of 362–21, with the majority of his losses avenged. The only boxers, who got away with knockout victories over Savón unavenged were Soviet Usman Arsaliyev and North Korean Li Dal-Chen, whom he met only once.

He won his first important titles in 1985. At 19 he beat America's Michael Bentt on his way to win the 1987 Pan Am games. Besides winning the Cuban heavyweight title (which he would win each year until his retirement, except 1999 and 2000 when he lost to Odlanier Solís, who he would lose to twice and defeat once in their three meetings), he also won the Junior World Championships in 1985.

This set off his career, in which he would win six World Championships; his victory at the 1997 tournament was the result of the disqualification of an opponent, future professional world champion Ruslan Chagaev (whom Savón had previously beaten), who beat Savón in the final, but was later stripped of the gold medal for having two professional fights prior to the championships. Chagaev was reinstated as an amateur the following year when these fights were declared exhibitions, but did not regain the gold medal.

In 1998 during the Heavyweight final of the Goodwill Games from New York, Savón had an amazing knockout over U.S. Amateur Champion DaVarryl Williamson. At the 1999 tournament, he was to fight American Michael Bennett in the final, but the whole Cuban team retired from the competition to protest the result of another Cuban boxer in the tournament whom they considered had been "robbed" by the judges, meaning that Bennett won the final on default. In their bout at the 2000 Summer Olympics Bennett would lose 23–8 to Savón.

Savón won three Olympic gold medals, a feat shared with only two other boxers, László Papp and compatriot Teófilo Stevenson. He could have been a four-time Olympic gold medalist, had the Cuban government allowed its team to participate in the 1988 Seoul, South Korea.

Savón's critics said that he is a puncher instead of a boxer who is not satisfied with a decision, risking losses by going after knockouts even when he is far ahead on points. Roosevelt Sanders, a U.S. boxing coach, said Savon would have been immediately ranked between 5th and 10th in the world's professional boxing heavyweight division if he turned pro after the 1990 Goodwill Games. "Cuba, since 1974 has been the king of amateur boxing in the world", he said. "That is why the media of other countries keep asking why we don't box professionally. Professionalism will abolish humanism and society." Savon said amateur athletes are revered in Cuba. "Athletes are the most important thing in Cuba since Castro took over. We practice sports from the age of 8."

Highlights

Local match-up (71 kg), Guantánamo, Cuba, 1980 (debut):
*Defeated (no data available) (Cuba) KO
XVI National Cadet Games (71 kg), Cuba, July 1981:
*Finals: Defeated Lino Famide (Cuba) KO
National Youth Championships (71 kg), Cuba, 1982:
*1/2: Lost to (no data available) (Cuba) KO
National Friendship Games (81 kg), Cuba, 1983:
*(no data available)
National Youth Championships (81 kg), Cuba, 1983:
*(no data available)
International Youth Tournament (91 kg), Berlin, East Germany, June 1984:
*Finals: Defeated Uli Klimm (East Germany) RSC 1
XV Central America and the Caribbean Championships (91 kg), Managua, Nicaragua, 1984:
*(no data available)
XXIV Playa Girón National Championships (91 kg), Nueva Gerona, Cuba, January 1985:
*1/2: Defeated Aurelio Toyo Pérez (Cuba) by decision
*Finals: Defeated Hermenegildo Báez (Cuba) by decision
XXXVI Strandzha Cup (91 kg), Sofia, Bulgaria, February 1985:
*Finals: Defeated Deyan Kirilov (Bulgaria) by majority decision, 4–1
XIV Chemistry Cup (91 kg), Halle, East Germany, March 1985:
*Finals: Defeated Michael Ernst (East Germany) by unanimous decision, 5–0
Trofeo Italia (91 kg), Mestre, Venice, Italy, March 1985:
*Finals: Defeated Gyula Alvics (Hungary) by unanimous decision, 5–0
XVIII Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament (91 kg), Ciego de Ávila, Cuba, March 1985:
*1/2: Defeated Ramzan Sebiyev (Soviet Union)
*Finals: Defeated Hermenegildo Báez (Cuba) RSC 2
National Youth Championships (91 kg), Cuba, 1985:
*(no data available)
XVI Central America and the Caribbean Championships (91 kg), Maturín, Venezuela, September 1985:
*Finals: Defeated H. Hidalgo (Venezuela) RSC 1
III Junior World Championships (91 kg), Bucharest, Romania, September 1985:
*1/8: Defeated Ilie Corbu (Romania) RSC 1
*1/4: Defeated Andrey Cholakin (Soviet Union) by majority decision, 4–1
*1/2: Defeated Attila Árvai (Hungary) by walkover
*Finals: Defeated Andrzej Golota (Poland) RET 2
XXV Playa Girón National Championships (91 kg), Havana, Cuba