RIP Teofilo Stevenson

Watching the giant Teofilo Stevenson was some of the earliest Olympics that I took in as a child. There was a 3- or 4-minute piece here and there, perhaps voiced by Jim McKay, that documented his life and what it was like living in Castro's Cuba.
To me at that time, he was seemingly unbeatable.
RIP, Great One.

 

Here's an Olympic moment where Cosell interviews Big John Tate prior to the his bout with Stevenson. The ensuing match is also shown on this link.

 

Devastating puncher. I remember his victories of Duane Bobick and big John Tate in the Olympics. Simply the best. Rest In Power.

 

He's definitely one of those who you can't help but wonder how good he'd have been had he been allowed to turn pro. I definitely think he'd have been a title contender (if not champion) and certainly one of the top 15-20 heavyweights of all time. RIP to one of the best boxing big men of all time (amateur or pro).

 

Wow, Big John Tate there is a name from the past. The man Bob Arum said might be the best heavyweight since Joe Louis.

 

In 1998, shortly after Tate died, I was at a fight at Foxwoods. I asked the ring announcer, Mark Biero, if they were going to do a 10-count. He said that because of time constraints, they couldn't, but they may crash a car in his honor.

 

Wow, great story. Beiro is a funny guy, he used to frequent a boxing message board I was on and we exchanged emails for a while. Sad to see diabetes had robbed him of his sight.

 

I remember Big John falling out on the canvas face first against Mike Weaver. At the time, Tate was winning and all he had to do was hang on in the 15th and final round and he would get a shot at Ali. Just one more minute. Then pow, he got hammered and fell like a big tree. He was out cold.

 

Not trying to hijack the thread, but thanks for posting the video of Tate-Weaver. Good stuff and got to love Keith Jackson on the commentary. That is Keith Jackson, right?

 

Nice KO. Just nailed him with a big right and that was it. Thanks for posting this.

 

I was at that match at Stokely Athletic Center in Knoxville-I was in sixth grade. It was his first and only defense of the belt. IIRC, Ali had vacated the belt(s) because he didn't fight the number one contender within a year's time, so eventually, Tate got the belt with Ace Miller in his corner.

Tate's life-and career-went down the shitter after that night. Stevenson was the only man who'd ever put Tate on the deck before that. He was driving a truck and had a heart attack from behind the wheel and plowed straight into a utility pole. I don't think anyone in Knoxville was surprised.

 

Didn't Tate get really heavily into drugs, which played a major role in his heart attack?