The 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials saw future contender Rockin' Robin Blake beat Joe Manley in the quarterfinals at 132 pounds before losing in the semis to future 140-pound champ Frankie "The Surgeon" Randall.
The 1997 World Junior Olympic Championships in Mexico City, Mexico (15-16 age division) saw Ricardo Williams win a clean decision over Puerto Rico’s former two-division title holder Miguel Cotto. Williams did not lose a whole lot of fights as an amateur – that much we know. However, one guy who he beat – in a VERY disputed and controversial decision – was future (2004) U.S. Olympian Rock Allen of Philly at the ‘97 National PAL.
Cotto, meanwhile, defeated Francisco Bojado in the 132-pound finals of the 1999 Cheo Aponte Tournament in Puerto Rico.
The 1986 super heavyweight final at the New York City Golden Gloves saw two future contenders match up with Lou Savarese taking a decision over Alex Stewart. At the 2000 NYCGG tournament future WBA welterweight titlist Luis Collazo matched up with future 154-pound contender Yuri Foreman and came away with a decision victory at 147 pounds.
In the light heavyweight finals of the 1979 New England Golden Gloves tournament in Lowell, Mass. its two participants were among the best boxers in the entire nation and it ended with Hartford's Kelvin Anderson winning a hard fought decision over New Bedford, Massachusetts’ Andre McCoy to qualify for the 1979 national tournament.
Both Anderson and McCoy had been successful internationally as members of Team USA and were both considered to have realistic chances at making the 1980 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team. Sadly, neither boxer would get the chance to try as they were both members of the U.S. Boxing Team that perished less than a year later on a plane that crashed en route to an international meet in Poland, tragically killing all passengers.
(A statue of a "fallen boxer" dedicated to the entire team stands on display on the grounds of the U.S. Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.)
I was recently looking through an old issue of the AMATEUR BOXER MAGAZINE that covered the 1987 Ohio State Fair Nationals. In it, the complete results of championship night were printed. I won the 165-pound Open division title by decision over future heavyweight contender Melvin Foster and quality boxers like furute 112- and 115-pound champ Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson, Vernez Duskin (aka Kady King) and future 122-pound champ Clarence “Bones” Adams winning titles, too. One thing I never noticed before, though, was that in the 139-pound senior JO division, future cruiserweight contender Ravea Springs won a championship night decision over the guy I defeated in my last professional fight, Cleveland Nelson of Detroit.
At the 1996 World Junior Olympic tournament, future 108-pound titlist Brian Viloria scored a decision over one-time Sugar Ray Leonard protege' Bernard Dunne of Ireland.
One of the greatest pure boxers in history, Howard Davis Jr., defeated future world champions Hilmer Kenty, Aaron Pryor and Tommy "Hitman" Hearns in the 1970's on his way to Olympic Gold in 1976. Hearns, meanwhile, won the 1977 National Golden Gloves tournament and defeated future 140-pound contender (and high profile trainer) Ronnie Shields along the way to do so.
In 1993, future cruiserweight contender Don Diego Poeder sore an RSC (stoppage) victory over future heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitscko while in 1990, Oleg Maskaev turn the same trick against big brother Vitali.
The 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials saw future heavyweight champion Larry Holmes knocked down with a right hand on his way to losing by disqualification to Duane Bobick while the 1973 National AUU championships saw Randy Shields defeat Sugar Ray Leonard on his way to the 139-pound crown.
Heavyweight Duane Bobick not only won that fight over Holmes, but he also beat future WBA heavyweight champ Mike Weaver by decision in 1969, and defeated legendary Cuban Teofilo Stevenson on a unanimous decision in 1971.
Bobick was also stopped twice as an amateur, once by future contender Ron Lyle in 1970 and also once by Stevenson in a rematch that took place at the 1972 Olympics.
The 1971 New York City Golden Gloves tournament saw future light heavyweight champion Eddie Gregory (aka Eddie Mustafa Muhammad) win a decision over future middleweight champion Vito Antuefermo in the 147-pound final.
Rocky Marciano, as you all know, ended up 49 and ZERO as a professional champion. In the amateur ranks, though, at the Eastern Regional Golden Gloves tournament in 1948, he lost an opening bout decision to Coley Wallace of New York City, making Coley a famous footnote in the annals of boxing history along with at least two other men who reportedly beat the Rock (Bob Girard and Joe DiAngelis).
In his autobiography "Sugar Ray," Ray Robinson tells of an amateur bout that saw him lose a close decision to future professional contender Billy Graham.
Muhammad Ali (then, obviously, known as Cassius Clay) split a few childhood bouts at different weights and ages with fellow future heavyweight champion Jimmy Ellis back in the 1950s while another eventual 1960 gold medalist (and future M.D.), Wilbert "Skeeter" McClure, defeated Ellis in the finals of the 1960 U.S. Olympic Trials in the middleweight class.
And, FINALLY, in what might be the most interesting – yet little known – amateur boxing result in the history of the game, a decision was rendered in my hometown of Connecticut (in either Norwich or Thompsonville, depending on who you talk to) after a three-round bout back in the late 1930s (1938?), that is truly the stuff of legend.
In an over the weight matchup that featured two future all-time greats (legitimate legends) of the professional game – two men who would go on to win over 400 professional fights between them – Willie Pep and Sugar Ray Robinson battled each other as teenagers in a three-round bout that saw Robinson come away with a decision victory over his fellow future Hall Of Famer.
Note: Both Pep and Robinson referred to the match in detail in their respective autobiographies (Pep's "Friday's Heroes" and Robinson's "Sugar Ray").
Imagine what a videotape of those two going at it as amateurs would fetch among memorabilia collectors today? Actually, when you think of it, how crazy would it be to actually have a tape of fights like Jones-McClellan, Gregory-Antuefermo, or Leonard-Kenty?? I know that a tape exists of the Pryor-Hearns fight because I have it.
I also know that with the dawn of handheld cameras, camera phones and the like, now more than ever I see fans filming amateur fights at national tournaments so in years to come it will likely be a thing where amateur fights of this caliber will be easily accessible on YouTube and other public video websites.
Let's hope so.
www.IcemanJohnScully.com