Teofilo Stevenson Pro Simulation

[professordp]

The quality of gold: Teofilo Stevenson (left) demonstrated that not all gold is of equal value by stopping Leon Spinks (right) in five rounds.

[professordp]

WBDZ RADIO
January 19, 1979
1:37 p.m. (EST)

Breaking news

Muhammad Ali to Defend Title!

WBA Heavywieight Champion Muhammad Ali defends his title against South African Kallie Knoetze in May. Olympic gold medalist Teofilo Stevenson will meet another South African, Gerrie Coetzee, for a twelve round match on the undercard. The winners will fight for the WBA crown later in the year.

More details on the hour.

[CONN CHRIS]

The plot thickens!

[Mad Bomber]

Very interesting.


Greg

[professordp]

CounterPunch
February 1979

"Arum Out-Flanks King"

by Skip Bailey

The Scottish poet Robert Burns once wrote that "the best laid schemes of mice and men oft go awry." This is certainly an apt description of the circumstances where boxing promotor Don King now finds himself.

During the past year King was poised to monopilize the heavyweight division. He used his clout with the WBC to tear away a chunk of the heavyweight crown and hand it to Ken Norton, a fighter in his stable. When Norton lost the title later in the year, it was to another King boxer,
Larry Holmes.

Taking a hardline with Ali, King assumed that he could force the Greatest to retire, rendering the WBA crown of little value and making Holmes pretty much the universal champion. Bottom line, all championship shots would have to pass through King.

Don left few loose threads, but that was all his arch-rival Bob Arum needed to tie King down. As it stands now, King, the ultimate boxing insider, is pretty much on the outside looking in.

Here's how Arum did it. First, he enticed Ali to keep his title and stay active by offering him matches that promised a larger purse and less challenging opponents.

Second, he convinced Fidel Castro he could do much better for Teofilo Stevenson than King. Unlike King's conditions, Arum offered Stevenson a path to a title that didn't include an eliminator with Norton or Earnie Shavers.

Also, he'd most likely face Ali for the title, an opponent who enjoys instant recognition throughout the world. Losing to Ali would carry no shame and defeating him would place Stevenson in the center of the boxing universe.

Coetzee and Knoetze were pretty much frozen out by King who bought into the anti-aparthied sanctions against South Africa. One of Castro's major objectives was to have Stevenson in the ring against a South African fighter. A victory by Stevenson would give Castro some propaganda value in light of Cuba's growing military presence in Angola.

The fights will be held in Monte Carlo, one of the few places where the South Africans can get a venue outside their homeland. Regardless of how this plays out on fight night, which will be May 23rd, Arum will walk away a big winner.

Of course the best scenario is for Ali and Stevenson to win their matches and face off for the title later in the year. This would give Arum the biggest heavyweight match since Ali met Frazier in Manila.

If either of them lose, there's still a pretty good market for a match against either Coetzee or Knoetze. Arum is a skillful promoter and is very much capable of milking the aparthied angle to maximize the gate.

Even under the worse conditions, should the two South Africans fight for the title, there's a local storyline that he could plumb in their homeland.

But if things work Arum's way, and Ali defends against Stevenson, King would be sitting on a heavyweight title of limited value. If Ali prevails, he'd certainly retire. That would set the stage for a WBA eliminator series that would generate a lot of interest and a ton of money.

Should Stevenson walk away with the title, Holmes would be pretty much eclipsed. Arum has already taken steps to attract younger heavyweights like John Tate and Spinks to his side, and he'll still have the South Africans.

In contrast, King will be left with Holmes, Norton, and Shavers plus a group of less than deserving "contenders."

As I noted a few months ago, the catch phrase for the heavyweight division in 1979 is "out with the old and in with the new."

See you next month!

[professordp]

Boxing promotor Don King (left) was poised to monoplize the heavyweight division until he was out-flanked by arch-rival Bob Arum (right)

[Mad Bomber]

Excellent article, and way to go Bob. King had it coming.


Greg

[javier_83]

lets go, teofilo vs ali, right now!!

[Jersey-Jim]

Hey, I've been gone for a few weeks and have some catching up to do in the reading department!

[professordp]

Originally Posted by Jersey-Jim

Hey, I've been gone for a few weeks and have some catching up to do in the reading department!

Glad to see you're back--I was worried that someone gave you some bad "grape ice" in Newark---LOL!

