Teófilo Stevenson


Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence was a Cuban amateur boxer who competed from 1966 to 1986.
Stevenson won the Val Barker Trophy as well was honored with the Olympic Order and is one of only three boxers to win three Olympic gold medals - alongside the Hungarian László Papp and the fellow Cuban Félix Savón.

Early life

Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence was born in Puerto Padre, Cuba. His father, Teófilo Stevenson Patterson, was an immigrant from Saint Vincent. His mother Dolores Lawrence was a native Cuban, but her parents were immigrants from the Anglophone island of Saint Kitts. Teófilo senior arrived in Cuba in 1923, finding work wherever he could, before settling in Camagüey with Dolores, where he gave English lessons to top up his meagre earnings. Due to his large size, Teófilo senior was encouraged into boxing by local trainers, fighting seven times before becoming disillusioned by the corrupt payment structure on offer to young fighters.
Teófilo junior was a shiftless but bright child who at nine years old soon found himself sparring at the makeshift open-air gym his father had frequented. Under the tutelage of former national light heavyweight champion John Herrera, Teófilo junior began his career fighting far more experienced boxers, but according to Herrera, "had what it took". Despite his growing involvement in the sport, Stevenson had yet to tell his mother about his activities. Eventually Teófilo Sr. broke the news to his wife, who was furious; but she agreed to acquiesce on the provision that the boy was accompanied by his father.

Boxing career

Beginnings

The young Stevenson continued to improve under Herrera in the mid-1960s, winning a junior title and gaining additional training in Havana. His victories drew the attention of Andrei Chervonenko, a head coach in Cuba's newly implemented state sports system. Professional sports throughout the island had been outlawed since 1962 by government resolution 83-A, and all boxing activity had come under the guidance of the government sponsored National Boxing Commission. Chervonenko, a retired boxer himself, sent by the Soviet Union, who had created Cuba's Escuela de Boxeo in a derelict old gym in Havana, began to champion Stevenson's progress.
Stevenson's senior boxing career began at age seventeen with a defeat in the national championships against the experienced heavyweight Gabriel Garcia. Despite the setback, Stevenson went on to register convincing victories over Nancio Carrillo and Juan Perez, two of Cuba's finest boxers in the weight division, securing a place in the national team for the 1970 Central American and Caribbean Boxing Championships. Defeat in the final after three victories was considered no shame, and Stevenson firmly established himself as Cuba's premier heavyweight. Back in the gym Chervonenko and leading Cuban boxing coach Alcides Sagarra worked on Stevenson's jab, which became his ultimate weapon, and paid dividends when the Cuban easily defeated East Germany's Bernd Anders in front of a surprised Berlin crowd. The victory made the entire amateur boxing world take notice of Stevenson as a serious heavyweight contender.

Munich Olympics 1972

Stevenson, now twenty, joined the Cuban boxing team for the Munich Olympics of 1972. His opening bout against experienced Polish fighter Ludwik Denderys began dramatically when Stevenson knocked the other man down within thirty seconds of the opening bell. The fight was stopped moments later due to a large cut next to the Pole's eye.
Proceeding to the quarter finals, Stevenson met American boxer Duane Bobick. Bobick, a gold medalist at the 1971 Pan American Games, had beaten Stevenson previously. After a close first round, Stevenson lost the second, but a ferocious display in the third round knocked Bobick to the canvas three times and the contest was stopped. The victory was viewed on television throughout Cuba, and is still considered Stevenson's most memorable performance.
Stevenson easily defeated German Peter Hussing in the semifinal by TKO in the second round, and received his gold medal after Romanian Ion Alexe failed to appear in the final due to injury. The Cuban boxing team won three gold medals, their first in Olympic boxing history, as well as one silver and one bronze. The Munich games established Cuba's dominance over the amateur sport that was to last decades. It also established Stevenson as the world's premier amateur heavyweight boxer.
Less than two years after his successful performance at the Munich Olympics, Stevenson, then 22-years-old, was rewarded with a house for himself in Havana and another for himself and his family in Delicias. Stevenson later recalled: "I had no idea the house in Delicias was going to be so big. When I was shown the plans, I said, 'What is this? A bunker? AIBA president Anwar Chowdhry, when asked did the Cuban authorities acted properly in giving Stevenson two houses and two cars, said: "These things should not be allowed. If gifts are to be given it should be for everybody—not for a few." Over tea in his office in Havana's Sports City Coliseum, INDER president Conrado Martínez Corona defended the local practice of giving cars and apartments to top athletes. "Our country has the obligation of solving the problems of all citizens—the problems of their nourishment, housing, education and health", he said. "It's a pity we can't solve this problem in the way we need to for everybody."

