Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence

Cuban amateur boxer, winner of three consecutive Olympic titles. Considered among the best Cuban pugilists of all time, and in a place of privilege among the greats of the world.

Born near what was then the Delicias sugar mill, in the municipality of Puerto Padre, province of Las Tunas, he lived a humble childhood in which he began to forge values that would accompany him forever.

His record as a competitor was enhanced by the Olympic belts conquered in Munich 72, Montreal 76 and Moscow 80 and world championships in La Habana 74, Belgrado 78 and Reno 86.

Member of the only trio of pugilists three times Olympic monarchs, deserving of the Val Barker (1972) and Russell (1986) cups, intended for the best competitors at such events and World Championships, he also reigned in many other settings such as Pan American Games, Central American and Caribbean Games and World Cups.

His patriotism was demonstrated more than once, when he left merchants who tried to buy him with millions of dollars speechless.

"I would not trade a piece of Cuban land for all the money they could give me," he answered one of them after impressing in Munich, where he avenged his Pan American setback in Cali 71 against American Duane Bobick, the so-called Esperanza Blanca.

Recognized for his devastating punch, he was equally technical, quick for his weight class and chivalrous with his opponents, not a few of whom, including several foreigners, were his friends.

At the time of his death Stevenson was vice president of the Cuban Boxing Federation and held several national and international decorations.

His death leaves an incalculable void in the heart of Cuban revolutionary sport, where he will now multiply as an example of patriotism, dignity and devotion to his people.

Stevenson was great as few others within the ring, but also because he was very good outside of it, to the point of becoming one of the most prominent figures in sports, without the brightness of such glory blinding him. He was always as sensitive as he was a gentleman.

At just 17 years old, he earned everyone's admiration by achieving the silver medal at the Playa Girón Tournament in 1969, which led him to train with Ukrainian Andrei Chervonenko and Alcides Sagarra. His success was not as meteoric as one might suppose.

After his defeat by American Duane Bobick at the Cali'71 Pan Americans, the extraordinary pugilist emerged who would later conquer three Olympic titles, three world championships and countless trophies in the heavyweight division, with 302 victories in 321 fights, throughout a sporting career that earned him inclusion by the IOC among the ten best athletes of the 20th century.

In Munich'72, in fact, he won all his fights by KO, before becoming unofficially the first Cuban champion boxer due to the non-appearance in the final of Romanian Ion Alexe. And he finally took revenge on the so-called American "Esperanza Blanca," knocking him down three times during the third round, so that American federation official Robert Surkein asserted: "The Stevenson I saw beat Bobick was then superior to Clay who won the 81 kilos in Rome'60 and to Frazier and to Foreman who won in the superior division in Tokyo'64 and in Mexico'68".

Meanwhile, his opponent in the semifinals, German Peter Hussing would later recall that never, in his 212 fights as an amateur boxer, did he receive as much punishment as against the Cuban: "You don't have time to see his right hand. And when you see it, it's because he already has it on your chin".

Such was the quality of his style and the devastating power of his punch that Enmanuel Steward came to say about Teo: "He is the most perfectly balanced fighter I have ever seen".

And that was despite, according to Sagarra, Stevenson sometimes carried opponents too much.

But the fact is that not much time passed before his virtues attracted various merchants who were rubbing their hands together for professional boxing foreseeing what came to be promoted as the Fight of the Century, between him and Muhammad Ali.

"He would be phenomenal as a professional," an ecstatic Don King once stated. Meanwhile, Angelo Dundee, manager of the legendary African American pugilist, recalled: "Everybody wanted Teófilo. I was never after him, because I had the champion. I had Alí. I had the guy who was going to beat him, see? But everybody wanted Teófilo, and I mean everybody. They were going to give him a million dollars. And a million dollars back then was money".

To that offer, however, Stevenson responded by appealing to his Cuban identity with that famous: "I prefer the affection of eight million Cubans. And I would not trade my piece of Cuba for all the money they could offer me".

So the much-anticipated fight never took place, for various reasons, although Teófilo with his usual simplicity stated: "Alí has said several times that the fight would have been a draw and I also believe it".

Retired since 1988, he never strayed far from the rings, as in those times when his fierce fights with the Pinar del Río native Ángel Milián unleashed public ovation. A week before his death, during the final of the Córdova Cardín, he could be seen smiling, lively, faithful to his passion for boxing.

Since his retirement from active sport, Stevenson held the responsibility of vice president of the Cuban Boxing Federation, in addition to advising trainers in the national pre-selection, and leading boxers in the Commission of Sports Glories and Retired Athletes.

There are men who never die because they live on forever in the collective imagination of many others, of an entire people. For his feats, for his countless merits, Stevenson belongs to that lineage.

Stevenson died in Ciudad de La Habana from a myocardial infarction.