Lazlo Papp was the first. Only two have been
able to equal his deed: Teófilo Stevenson and Félix
Savón. These three men are the only ones in the history
of boxing to conquer three Olympic gold medals.
The latter (6'6''), born in the Guantanamo province, established
this record in the games of Barcelona'92, Atlanta'96, and Sydney'00.
In addition, he holds six titles from his participation in the
same amount of world championships, an unattainable figure to
any other boxer since the instauration of this kind of competition,
precisely in Havana, in 1974.
His life as a successful boxer totals 592 victories against
17 defeats, in 15 years in the summit of world class boxing,
which he first reached in 1984.
Fourteen belts grant him the honor of being the highest winner
in the traditional Giraldo Córdova Cardín tournaments.
His showcases are full of medals won in Pan-american Games,
Central American and Caribbean Games, World Cups, challenger
matches, and other numberless tournaments where he took part,
always in the heavyweight category.
Professor Alcides Sagarra Carón was his teacher inside
and outside the ring. Nowadays, having 5 sons and daughters
(four of them constituting two couples of twins) he acts as
part of the training staff of the Cuban national boxing team.
Had it not existed the regulation that sets the maximum age
of active boxers in 32 years, Félix Savón would
still be obtaining the good results he had accustomed us to.
In spite of that, he has already granted himself a position
among the greatest of amateur boxing.