Prime years

Stevenson did the same at the inaugural 1974 World Championships in Havana, Cuba, and then in the 1976 Summer Olympics, held in Montreal, Stevenson repeated the feat once again. By then, he had become a national hero in Cuba. This was the point where he was the closest to signing a professional contract, as American fight promoters offered him US$5 million to challenge world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. If he had accepted, it would have made Stevenson the second boxer to go straight from the Olympics into a professional debut with the world's heavyweight crown on the line, after Pete Rademacher. Stevenson refused the offer, however, asking "What is one million dollars compared to the love of eight million Cubans?" Stevenson went to the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and became the second boxer ever, after Papp, to win three Olympic boxing gold medals. The Moscow Games were the 19th occurrence of the modern Olympic Games.
Stevenson participated at the 1982 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Munich, but lost to the eventual silver medalist and future professional world champion Francesco Damiani from Italy. This fight ended an eleven-year unbeaten run by Stevenson and was the only occasion that he did not win the gold medal at the World Championships when he entered the competition.
His loss by a split decision to Aleksandr Lukstin of the Soviet Union in the finals of the 1983 Córdova Cardín, as the Soviet head coach Kontsantin Koptsev later admitted, was due to a plaster-like tape they handwrapped Lukstin's fists with instead of a regular elastic-band hand wrapping.
Stevenson might have won a fourth gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, but the Soviet Union boycotted the games, which were hosted by Los Angeles, in retaliation for the American boycott of the 1980 Moscow competition. Cuba followed the Soviet lead, and Stevenson did not compete. For consolation, he beat future Olympic champion Tyrell Biggs in February 1984 and won the super heavyweight gold at the 1984 Friendship Games, defeating Ulli Kaden of East Germany and, in the final, Valeriy Abadzhyan of the Soviet Union.
At the 1986 World Amateur Boxing Championships, he won the super heavyweight gold, defeating Alex Garcia from the United States in the final. Stevenson retired from boxing shortly after the 1988 Summer Olympics, which Cuba also boycotted.

Rivalry with Vysotsky

Stevenson was known for two fights with Soviet boxer Igor Vysotsky, who defeated him twice. Vysotsky later said in an interview with East Side Boxing:
Vysotsky was the only boxer out of hundreds of Stevenson's opponents to ever stop him, let alone by knockout, and to defeat him twice, both times in his prime, without being avenged. And on top of it, Vysotsky scored his first victory over Stevenson at the Córdova Cardín, Cubans' home tournament, where they do their best to never let any foreigner get into the finals.
Stevenson's second loss to Vysotsky happened six weeks before his knockout winning streak at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, which ended up with victories over John Tate and Mircea Șimon. After losing to Vysotsky for a second time he said, "Nobody is invincible."

