100 Olympic Tidbits: Felix Savon, the Other Great Cuban Boxer

Cuban Felix Savon was the best amateur heavyweight boxer in the 1990s. He won three Olympic gold medals, a feat he shares with only two others – his late compatriot Teofilo Stevenson and Hungary’s Laszlo Papp.

Savon grew up idolizing Stevenson, who also campaigned in the heavyweight division. Like his idol, Savon resisted offers to turn professional, choosing to remain an amateur and staying in Cuba even after his retirement.

Savon was so dominant in the three Olympic Games he competed in – Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney – that only twice in 14 Olympic matches did his winning margin dip below double digits. In his three gold medal matches, his combined winning margin over his opponents was a staggering 55-16: in 1992 he pummeled Nigeria’s David Izonritei 14-1, in 1996 he walloped Canada’s David Defiagbon 20-2, and in 2000 he outclassed Russia's Sultan Ibragimov, 21-13.

Aside from his Olympic success, Savon also won six gold medals in the world championships. He retired after the Sydney Olympics with an overall amateur record of 362-21.

Editor's Note: To celebrate the 100-day countdown to the London Games, we will be publishing 100 tidbits about the Olympics. Come back to Yahoo! PH Sports, as we publish a new tidbit every day.