World Boxing Championships : Stevenson Still a Fighter at Heart, Maybe Seoul

A lot of amateur boxing skeptics came to Reno to bury Teofilo Stevenson, not to praise him.

When it was announced that Cuba was bringing the three-time Olympic gold-medal winner and two-time world titlist to the World Championships here, many saw it as a gift to the 35-year-old Stevenson, a proper stage for his farewell to amateur boxing.

After all, he’ll be 37 in 1988. No way a 37-year-old survives in the Olympics against 24-year-olds, right?

Stevenson had lost much of his stature in recent appearances in the United States. In 1983, when he lost to American Craig Payne at the North American championships, he looked 42 instead of 32. He was overweight and slow in beating Tyrell Biggs in the 1984 USA-Cuba series in Reno.

But late Friday night, Stevenson looked 25 instead of 35 when he impressively decisioned East German Ulli Kaden. Previously, Stevenson and Kaden were 2-2 against each other.

The thundering right hand that earned Stevenson three Olympic championships was the only missing element. He found the range with his jab, body shots and an occasional uppercut to Kaden’s jaw, but never threw a big right.

Stevenson, leaner at 215 pounds than he’d been in nearly a decade, jabbed, hooked to the body and head and slipped punches like the Stevenson of Munich and Montreal. The judges had it 5-0. Two scored it 60-57, another 60-58, another 59-58, and one had it 59-59 with Stevenson the designated winner.

Stevenson boxes a bull-like Bulgarian, Petar Stoimenov, in Tuesday’s quarterfinals.

Is it possible that Stevenson could win a gold medal in Seoul after sitting out the 1984 Games? Can the legend grow even larger?

Stevenson dodged the question at a Saturday news conference.

“It is possible (I will compete),” he said with a teasing grin.

And where is the big right hand of old?

“I am trying to become a more technically well-rounded boxer,” he said. “My right hand is as strong as ever. But if a boxer enters a ring thinking he will knock someone out, he has already lost part of the bout. It is like baseball: A hitter who tries to hit a home run every time is not efficient. Young athletes try to do everything by force because it is easy. As athletes grow older, they learn and develop more technique.”

Lastly, Prof. Stevenson said there are 35-year-olds and there are 35-year-olds.

“Biologically, athletes are different,” he said. “Some athletes do well at a young age but lose their skills more quickly. Other athletes, as they grow older, lose skills at a much slower rate.”

The United States team lost its third and fourth consecutive 3-2 decisions Saturday.

The Americans slipped to 2-5 in the tournament, while a powerful Cuban team was 10-0 going into late matches at night.

American light-welterweight Nick Kakouris lost at night to West German Alexander Kuenzler in the U.S. team’s fourth straight 3-2 verdict. In the day session, light-flyweight Brian Lonon lost by the same vote to Hamilton Jose Rodrigues of Brazil.

The pattern developing at the championships goes something like this: If an American is involved in a bout and it’s close, forget it.

Grumbled one U.S. boxing official: “They’re (international judges) getting back at us for all those gold medals in L.A. It looks like our kids have to knock everyone out to win here.”

The Kakouris-Kuenzler bout seemed close to most ringsiders. Two judges had it 60-57 for Kakouris, and three had it 59-58 for the West German.

“I knew it was close, but I thought I landed the harder shots,” said Kakouris, who suffered a bad nose cut. “He caught me with a lot of little stuff and I was catchin’ it. I guess I need to be busier in there.”

The U.S. delegation was more upset with the scoring in Lonon’s bout. The 106-pound American started in busy fashion, charging Rodrigues effectively with a two-fisted attack that for most of the first round had the Brazilian confused. Late in the first, it appeared that Lonon had been too busy. He tired and took a couple of shots to the head.

Rodrigues started quickly in the second with a slugging attack of his own. By the end of the second round, Lonon seemed to be punched out.

Lonon showed not a trace of outrage when the 3-2 decision for Rodrigues was announced. But afterward, the boxer and his coach, Ken Adams, unloaded on the the judges.

“All of us on the American team now know that we have to win big or by knockout to win here,” Lonon said. “It’s a disadvantage, having the World Championships here. The judges go out of their way to show they’re not favoring us.”

Adams is the assistant coach under Pat Nappi for the U.S. World Championships team and is Lonon’s Army coach at Ft. Hood, Tex.

“It’s a shame,” Adams said. “Brian won the first round big and won the second, too. We’re not going to get the close decisions, that’s all. It’s a conspiracy. It’s a shame. Our kids have worked so hard--these are the kids who weren’t quite ready for the ’84 Olympics but who’ve worked for two years for this tournament.”

Nappi, 69, head coach of the 1976, ’80 and ’84 U.S. Olympic boxing teams, said Saturday that he will not coach the U.S. Olympic team in 1988.

“I’d like to help prepare our boxers for Seoul, but I absolutely will not be the head coach,” he said. “It’s time someone else had a chance.”