[Jersey-Jim]

Originally Posted by professordp

Glad to see you're back--I was worried that someone gave you some bad "grape ice" in Newark---LOL!

Thanks, it was nothing THAT bad .
I'm going to try my hand at some Fight Night Round 3 in just a moment. Everyone please wish me the best if you're reading this!

[professordp]

CounterPunch
May 1979

"Ali and Stevenson Win in Title Match Preview"

by Skip Bailey


Among the nearly twenty thousand who packed Monte Carlo's Stade Louis II most of the ringside chatter centered around an anticipated match rather than the bouts taking place. In many respects, Gerrie Coetzee and Kallie Knoetze were little more than props in a dry run for the much awaited title bout between Muhammad Ali and Teofilo Stevenson.

I don't want to be dismissive of the two South Africans. They both came prepared and fought game battles with their respective opponents. But in the end, their primary function was to bring out the sterngths and weaknesses of the men they faced.

Ali KOs Knoetze in Seventh

Sporting an observable paunch, a less than peak Ali was able to put tough Kallie Knoetze away in the seventh round and retain his WBA title. Overall, the contest was a lopsided affair. Although the South African was game, he lacked the skills to pose a serious threat to the champion.

As has been the case in his recent matches, Ali was content to clinch during the first part of each round then come to life near the end to impress the judges. The strategem worked again with Ali winning all of the rounds with the exception of the fifth.

For his part, Knoetze was pretty much a stationary target for the champ. He attempted to rough Ali up on the indside but generally failed in his efforts. Knoetze walked into a left hook near the end of the fourth frame and was sent to the canvas.

In the sixth both fighters suffered noticiable damage. After five rounds of tasting Ali's jabs and occasional crosses, Knoetze's left eye started to swell. As the round drew to a close, Kallie tagged Ali with a cross that caused a small cut outside the champion's right eye.

Ali benefited from having Chuck Bodak as cutman, and the bleeding was stopped. Knoetze was not so fortunate between rounds. If anything, the swelling became worse and was a factor in the final round.

When the fighters came out for the seventh, Ali took full advantage of the situation and peppered Kallie with jabs, crosses, and combinations. With increased vision problems, Knoetze was unable to mount a defense or land many blows.

Using the jab to set up his cross, Ali staggered Knoetze and fired a hook that put the South African down again. This time Jay Edson counted him out at 2:44 of the round.

Missing from the bout was any sustained footwork by Ali. The hand speed, defensive skills, and the iron jaw, all Ali trademarks, were present. The legs were not.

It's interesting to note that there was somewhat of a stylistic change for the champion. Normally known as a headhunter, Ali concentrated much of his attack on his opponent's body. Obviously, there's been much speculation what this means with regard to his bout with Stevenson. Only time will tell.

Stevenson Stops Coetzee in Twelve

In contrast to the clinch-ridden championship contest, Stevenson's bout with Gerrie Coetzee turned out to be an old-fashioned slugfest. From the opening bell, both fighters traded brutal blows with the big Cuban usually getting the best of the exchanges.

While the scorecards for eleven rounds show that Stevenson won all but two of the frames, the fight was much closer. And in the last round, referee Rudy Ortega halted the fight with Coetzee still standing and clear-headed.

Although visiting the canvas near the bell in the third round, Coetzee's cause came to an unfortunate climax due to eye damage. In the fourth his left eye began to swell and in the following round Stevenson opened up a cut directly over the right eyebrow. As the match wore on, both injuries worsened.

By the end of the seventh, Coetzee's left eye was pretty much shut making him a sitting duck for Stevenson's varied arsenel of punches. Still, Gerrie fought on and was able to nail Stevenson with some very telling shots.

At the start of the ninth, Stevenson appeared to be a little winded and tried to pace himself for the the remainder of the match. After the tenth round, much of the steam had gone out of his punches.

But Coetzee's condition was rapidly deteriorating at the same time. His left eye was a total mess, the cut over his right eye reopend, and his punches began to lack authority.

Stevenson had him in serious trouble near the end of the eleventh, and at 0:44 of the final round, Ortega wisely stepped in as blood was spurting from the cut.

Once again, Stevenson demonstrated that he can take a punch. Coetzee nailed Teofilo with shots that would have dumped the average heavyweight. Stevenson took them and replied in kind.