Highlights

Local match-up, Las Tunas, Cuba, October 1966 :
  • Lost to Luis Henríquez by decision
National Youth Championships, Camagüey, Cuba, 1968
*
VI Playa Girón National Championships, Guantánamo, Cuba, November 1968:
  • 1/4: Lost to Adolfo Gálvez by decision
VII Playa Girón National Championships, Nueva Gerona, Cuba, December 1969:
  • 1/2: Defeated Iván Rodríguez
  • Finals: Lost to Gabriel García by decision
Local match-up, Havana, Cuba, 1970:
I Central America and the Caribbean Championships, Havana, Cuba, September 1970:
  • 1/2: Defeated Visley Zulueta KO 1
  • Finals: Defeated Earl McClear by decision
III Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament, Havana, Cuba, October 1970:
  • 1/4: Defeated Gabriel García RSC 3
  • 1/2: Defeated Adolfo Gálvez by decision
  • Finals: Lost to Bernd Anders by decision
VI Friendship Youth Tournament, Vidin, Bulgaria, October 1970:
  • 1/4: Defeated Eckhard Findeisen RSC 1
  • 1/2: Defeated Dumitru Zelinta RSC 2
  • Finals: Defeated Vladimir Saprykin RSC 1
Cuba–Czechoslovakia Duals, Havana, Cuba, March 1971:
Czechoslovakia–Cuba Duals, Prague, Czechoslovakia, March 1971:
Yugoslavia–Cuba Duals, Titograd, Yugoslavia, April 1971:
  • Defeated Iordan Obradović DQ 3
Austria–Cuba Duals, Vienna, Austria, May 1971:
  • Defeated Erwin Suppik KO 2
IV Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament, Havana, Cuba, June 1971:
Panama–Cuba Duals, Panama City, Panama, June 1971:
  • Defeated Rolando Tey RET
Cuba–Bulgaria Duals, Havana, Cuba, July 1971:
  • Defeated Borislav Krastev DQ 2
Pan American Games, Cali, Colombia, August 1971:
  • 1/4: Defeated Pablo Sarmiento by unanimous decision, 5–0
  • 1/2: Lost to Duane Bobick by unanimous decision, 0–5
Local match-up, Havana, Cuba, September 1971:
  • Defeated Adolfo Gálvez RSC
III TSC Tournament, Berlin, East Germany, October 1971:
  • 1/4: Defeated Jerzy Skoczek KO 3
  • 1/2: Defeated Bernd Anders RSC 3
  • Finals: Defeated Josef Motýl RSC 1
Cuba–USSR Duals, Berlin, East Germany, October 1971:
IX Playa Girón National Championships, Nueva Gerona, Cuba, October–November 1971 :
  • 1/4: Defeated Francisco Molina KO
  • 1/2: Defeated Adolfo Gálvez by decision
  • Finals: Defeated Luis Valier RSC
II Central America and the Caribbean Championships, San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 1971:
  • Finals: Defeated Georgie Clemente by walkover
VII Friendship Youth Tournament, Havana, Cuba, December 1971:
  • 1/2: Defeated Borimir Kristiev RSC
  • Finals: Defeated Vladimir Volkov by decision
Cuba–USSR Duals, Havana, Cuba, January 1972:
  • Defeated Vladimir Volkov
X Playa Girón National Championships, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, February–March 1972:
  • 1/2: Defeated Francisco Molina KO
  • Finals: Defeated Luis Valier KO 1
Cuba–Romania Duals, Havana, Cuba, April 1972:
Czechoslovakia–Cuba Duals, Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia, April 1972:
  • Defeated Josef Motýl KO 2
GDR–Cuba Duals, Berlin, East Germany, 1972:
III Chemistry Cup, Halle, East Germany, May 1972:
  • 1/4: Defeated Dieter Limant RSC 1
  • 1/2: Defeated Eberhard Findeisen RSC 1
  • Finals: Defeated Jürgen Fanghänel
Local match-up, Havana, Cuba, May 1972:
V Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament, Havana, Cuba, July 1972:
XX Summer Olympics, Munich, West Germany, September 1972:
III Central America and the Caribbean Championships, San José, Costa Rica, November 1972:
  • 1/2: Defeated Jack Powell RET 1
  • Finals: Defeated Rafael Vega RSC 1
XI Playa Girón National Championships, Havana, Cuba, February 1973:
Golden Belt Tournament, Bucharest, Romania, April 1973:
  • 1/4: Defeated Hennie Thoonen RET 2
  • 1/2: Defeated Ion Sanatescu by decision
  • Finals: Defeated Ion Alexe RET 2
VI Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, July 1973:
IV Central America and the Caribbean Championships, Mexico City, Mexico, November 1973:
  • 1/4: Defeated Jimmy Russell by walkover
  • 1/2: Defeated Carlos Rivera RSC 1
  • Finals: Defeated Ismael Ruiz KO 1
XII Playa Girón National Championships, Havana, Cuba, January 1974:
  • 1/8: Defeated Roberto Taylor by decision
  • 1/4: Defeated Nancio Carrillo by decision
  • 1/2: Defeated Jesús Benítez RET
  • Finals: Defeated José Luis Cabrera RET
1974 Central American and Caribbean Games, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, March 1974:
  • 1/2: Defeated Rafael Vega KO 1
  • Finals: Defeated Carlos Rivera RET 1
Golden Belt Tournament, Bucharest, Romania, May 1974:
  • 1/4: Defeated Marian Alexandru RET 3
  • 1/2: Defeated Ion Anghel KO 2
  • Finals: Defeated Yevgeni Gorstkov by walkover
VII Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament, Camagüey, Cuba, July 1974:
  • 1/4: Defeated Elpidio Valier RSC
  • 1/2: Defeated Roberto Taylor RSC
  • Finals: Defeated Pyotr Zayev RSC
World Championships, Havana, Cuba, August 1974:
  • 1/8: Defeated Tshibangu Hweia by walkover
  • 1/4: Defeated Peter Hussing KO 1
  • 1/2: Defeated Fatai Avinia by decision
  • Finals: Defeated Marvin Stinson by unanimous decision, 5–0
V Central America and the Caribbean Championships, Caracas, Venezuela, December 1974:
  • 1/2: Defeated Rafael Vega by decision
  • Finals: Defeated Carlos Rivera by decision
XIII Playa Girón National Championships, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, January 1975:
  • 1/8: Defeated Germán Duvergel by walkover
  • 1/4: Defeated José Luis Cabrera by decision
  • 1/2: Lost to Adolfo Gálvez by walkover
INDER Anniversary Festival, Havana, Cuba, February 1975:
  • Defeated Ángel Milián Rivero by unanimous decision, 5–0
XV Honvéd Cup, Budapest, Hungary, March 1975:
  • 1/4: Defeated István Edocs by decision
  • 1/2: Defeated Igor Kykotoorov ? by walkover
  • Finals: Defeated Gennady Kokurin RSC 1
Golden Belt Tournament, Bucharest, Romania, April 1975:
  • 1/4: Defeated Claudio Liendo by walkover
  • 1/2: Defeated Ilie Dascălu RET 1
  • Finals: Defeated Mircea Șimon by walkover
VIII Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament, Las Villas, Cuba, July 1975:
  • 1/2: Defeated Ricardo Casañas RSC 2
  • Finals: Defeated Dietmar Meyer RET 2
Pan American Games, Mexico City, Mexico, October 1975:
  • 1/8: Defeated Gilberto Acuña RSC 1
  • 1/4: Defeated Clarence Hill by walkover
  • 1/2: Defeated Jair De Campos RSC 1
  • Finals: Defeated Michael Dokes by unanimous decision, 5–0
Local match-up, Havana, Cuba, December 1975:
