There is no other country in the world where boxing is as popular as in Cuba. This is where champions are born. Boxer Felix Savon (Cuba), having won three Olympic gold in a row, gained the status of a true legend in his homeland. He became the strongest in his weight back in the late eighties of the 20th century and held on top until the end of his brilliant career in 2000.
Start
The biography of Felix Savon dates back to 1967. He was born in Cuba in the notorious Guantanamo district, where the famous American prison for terrorists will later be located. Felix grew up in an ordinary Cuban family, just at the time of the Caribbean crisis and the tough confrontation between the two systems on a global scale.
The only way to get upstairs for an ordinary Cuban boy was sports, and he selflessly trained up a sweat in school gyms.
Felix's ascent to the heights was swift and unstoppable. At the age of 18, he won the youth world championship, and a year later sensationally won the adult championship of the planet. By 1988, he was already considered the strongest boxer on the planet in weight up to 91 kg. Everyone was waiting for his victory at that year's Olympics. However, big politics intervened. The Olympics were held in Seoul, in connection with which North Korea announced a boycott of the upcoming world forum. Cuba supported the socialist camp, and Felix Savon had to postpone his dreams of Olympic gold for 4 years.
Great boxer
In 1990, the Cuban held a dress rehearsal for the upcoming Olympics, easily winning the Goodwill Games held in Seattle. At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, his advantage over his rivals was simply overwhelming. Only at the quarterfinal stage did Dennel Nicholson dare to impose some fight on Felix Savon, losing in the end with a minimum margin. Then the Cuban boxer did not experience any problems on the way to gold, defeating David Aizonrity in the final with a score of 14: 1.
The next few years in the weight category up to 91 kg there was no boxer equal to Felix. He easily won the Goodwill Games in 1994 and, two years later, went for the second Olympic gold. His next victory in the main games of the four-year period was even more convincing - in the final of the tournament he defeated Canadian David Defiagbon with a score of 20: 2.
Scandals and defeats
Having accustomed everyone to victories over 10 years in boxing, Felix Savon unexpectedly lost at one of the local tournaments in Cuba, and his opponent sent the two-time Olympic champion to knockout. However, Felix had previously allowed himself to relax in secondary competitions, an alarm bell sounded later - at the 1997 World Cup. Here, the Cuban lost in the final to the boxer from Uzbekistan Ruslan Chagaev, which had never happened to him before. Many sports analysts spoke loudly about the fact that Felix had lost sharpness, became slower and was no longer able to flit through the rigger as fast as before.
In 1999, the World Cup was held in the United States. Given the tensions between Cuba and the US government, one could expect a grandiose scandal, which eventually took place. Outraged by the outright injustice of the judges in relation to their comrades, the Cuban boxers in full force refused to continue their appearances right in the midst of the tournament.
Felix Savon also took part in the demarche, refusing to enter the final battle against American Michael Bennett. A frustrated rival of the Cuban said that Felix simply did not want to lose to him, and therefore did not enter the ring.
Second youth
In 2000, all boxing fans were interested in just one question: who would interrupt the long-standing hegemony of the Cuban heavyweight in world amateur boxing. Felix Savon at the Sydney Olympics was no longer considered an unconditional favorite. Everyone was waiting for his misfire. Of particular interest was the upcoming duel against Michael Bennett, whom he never met at the 1999 World Cup.
Felix Savon boxed against him with special passion and proved that it was too early to write him off by winning a landslide victory and punishing him for his self-confidence. In the quarter-finals, German heavyweight Sebastian Kober tried to resist Savon and even inflicted a serious cut on him. However, Felix was better and reached the final.
In the decisive match, he was waiting for the Russian Sultan Ibragimov, who later became the world champion among professionals. Magic named after the great Cuban boxer played a role in the upcoming confrontation. According to the Sultan, his coaches were confident that Felix would strive for absolute dominance in the ring, so they gave the installation in a very cautious manner of battle for his ward.
However, the Cuban did not climb on the rampage and calmly spent the whole battle in a counterattack manner, confidently outplaying the Sultan at the expense of his skill. Thus, Felix Savon became the third boxer in the history of sports, who conquered as many as 3 Olympic peaks.
At rest
Being in a state of euphoria after his victory in Sydney, Felix Savon promised several more years to please the fans with his performances. However, the International Boxing Federation has set an age limit for amateur boxers, which amounted to 34 years. So the Cuban had to end his brilliant career in 2001.
After leaving boxing, Felix Savon did not become a professional and remained on Liberty Island. He decided to train the young boxers to continue his work and bring Cuba gold medals of the world's largest tournaments and competitions.