Félix Savón

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Félix Savón (right) in Halle in 1987

Félix Savón Fabre (* 22. September 1967 in San Vicente , Manuel Tames , Cuba ) is a former Cuban amateur boxer in the heavyweight division .

He was one of only three boxers (alongside Teófilo Stevenson and László Papp ) to win three gold medals at the Olympic Games and six world championships. Savón, who always refused to box professionally, is considered to be an example of the high-quality training and youth development in Cuban boxing.

Amateur career

Savón started boxing in 1980 and won his first major titles in 1985: the Cuban national heavyweight championship, which he won fourteen times in a row from 1985 to 1998 (he lost to Odlanier Solís in the 1999 and 2000 finals ) and the Junior World Championship in Bucharest by defeating the Poles Andrzej Gołota .

World championships

Savón won his six world championship titles

  1. 1986 in Reno
  2. 1989 in Moscow , with a bloodless victory in the semifinals over the still for the DDR antretenden Axel Schulz
  3. 1991 in Sydney , among other things, he beat the Samoan David Tua by a first-round knockout. Tua was never knocked out later as a professional
  4. 1993 in Tampere , including victory over the later super heavyweight world champion Alexei Lesin
  5. 1995 in Berlin , as it a victory over the final Luan Krasniqi succeeded
  6. 1997 in Budapest

At the 1997 World Cup, he lost the only fight at a World Cup when he lost to the Uzbek Ruslan Chagayev on points in the final . However, Savón was later awarded the title because his opponent had previously completed professional fights and was therefore subsequently disqualified.

Savón did not win only one of several world championships. In the title fights in 1999, the entire Cuban team withdrew in protest against referee decisions, Savón received the silver medal for his participation in the finals. He defeated his planned final opponent Michael Bennett in 2000 in the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games in Sydney.

Olympic games

Savón was denied participation in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul because Cuba boycotted these games. He had clearly defeated the Olympic champion Ray Mercer in an international match between Cuba and USA before the games.

In his first participation in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona , he won the gold medal by winning the final with 14: 1 points over Nigerian David Izonritei .

He defended that title at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney , where he on the way to the gold medal, among others, Michael Bennett (at this time the official world champion) and Sebastian Köber switched off to the finals the Russians Sultan Ibragimov to defeat.

More tournament wins

  • Chemistry Cup in Halle - 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1996
  • Central American and Caribbean Championships - 1984, 1985, 1988, 1995 and 1996
  • Central American and Caribbean Games - 1986, 1990, 1993 and 1998
  • Pan American Games - 1987, 1991 and 1995
  • World Cup - 1987, 1990, 1994 and 1998

Match record

In his 20-year amateur career, Savón had 387 wins with only 21 defeats.

Other well-known defeated opponents

Others

In the 1990s, the American promoter Don King Savón tried to sign high-value offers and compete against the then heavyweight world champions Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson .

After the 2000 Olympics, Savón retired at the age of 33. According to the rules of the World Amateur Boxing Association AIBA , a maximum age limit of 34 years applies to participation in Olympic Games, World and Continental Championships or other international amateur tournaments. After his playing career, Savón became the coach of the Cuban national boxing team.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.sport-komplett.de/sport-komplett/sportarten/b/boxen/hst/63.html
personal data
SURNAME Savon, Felix
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Savon Fabre, Félix
BRIEF DESCRIPTION cuban boxer
DATE OF BIRTH September 22, 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH San Vicente , Manuel Tames , Cuba