  • Defeated David Villa RSC
XIV Playa Girón National Championships, Camagüey, Cuba, January 1976:
  • 1/8: Defeated Ramón Lores RSC
  • 1/4: Defeated José Luis Cabrera by walkover
  • 1/2: Defeated Glemond Crawford RET
  • Finals: Defeated Julio Cañizares RSC
Jamaica–Cuba Duals, Kingston, Jamaica, February 1976:
  • Defeated ? by decision
Usov Memorial Tournament, Minsk, Belarus SSR, April 1976:
  • 1/4: Defeated Leonid Zadorozhny RSCI 1
  • 1/2: Defeated Nikolay Malykh RET 3
  • Finals: Lost to Igor Vysotsky KO 3
IX Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament, Pinar del Río, Cuba, May 1976:
  • 1/8: Defeated Fidel César KO 2
  • 1/4: Defeated José Ribalta RSC 1
  • 1/2: Defeated Roberto Taylor RSC 1
  • Finals: Defeated Ángel Milián Rivero by unanimous decision, 5–0
XXI Summer Olympics, Maurice Richard Arena, Montreal, Canada, July 1976:
Local match-up, Havana, Cuba, February 1977:
Local match-up, Camagüey, Cuba, April 1977:
  • Defeated Roberto Taylor by decision
Local match-up, Matanzas, Cuba, April 1977:
  • Defeated Roberto Gómez by decision
Local match-up, Bayamo, Cuba, April 1977:
  • Defeated Juan Pérez KO
I Battle of Carabobo International Tournament, Caracas, Venezuela, June 1977:
  • Finals: Defeated Woody Clark KO 3
X Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament, Matanzas, Cuba, July 1977:
  • 1/8: Defeated Roberto Taylor RSC
  • 1/4: Defeated Julio Quintero RSC
  • 1/2: Defeated Fidel César by decision
  • Finals: Defeated Roberto Gómez RET 3
VIII Central America and the Caribbean Championships, Panama City, Panama, August 1977:
  • 1/4: Defeated José Ángel Castro by unanimous decision, 5–0
  • 1/2: Defeated Mauricio Realajeno KO 1
  • Finals: Defeated Rafael Vega by walkover
XVI Playa Girón National Championships, Camagüey, Cuba, January 1978:
  • 1/16: Defeated Roberto Taylor RSC 1
  • 1/8: Defeated Oscar Rodríguez RSC
  • 1/4: Defeated Ramón Lores RSC
  • 1/2: Defeated Noel Grenot RSC
  • Finals: Defeated Ángel Milián Rivero RSC 2
Cuba–USA Duals, Havana, Cuba, February 1978:
  • Defeated Jimmy Clark by split decision, 2–1
XXIX Strandzha Cup, Sofia, Bulgaria, March 1978:
  • 1/4: Defeated Hans Müller KO 1
  • 1/2: Defeated Georgi Lefterov by walkover
  • Finals: Defeated Georgi Stoimenov RSC 3
Golden Belt Tournament, Bucharest, Romania, March 1978:
  • 1/4: Defeated Gheorghe Axente RET 1
  • 1/2: Defeated Petre Ungureanu by walkover
  • Finals: Defeated Ion Cernat RSC 1
XI Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament, Cienfuegos, Cuba, April 1978:
  • 1/4: Defeated Ricardo Avilés RSC
  • 1/2: Defeated Glemond Crawford RET 3
  • Finals: Defeated Ángel Milián Rivero KO 2
World Championships, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, May 1978:
  • 1/8: Defeated Adama Mensah KO 1
  • 1/4: Defeated Tony Tubbs by unanimous decision, 5–0
  • 1/2: Defeated Carlos Rivera KO 2
  • Finals: Defeated Dragomir Vujković RET 1
National Team Championships, Havana, Cuba, September 1978:
  • Defeated Fidel César by decision
USA–Cuba Duals, Madison Square Garden, New York City, October 1978:
  • Defeated Jimmy Clark RSC 1
XVII Playa Girón National Championships, Guantánamo, Cuba, January 1979:
  • 1/8: Defeated Ramón Lores RSC
