Super-Heavyweight (>91 kilograms), Men

The last three gold medals in this class had been won by Cuba’s Teófilo Stevenson, likely the greatest amateur heavyweight of all-time, and he had also been World Champion in 1974 and 1978. He had fought at the 1982 World Championships, which were won by American Tyrell Biggs, but the Cuban suffered a rare loss in the quarter-finals to Italy’s Francesco Damiani. With Stevenson not available because of the Soviet-led boycott, this division was effectively a junior varsity tournament. But that did not stop Biggs, who won the gold medal, defeating Damiani in the final. Biggs had also beaten Canada’s Lennox Lewis in the quarter-finals, but Lewis would return in 1988 to win the Olympic gold medal and go on to become world professional heavyweight champion for various organizations from 1992-2003. Damiani also turned professional and won the WBO world heavyweight crown (1989-91), defeating Biggs in 1988 in a re-match. Biggs professional career never amounted to much. He fought Mike Tyson in 1987 for the world title, but got hammered, losing by TKO in the seventh, and Tyson said he carried him so he could inflict more damage because he did not like Biggs. Biggs retired after 1998 with a pro record of 30-10. In 1986 Teófilo Stevenson won the World Championship for a third time, and then retired. The 1984 Soviet boycott likely prevented him from becoming the only boxer to win four Olympic gold medals.