Cuba says goodbye to boxing legend

 HAVANA, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Cuban boxing legend Teofilo Stevenson was buried with honors Tuesday at Havana's Christopher Columbus Cemetery¹.

The three-time Olympic and World amateur boxing champion died suddenly Monday at the age of 60 from a heart attack.

State-run media devoted² much of its coverage³ Monday and Tuesday to remembering Stevenson's two-decade career in the ring as one of only three boxers⁵ ever to win three Olympic gold medals. He shared the rare achievement with fellow Cuban Felix Savon and Hungarian Laszlo Papp.

Stevenson was famous, and loved, not just for his boxing abilities, but also for his loyalty⁶ to the sport and his country, repeatedly rejecting offers of big money in exchange for leaving Cuba and turning pro⁷ in the United States.

Fans, family and friends gathered at the cemetery Tuesday to pay tribute to the heavyweight considered to be the best amateur boxer⁴ in history. Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and his brother and current head of government Raul Castro sent wreaths and instructed the coffin⁸ be covered with a Cuban flag.

Stevenson was born on March 29, 1952 in the town of Puerto Padre, in the eastern province of Las Tunas. He went on to win 301 of his 321 fights and was known around the world for his devastating⁹ right punch, his technique and speed.

He dominated the heavyweight division, collecting all the titles given by the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA), including the top Olympic titles in Munich 1972, Montreal 1976 and Moscow 1980, and the top World titles in Havana 1974, Belgrade 1978 and Reno 1986.

Stevenson achieved spectacular knockout victories against such high-caliber rivals as Americans Duane Bobick and Marvin Stinson, Poland's Ludwik Denderys, Romania's Ion Alexe and Peter Sommer from the former Czechoslovakia.

At Munich, Stevenson went up against Bobick, who was coming from a streak¹⁰ of 62 consecutive¹¹ victories. Bobick was being hyped by the U.S. media as the new "white hope" and was just waiting to garner¹² the Olympic gold medal before turning pro and signing a multimillion-dollar contract.

The fight was held on Sept. 5 and broadcasted live on Cuban television. The first round was a draw, and Bobick won the second round, but in the third round Stevenson floored the U.S. fighter three times.

After that win, still considered his most memorable¹³, Stevenson was beset¹⁴ by talent scouts¹⁵ and fight promoters offering him millions to leave Cuba and fight professionally in the United States.

Stevenson said the love and admiration¹⁶ of 8 million Cubans was worth more than any amount of money.

"I would not trade any little piece of Cuba for all the money you could offer," he once said.

His toughest opponent was the Soviet¹⁷ Igor Vysotskiy, who defeated him twice without ever having given him the chance for revenge.

Though there was talk of a match between Stevenson and Muhammad Ali, unofficially dubbed¹⁸ as the "Fight of the Century," the fight never took place because, among other things, Cuban sports authorities demanded the match be guided by amateur boxing rules.

"Ali has said several times that the fight would have been a draw and I think so, too," said Stevenson.

Emmanuel Steward¹⁹, a veteran trainer of numerous professional boxing champions, said Stevenson "is the most perfectly²⁰ balanced fighter I have ever seen."

He received several national and international awards and recognitions, including being named one of the top 10 athletes of the 20th century by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

In addition to his killer²¹ punch and grace, despite being a heavyweight, Stevenson was known for his sportsmanship, which won him the Fair Play Trophy²² of the AIBA.

Stevenson was "a living example in boxing," said Savon, also a three-time Olympic champion, at Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.

Alcides Sagarra, the coach who helped Stevenson garner the World gold medal, said Monday "the world has lost one of the most famous boxers in history, not only for his qualities in the ring, but for his humanity."

Stevenson retired²³ from the ring in 1988, but continued to serve the boxing world. At the time of his death, he was Vice²⁴ President of the Cuban Boxing Federation²⁵ (FCB).

1 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

2 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

3 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

4 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

5 boxers   

n.拳击短裤；（尤指职业）拳击手( boxer的名词复数 )；拳师狗

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boxers slugged it out to the finish. 两名拳击手最后决出了胜负。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

7 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

8 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

9 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

10 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

11 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

12 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

13 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

14 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

15 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

16 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

17 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

18 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 steward   

n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员

参考例句：

• He's the steward of the club.他是这家俱乐部的管理员。
• He went around the world as a ship's steward.他当客船服务员，到过世界各地。

20 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

21 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

22 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

23 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

24 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

25 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。