  • 1/4: Defeated Eliécer Silé RET
  • 1/2: Defeated Rolando Herrera RSC
  • Finals: Held Ángel Milián Rivero to a draw
Cuba–USA Duals, Coliseo de la Ciudad Deportiva, Havana, Cuba, February 1979:
  • Defeated Phillip Brown by unanimous decision, 3–0
VIII Chemistry Cup, Halle, East Germany, March 1979:
  • 1/4: Defeated Lakhdar Kaddour RSC 1
  • 1/2: Defeated Werner Kohnert by split decision, 3–2
  • Finals: Defeated Jürgen Fanghänel by split decision, 3–2
Golden Belt Tournament, Bucharest, Romania, March 1979:
XII Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament, Havana, Cuba, May 1979:
  • 1/8: Defeated Lázaro Figueras RSC
  • 1/4: Defeated Marcos Díaz RSC
  • 1/2: Defeated Božidar Cvetić by walkover
  • Finals: Defeated Ángel Milián Rivero by majority decision, 4–1
VIII Pan American Games, Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 1979:
  • 1/2: Defeated Rufus Hadley KO 1
  • Finals: Defeated Narciso Maldonado RSC 1
National Team Championships, Puerto Padre, Cuba, September 1979:
  • Defeated Roberto Taylor KO
  • Defeated Rafael Lugo RSC
  • Defeated Armando Lowí RSC
XVIII Playa Girón National Championships, Pinar del Río, Cuba, January 1980:
  • 1/4: Defeated Luis Martínez RSC
  • 1/2: Defeated Roberto Gómez KO
  • Finals: Held Ángel Milián Rivero to a draw
USA–Cuba Duals, Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina, February 1980:
  • Defeated Jimmy Clark by split decision, 2–1
XI Ústí nad Labem Grand Prix Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia, April 1980:
  • 1/2: Defeated Czesław Dawiec RET 1
  • Finals: Defeated Ulli Kaden RSC 2
XX Honvéd Cup, Budapest, Hungary, April 1980:
  • 1/4: Defeated Nikolay Timkin KO 1
  • 1/2: Defeated Ferenc Somodi KO 2
  • Finals: Defeated István Lévai KO 3
XIII Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament, Holguín, Cuba, May–June 1980:
  • 1/4: Defeated Rolando Herrera RSC
  • 1/2: Defeated Lázaro Figueras by decision
  • Finals: Lost to Ángel Milián Rivero by walkover
XXII Summer Olympics, Moscow, Soviet Union, July–August 1980:
XIX Playa Girón National Championships, Matanzas, Cuba, January–February 1981:
  • 1/8: Defeated Hermes Córdova by walkover
  • 1/4: Defeated Rolando Herrera RSC
  • 1/2: Held Ángel Milián Rivero to a draw
  • Finals: Defeated Roberto Taylor by walkover
Local match-up, San José, Cuba, June 1981:
XX Playa Girón National Championships, Cienfuegos, Cuba, January 1982:
  • 1/4: Defeated Luis Palmar KO
  • 1/2: Defeated Fidel César KO
  • Finals: Held Ángel Milián Rivero to a draw
XI Chemistry Cup, Halle, East Germany, March 1982:
  • 1/2: Defeated Dietmar Mayer RSC 1
  • Finals: Lost to Ulli Kaden DQ 1
XV Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament, Guantánamo, Cuba, May 1982:
  • 1/8: Defeated Orlando Ruíz RSC
  • 1/4: Defeated Aleksandr Oreshkin RET 2
  • 1/2: Defeated Horacio Navia Ruíz RET 2
  • Finals: Defeated Sergey Kirilitsyn by unanimous decision, 5–0
World Championships, Munich, West Germany, May 1982:
XIV Central American and Caribbean Games, Havana, Cuba, August 1982:
  • 1/2: Defeated Nelson Rosas KO 1
  • Finals: Defeated James Parson RET 1
USA–Cuba Duals, Sparks Convention Center, Reno, Nevada, November 1982:
