Savon, Felix

▪ 2001

      Cuban heavyweight boxer Felix Savon won his third Olympic gold medal with a 21–13 decision over Russia's Sultanakhmed Ibragimov at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Savon became only the third fighter in history to win three gold medals and the second to win all three in the same weight class. His performance, and much of his career leading up to it, bore a striking resemblance to that of his countryman heavyweight Teófilo Stevenson, who 20 years earlier—at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow—vanquished a Russian to become the first boxer to win gold three times in the same weight class. Like Stevenson in 1980, Savon entered the 2000 Games with a fading reputation after having dominated the sport for many years—he was no longer the overwhelming favourite to win the gold. With blood flowing from a cut under his eye suffered during his semifinal match with German Sebastian Köber, Savon withstood a late attack by Ibragimov to win the title.

      Félix Savón Fabré was born on April 22, 1967, in San Vicente, Cuba. He rose to prominence in 1985 when he won the heavyweight title at the world junior championships. A year later he won the world championship, a feat he would repeat five more times (1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, and 1997), and he claimed Olympic titles in 1992 and 1996. He complemented those titles with first-place finishes in the Pan American Games (1987, 1991, and 1995) and the Goodwill Games (1990, 1994, and 1998). His first sign of weakness came in the final match of the world championships in 1997, where he was soundly defeated by Rustam Chagayev of Uzbekistan. Chagayev, however, was later disqualified because of violations of his amateur status, and Savon was awarded the victory. Savon was scheduled to fight in the final of the 1999 world championships, but he pulled out of the match after the Cuban delegation claimed it had been the victim of several questionable decisions during the competition.

      At 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) and 91 kg (201 lbs), Savon had the power to crush opponents. He was tapped by Fidel Castro to carry the Cuban flag at the opening of the 2000 Games. Just as Stevenson had done a generation before, Savon shunned the professional circuit entirely. Politics also played a role in Savon's career. Whereas Stevenson never had a shot at a fourth gold medal, owing to Cuba's boycott of the 1984 Games, Savon would almost certainly have won his fourth gold in Sydney, but a Cuban boycott in 1988 kept him out of the Games when he was at the height of his powers. An International Amateur Boxing Association rule prohibiting amateur boxers from competing beyond their 34th birthday meant that Savon faced retirement in 2001.

Anthony G. Craine

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▪ Cuban boxer

in full  Felix Savón Fabré 

born April 22, 1967, San Vicente, Cuba

 

 Cuban heavyweight boxer, who became the second fighter to win three Olympic gold medals in the same weight class and the first to capture six world amateur boxing titles.

      Savón, an imposing contender 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 metres) tall, rose to prominence in 1985 when he captured the heavyweight title at the world junior championships. A year later he won the world championship, a feat he repeated in 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, and 1997. Unable to compete at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, because of a Cuban boycott, he made his Olympic debut at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Spain, where he won a gold medal. He defended his title at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, and, with his gold medal performance at the Games in Sydney, Australia, in 2000, Savón matched the feat of fellow countryman Teófilo Stevenson (Stevenson, Teófilo), who was the first boxer to win three gold medals in the same weight class. Savón also recorded first-place finishes in the Pan American Games (1987, 1991, and 1995) and the Goodwill Games (1990, 1994, and 1998). Scheduled to fight in the final of the 1999 world championships, he pulled out of the match after the Cuban delegation claimed that it had been the victim of several questionable decisions during the competition.

      Savón turned down numerous offers to box professionally and was forced to retire in 2001 because of an International Amateur Boxing Association rule that prohibited amateurs from competing beyond their 34th birthday. He then became the coach of the Cuban national team, which won medals—including five gold—in 8 of the 11 weight classes at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

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