Obituary: Teofilo Stevenson, boxer - Obituaries - Scotsman.com Born: 29 March, 1952, in Las Tunas, Cuba. Died: 11 June, 2012, in Havana, Cuba, aged 60. WITHOUT doubt one of the most accomplished heavyweight boxers of all time, Teofilo Stevenson was also one of the greatest Olympic athletes ever to grace the games. A national icon in Cuba, where boxing is rivalled only by baseball in terms of sporting popularity, three-times gold medallist Stevenson's death from a heart attack at the age of 60 yesterday was a source of sorrow across his homeland and throughout the Olympic movement. Stevenson began boxing at the age of nine, encouraged by his father but without his mother's knowledge. When his precocious talent began to emerge, his mother initially attempted to prevent him pursuing the sport but ultimately relented. With the Cuban national boxing programme state-sponsored, following the outlawing of professional sport by Fidel Castro's Communist regime, Stevenson was soon identified as one of the brightest products of what would prove to be an astoundingly effective training system. At the age of 20, Stevenson was named as Cuba's heavyweight representative for the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Technically outstanding, working off a piercing left jab which was complemented by a powerful right hook, Stevenson caught worldwide attention for the first time when he stopped his more experienced Polish opponent in the first round of his opening bout. A sensational performance against pre-tournament favourite Duane Bobick of the USA followed, Stevenson flooring him three times before the bout was stopped in the third round. After another stoppage win over Peter Hussing of West Germany in the semi-finals, Stevenson collected the gold medal without throwing a punch when his final opponent, Ion Alexe of Romania, withdrew because of injury. By then, however, no-one was in any doubt the big Cuban would have lifted the title regardless. Stevenson was now an international star and added the world amateur title to his Olympic crown two years later. Leading American promoters were desperate to tempt him to defect from Cuba and turn professional to engage in what would have been hugely lucrative bouts against the heavyweight stars of the time, such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and George Foreman. Both Frazier (1964) and Foreman (1968) had won heavyweight gold at the Olympics for the US. Ali won gold in 1960 as a light heavyweight. But Stevenson always resisted, regardless of the amount of money on offer, stating on one occasion: "What are $8 million compared to the love of eight million Cubans?." Loved he unquestionably was, his status enhanced by every major tournament success. He retained his Olympic title in Montreal in 1976, winning all of his bouts by stoppage, including a stunning first round triumph over future WBA world champion John Tate of the USA in the semi-finals. The world amateur title was retained in Belgrade in 1978, before Stevenson completed a hat-trick of Olympic gold medal wins in Moscow two years later. He became only the second boxer in history, after Hungarian middleweight Laszlo Papp, to achieve the feat. Stevenson would have been likely to set a new record of four Olympic golds had he been able to compete at the 1984 games in Los Angeles but Cuba backed the Soviet Union in boycotting the event at the height of the Cold War, and following a US boycott of the 1980 Games in Moscow. He won his final major honour in 1986, stepping up to the super-heavyweight division and becoming a world amateur champion for the third time when he defeated American Alex Garcia in the final in Reno. Known affectionately in Cuba by the nickname "Pirolo," Stevenson spent time working for the country's boxing federation after hanging up his gloves and also coached at its national sports institute. In January this year, Stevenson spent 15 days in intensive care after doctors detected a clot in an artery near his heart. He was released in early February and was surprised at the outpouring of media reports that his condition was grave. "People called me from all over Cuba, from other parts of the world, even from Miami," Stevenson said at the time. When his death was announced on Cuban television yesterday, no official cause was given, but it later emerged he had suffered heart failure. "The Cuban sporting family was moved today by the passing of one of the greatest of all time," said a government statement.