XXI Playa Girón National Championships, Las Tunas, Cuba, January 1983:
Cuba–GDR Duals, n. a., 1983:
XVI Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, August 1983:
  • 1/2: Defeated Epifanio Estrada by decision
  • Finals: Lost to Aleksandr Lukstin by split decision, 2–3
North American Championships, Houston, Texas, September 1983:
XXII Playa Girón National Championships, Manzanillo, Cuba, January 1984:
  • Finals: Defeated Félix Lemus by decision
USA–Cuba Duals, Sparks Convention Center, Reno, Nevada, February 1984:
XIII Chemistry Cup, Halle, East Germany, March–April 1984:
  • 1/4: Defeated Olaf Walther KO 2
  • 1/2: Defeated Pyotr Skok RSC 1
  • Finals: Defeated Ulli Kaden by majority decision, 4–1
AIBA International Challenge, Los Angeles, California, April 1984:
Intercup, Karlsruhe, West Germany, May 1984:
  • 1/2: Defeated Karl-Heinz Geus KO 2
  • Finals: Defeated John Emmen RSC 1
Cuba–USSR Duals, Havana, Cuba, August 1984:
  • Defeated Valeriy Abadzhyan KO 2
Friendship Games, Havana, Cuba, August 1984:
  • 1/2: Defeated Ulli Kaden KO 2
  • Finals: Defeated Valeriy Abadzhyan RET 3
III TSC Tournament, Berlin, East Germany, September 1984:
XXIII Playa Girón National Championships, Nueva Gerona, Cuba, January 1985:
  • 1/4: Lost to Félix Lemus by decision
VI Military Spartakiad of the Friendly Armies of the Socialist Countries, Bydgoszcz, Poland, August 1985:
  • 1/4: Defeated Khalil Nasser by walkover
  • 1/2: Lost to Vyacheslav Yakovlev by unanimous decision, 0–5
IV TSC Tournament, Berlin, East Germany, September 1985:
  • 1/2: Defeated Sergey Kormilitsyn by unanimous decision, 5–0
  • Finals: Defeated Ulli Kaden by unanimous decision, 5–0
XXI Vaclav Prochazka Memorial, Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, October 1985:
  • 1/4: Defeated ? Baguin
  • 1/2: Defeated Ilya Iliev
  • Finals: Defeated Biaggio Chianese by walkover
XXIV Playa Girón National Championships, Havana, Cuba, January 1986:
XXXVII Strandzha Cup, Sofia, Bulgaria, February 1986:
  • 1/4: Defeated Aleksander Burmistrov by majority decision, 4–1
  • 1/2: Defeated Petar Stoimenov KO 2
  • Finals: Defeated Lachezar Kamenov by unanimous decision, 5–0
XV Chemistry Cup, Halle, East Germany, March 1986:
  • Finals: Lost to Ulli Kaden by unanimous decision, 0–5
XVII Ústí nad Labem Grand Prix Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia, March 1986:
  • 1/2: Defeated Valeriy Aseyev RSC 2
  • Finals: Defeated István Lévai by unanimous decision, 5–0
XIX Giraldo Córdova Cardín Tournament, Guantánamo, Cuba, April 1986:
  • 1/4: Lost to Osvaldo Castillo by majority decision, 1–4
World Championships, Sparks Convention Center, Reno, Nevada, May 1986:
  • 1/8: Defeated Ulli Kaden by unanimous decision, 5–0
  • 1/4: Defeated Petar Stoimenov KO 1
  • 1/2: Defeated Vyacheslav Yakovlev by majority decision, 4–1
  • Finals: Defeated Alex García RSCH 2
He finished his twenty-years-long career having 332 fights under his belt, with a record of 302 wins, 22 losses and 8 draws. Various western estimates totaling his record to 500+ fights, including there hundreds of unaccounted tough sparrings with a degree of aliveness outstanding for amateur boxing, which paid off with such an excellent career

