Teofilo Stevenson

The legend lives . . . for another day, at least. Amateur boxing's Babe Ruth, Teofilo Stevenson, began a drive for a fourth Olympic gold medal at Seoul in 1988 with a 5-0 decision over East German Ulli Kaden Friday night at the World Championships of amateur boxing. The 6-6 Stevenson, 35, trying for his third world title, showed up weighing a lean, trim 211 pounds. He moved well throughout the bout, scoring repeatedly with left jabs and body shots.

One recent night at the Olympic boxing venue, U.S. basketball players Magic Johnson, Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley dropped in to watch 10 or so bouts. Armed security men surrounded the group, automatic weapons at the ready, and created a small island of privacy for them. But a tall, graceful man with a pleasant smile appeared, and the guards let him pass.

In a year when old is in, it's only appropriate that amateur boxing's world champion in the sport's most prestigious weight class, the super-heavyweights, is not only the oldest of them all, but, at 35, still the best. Cuba's Teofilo Stevenson was a kid when he won a gold medal at the 1972 Olympic Games, a champion at the peak of his career when he did it again in 1976 and 1980.

When Nelson Mandela, having gained his freedom from political imprisonment in South Africa, was able to indulge his long-held wish to visit Cuba shortly before the start of the Pan American Games, he told Fidel Castro that there was one man in particular he was eager to meet: Teofilo Stevenson. Some time ago, the great Teofilo--pronounced tee-AH-fa-lo --was the three-time Olympic gold medalist who forswore the capital gains of a capitalist society.

Four years ago this week, the world's best amateur boxers gathered in Munich, West Germany. Two Americans--Mark Breland and Tyrell Biggs--won world championships. Twenty-seven months later, those two, plus seven other Americans, won gold medals at the Los Angeles Olympics. Today, the cycle will begin anew at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, where 235 boxers from 37 countries begin the 11-day World Championships, providing a peek at the boxing prospects for the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Three-time Olympic heavyweight champion Teofilo Stevenson, 36, of Cuba, who turned down million-dollar offers to turn professional, announced his retirement.

One recent night at the Olympic boxing venue, U.S. basketball players Magic Johnson, Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley dropped in to watch 10 or so bouts. Armed security men surrounded the group, automatic weapons at the ready, and created a small island of privacy for them. But a tall, graceful man with a pleasant smile appeared, and the guards let him pass.

The Cubans released a roster of the boxing team they're sending to Indianapolis for the Pan American Games, and a very big name was missing Tuesday. Teofilo Stevenson, 36, the dominant figure in the history of amateur boxing, the three-time Olympic champion Cubans call El Gigante, didn't make the traveling squad. Recent reports from Cuba have it that Stevenson has problems on both the legal and sports fronts. U.S.

Three-time Olympic heavyweight champion Teofilo Stevenson, 36, of Cuba, who turned down million-dollar offers to turn professional, announced his retirement.

Raul Amado Villanueva Torres, president of the Cuban boxing federation, said Monday that super-heavyweight boxer Teofilo Stevenson was not at fault in the automobile-motorcyle accident this summer in Cuba that left one person dead. "There was no legal fault, but he is waiting for justice," Villanueva said, meaning that Stevenson still must appear in court.

The Cubans released a roster of the boxing team they're sending to Indianapolis for the Pan American Games, and a very big name was missing Tuesday. Teofilo Stevenson, 36, the dominant figure in the history of amateur boxing, the three-time Olympic champion Cubans call El Gigante, didn't make the traveling squad. Recent reports from Cuba have it that Stevenson has problems on both the legal and sports fronts. U.S.

In a year when old is in, it's only appropriate that amateur boxing's world champion in the sport's most prestigious weight class, the super-heavyweights, is not only the oldest of them all, but, at 35, still the best. Cuba's Teofilo Stevenson was a kid when he won a gold medal at the 1972 Olympic Games, a champion at the peak of his career when he did it again in 1976 and 1980.

Raul Amado Villanueva Torres, president of the Cuban boxing federation, said Monday that super-heavyweight boxer Teofilo Stevenson was not at fault in the automobile-motorcyle accident this summer in Cuba that left one person dead. "There was no legal fault, but he is waiting for justice," Villanueva said, meaning that Stevenson still must appear in court.

The Cuban hammer is back. But Cuba's winning streak ended Tuesday at amateur boxing's World Championships. Teofilo Stevenson reached back a couple of Olympiads for his fabled right hand and used it twice to score a knockout of a Bulgarian super-heavyweight in two minutes flat, and put himself in Friday's semifinals. Stevenson's first-round afternoon victory was Cuba's 20th straight at the tournament.