With the match almost going the full twelve rounds, the debate over Stevenson's stamina raged once again. Although trainer Alcides Saggara had his man conserve energy, the Cuban began to slow down by the ninth round. This is obviously a problem that Sagarra must address before Stevenson steps into the ring with Ali.

We know when they will meet- it will be August 27th. But we don't know where. Arum couldn't set up a venue prior to the match due to the possibility of one of the South Africans scoring a win. Anti-aparthied sanctions have made South African fighters welcome in a very limited number of places.

One thing we do know for certain is that the Ali-Stevenson bout will not be held in the United States. As part of the anit-Castro embargo, Stevenson has been unable to secure a visa to fight professionals in America.

And just in case you're interested, Larry Holmes will be defending his WBC version of the heavyweight crown next month against Mike Weaver. Do you think that Don King might be just a little green with envy?

See you next month!

[professordp]

Nearly 20,000 fans packed Monte Carlo's Stade II (left) for a preview of the upcoming match between Muhammad Ali (center) and Teofilo Stevenson (right).

[Mad Bomber]

I'm chomping at the bit in anticipation of this one, as the aging champion takes on the young superstar, and we will see if Stevenson has enough to defeat the elder champion.

Greg

[professordp]

Originally Posted by Mad Bomber

I'm chomping at the bit in anticipation of this one, as the aging champion takes on the young superstar, and we will see if Stevenson has enough to defeat the elder champion.

Greg

That makes two of us! Most likely, I'll be doing the sim and posting it before the week is out. I really need to set aside at least two hours and savour the match. To some extent, it is sort of the climax (not necessarily the end) of the thread.

Prior to the fight, there will be the experts' (boxers, writers, referees, and trainers) giving their predictions in the July issue of CounterPunch.

[professordp]

CounterPunch

July 1979

"Experts Pick Ali-Stevenson Winner"

by Skip Bailey

I've gathered ten of boxing's most insightful observers and sounded each one out for their predictions for next month's title bout between Muhammad Ali and Teofilo Stevenson.

[professordp]

Gil Clancy (trainer and boxing analyist)

Ali's one of those few fighters where you have to ignore his last fight to get a fix on what he'll do in the next one. Don't make too much of the fact that he was in less than peak shape against Knoetze.

I know that it drives Angie Dundee crazy sometimes, but Ali only trains hard enough to beat his opponent. He got caught short in the first Spinks match but made the correction the next time around.

He'll be listening to everything Angie tells him this time. You can expect Muhammad to enter the ring in top condition agaisnt Stevenson.

Stevenson is always in great conditon, and Sagarra is one of the best trainers in the world. But that just won't be enough. Stevenson's stamina problem is not physical, it's mental. He still hasn't learned how to pace himself against the pros.

By the tenth round, Stevenson will be totally out of steam, and Ali will stop him no later than the twelth round.

[professordp]

Floyd Patterson (former heavywieght champion and boxing commissioner:

Age can catch up to a fighter in different ways. Sometimes you still have it one night and then in the next fight everything is gone. Other times you lose your skills slowly over a period of time.

Ali's been a great fighter, but he's not Superman. Ever since his last fight with Joe Frazier four years ago, he's not been the same. With each fight, he's less and less of the boxer he once was.

Stevenson is just too big, strong, talented, and young. I expect that he'll stop Muhammad by the tenth round.

[professordp]

Jose Torres (former light heavyweight champion and author)

Stevenson has a real problem in this match. How does he fight Ali? If he gets aggressive early, he runs the risk of tiring in the later rounds. On the other hand, he really can't beat Ali by boxing him. Stevenson's has some good boxing skills but Ali's is superior.

You really have to question Stevenson's talent. He really hasn't fought many good men. Those that he did fight were pretty much past their prime.

More importantly, Stevenson has had problems with guys who can box. He lost to Lucien Rodriguez and looked pretty bad against Randy Stephens.

Muhammad will give him a real boxing lesson and stop him in the later rounds.

[professordp]

Jerry Quarry (heavyweight contender and boxing commentator)

Ali should have retired after his last fight with Frazier. He's never been the same since. Ali's greatest asset was his legs--they were the key to his offense and his defense. His legs are gone now.

I can tell you first hand, Stevenson can hit hard, and he hits you a lot. In the past few years, Ali's taken more and more shots. That takes a toll on you. There's no way he'll absorb the kind of punishment that Stevenson can dish out.

I don't see the fight going beyond eight rounds, and Stevenson will win by a knockout.