Sitting on the sidelines for nearly two years, boxing’s greatest amateur heavyweight, Erislandy Savon, continues to dominate the forums.
Some even call him number one in the world in any weight class if he ever turned pro.
The 32-year-old had 200 wins in the established ranks. Boxing is in his blood. Savon built a career in the considerable shadow of his uncle Felix.
Considered the best in his field from the unpaid ranks, he followed in the footsteps of his famous family member.
That despite not being able to win the Olympic gold medal like Felix Savon before him. Felix retired in 2000, winning three Olympic gold medals and six amateur world championships.
It should have won a fourth if Cuba had chosen to participate in the 1988 Games in Seoul.
Erislandy Savon
Riding Felix came Erislandy, who started in the sport as a child, entered the amateur ranks in 2003 and burst onto the scene in 2008.
Since then, Erislandy reached the magic mark of 200 wins. He is a massive puncher who boasts a 20% KO ratio through those bounces, an unlikely 40 per knockout.
Those statistics are unheard of, considering that a percentage of those stoppages occurred with protectors. By comparison, Anthony Joshua is the best of the current pack in lead guard stops.
Joshua managed 17%. Oleksandr Usyk only 3%. At the same time, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder achieved zero knockouts in 44 amateur fights between them.
Only achieving a bronze medal, Savon was under no pressure to emulate his uncle and win that elusive gold medal. However, his time should have been 2012, but a hometown decision robbed him, ironically against Joshua.
A hand injury sustained in the run-up to the 2020 qualifiers had initially ruled Savon out. However, the delay until 2021 gave the Cuban selection committee a new headache.
They opted for Julio César La Cruz for the Tokyo Games. He paid off with another gold medal.
close decisions
Savon has been on the wrong end of some close decisions despite his excellent performances in previous tournaments.
Joshua at the 2012 London Olympics was among the most notable at 17-16. Savon separated AJ. He hands down won the fight. The verdict went to the local fighter in London.
It also wasn’t Joshua’s only free pass in those games.
Since he was not elected for 2020 [2021], Savon is out of action. He is still young enough to compete and possesses impressive talent.
However, the greatly feared skill set may never see the light of day at paid ranks.
Probably because of his last name, there doesn’t seem to be any chance of him leaving Cuba. His family stays there.
Add to that that your Uncle Felix is greatly appreciated for not leaving. It’s an unlikely scenario for Savon.
Boxing will miss out on one of the greatest cruiserweight or heavyweight talents, well, since his uncle.
usyk fight
We can only imagine what a fight between Savon and Oleksandr Usyk would have produced. We didn’t even get a chance to see it in the fans.
When he felt the pressure to turn pro, Uncle Felix gave his reason for not taking much money.
“Cuba, since 1974, is the king of amateur boxing in the world,” he said. “That’s why the media in other countries keep asking why we don’t box professionally.
“Professionalism will abolish humanism and society. Athletes have been the most important thing in Cuba since Castro took power. We have been playing sports since we were 8 years old.”
Had Felix turned pro, he would have been in the mix with Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis, a delightful thought.
So will we ever see Erislandy trading with Joshua sans vest? – Or even Fury or Wilder – not very likely.
Even a landmark deal signed by Cuban Boxing in April 2022 hasn’t brought Savon any closer to a dream pro debut.
In all honesty, he could be a world champion right now if he challenged anyone with a title at cruiserweight.
He knocked out current WBO champion Lawrence Okolie in one round and defeated him again at the 2016 Olympics that same year in Rio.
A heavyweight charge could follow in what appears to be a dream scenario.
WBN editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. He follows WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