1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics

Stevenson might have captured more gold medals for his country, but the Cuban government for purely political reasons boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Games and refused to attend the 1988 Seoul Games because North Korea was not allowed to cosponsor the event.
At his prime in the 1970s, Stevenson dominance in the amateur heavyweight division coincided with Muhammad Ali's reign as the world's heavyweight champion in professional boxing. Stevenson was often dubbed by the American media as Ali's "Communist twin", and speculations went back and forth as to their much anticipated fight if Stevenson would accept an offer to turn pro. Along with Pete Rademacher, he was the only amateur boxer who was offered a shot at the world's heavyweight title in his potential pro debut. Eventually Ali spent one week in Cuba with Stevenson, but their matchup would never happen. Stevenson, when he finally met Ali, suggested to Ali to arrange a three- or four-round fight. Ali refused to fight Stevenson's way, implying he would face him off in a standard 15-round championship bout, in which he would have an edge by outlasting his opponent. When the aging Ali was going to fight Larry Holmes in 1980, and Stevenson was making his way to the third gold medal in Moscow, Stevenson commented to the press that now it was Ali who should have insisted on a three- or four-round fight.
Stevenson turned down several lucrative offers to go pro, which came from various internationally well-known U.S. boxing kingpins, most notably from Don King and Bob Arum. King's top rival Arum almost succeeded and came the closest to pulling off an Ali-Stevenson matchup when the Cubans accepted his $1 million offer for five three-round exhibition fights. "We plan to use this money for social problems," an INDER official said at the time. But the U.S. Treasury Department did not allow the series, saying that it violated terms of the U.S. embargo against Cuba. Apart from that attempt, Arum used a Jamaican promoter, Lucien Chen, as a mediator, to propose a $1 million fight against Leon Spinks. "I envisioned a fight that would be attended by the two presidents, Fidel Castro and Jimmy Carter," Chen said.
Nevertheless, Stevenson's professional debut never did happen, because he remained loyal to the Cuban revolutionary ideals, never accepting any payday for himself, no matter how big it appeared. After knocking out three opponents at the Munich Olympics in September 1972, including Duane Bobick of the United States, Stevenson was approached by an American promoter, who offered him $1 million to turn pro on the spot. "I will not trade the Cuban people for all the dollars in the world," Stevenson was heard to say. "Stevenson would have been phenomenal as a pro, he could have been in the same class as Muhammad Ali or Joe Frazier. But we'll never know," said Don King.

Retirement

Stevenson finished his sports career in 1988. He started to work as a boxing trainer and sports functionary. He worked at the National Institute for Sports, Physical Education, and Recreation also he served as vice president of the Cuban Boxing Federation.

Later life

In 1999, Stevenson was arrested for an altercation incident at Miami International Airport where, before boarding a United Airlines chartered jet of the Cuban national boxing team, he allegedly headbutted a 41-year-old United Airlines ticket counter employee, knocking out several of his teeth. According to Stevenson, an "agitator" approached him at the airport shouting insults against the Cuban government. Stevenson failed to attend the subsequent court proceedings, having travelled to Havana after his release from custody while on bail. The Cuban state newspaper Trabajadores blamed what it described as the "Miami mafia" for provoking the incident, alleging that the Cuban American National Foundation organised a public gathering to abuse Stevenson when he returned to Miami airport after his arrest. The newspaper believed that the motives for the alleged provocation were somehow to cast a shadow upon a Cuban sports star.

Death

Stevenson died on 11 June 2012 of a heart attack in Havana at the age of 60. It was first reported by Cuban state media, stating "the Cuban sporting family was moved today by the passing of one of the greatest of all time".
He was survived by his two children.
A forthcoming documentary by Brin-Jonathan Butler, Split Decision, contains the last known interview with Stevenson.

Awards and honours