Felix Savon


When you see Felix Savon the first thing you notice is that although he is very lanky (6'5 and a reach of 82") he is also very muscular. He seems to be the Stretch Armstrong version of Frank Bruno. His style is a blended one, he has the upright stance of an amateur but the stalking nature and punch variety of a professional. Savon reminds me a lot of Lennox Lewis in some ways, he had a very sharp 1-2. It was direct and if that jab landed then watch out the right was coming directly behind it and with great power. Savon's ability to find and/or create openings from nothing was really something to behold. A fighter would attempt to ready himself to block the 1-2, and all of a sudden Savon slams a right hook against his head (a gift no doubt courtesy of that 82" reach) or a fighter is worried about the long distance jab to the gut...maybe not a painful punch, but a scoring one and in the amateurs that matters so when Savon had the fighter looking for the jab low he'd follow up with a devastating right cross flush on the jaw. Like other lanky fighters with big power in their right hands (The Klitschko's) Felix Savon also utilized his jab as a method of swiping an opponent's guard down leaving him open for a massive right cross. Savon was arguably one of the most impressive and dangerous amateur heavyweights of all time and you see that cockiness, that bravado, in the ring and you wonder if it would translate into the professional ring because how many polished amateurs do we see get the shine taken off of them by being cocky by being brash and unworried about their opponents? Savon was NOT undefeated in the amateurs (I mean really, there's nobody who is) he was stopped a few times, there is seemingly no video of these stoppages and very little description of the fights and I've seen Savon get really puffed up in the eyes during some fights so that should be considered.

Mike Tyson - this is THE fight we missed out on. The contrast in style was there, the Mike Tyson fans will ALWAYS believe that the Tyson style was perfectly built to counter a style like Savon's...now I don't buy that at all, but Mike Tyson DID do a number on some tall lanky boxers albeit he had the number done to him by tall lanky boxers before too. I think both of these guys had that "unbeatable" aura around them and they would both carry that to the ring in this match. Part of me sees Tyson just obliterating Savon in 1 round while part of me says Savon lasts a while before getting caught and finished. I would say that 80-20 Tyson takes Savon out (mid to late 80's) and 60-40 Savon takes Tyson out in the 1990's...this wouldn't hit the scorecards.


Holyfield - Now it is ALWAYS difficult to pick against Evander. Felix Savon had all the tools to keep Evander away and all the athletic ability in the world to run and circle and dive out of the way of Evander's attacks, but Holyfield always kept coming forward...hit him with 1 punch, hit him with 5 punches, he's not stopping. Savon had BIG time power, he knocked out the granite chinned David Tua int he amateurs....but Evander is one of those "unknockoutable" guys sure Bowe stopped him because Evander had some heart condition and hepatitis or something and James Toney stopped him because he tore his rotator cuff, but who put Evander down on the canvas for the 10 count? .....yeah, nobody. This would certainly go the distance if Savon was to win. I think this fight is more intriguing than Tyson-Savon. I think Either Holyfield get Savon tired and stops him in the 8-10 range or Savon dances his way to a UD.

Lewis - This match would have been EPIC high amateur pedigrees on both sides, big power, upright fighters, massive heavyweights. Lennox couldn't afford a slow start like he had vs Bruno or Briggs, if THAT Lennox showed up then it's Savon by KO fairly early. I do not think that Savon would have been able to handle such a heavy fighter in Lewis (who was typically in the 240's if not 250) at his amateur weight, but if Savon bulked up it would have been interesting to see how that affected his style and approach to fights. I think Savon was a smart enough and skilled enough fighter to avoid the Michael Grant style blow out, but I am of the belief that Lennox Lewis would land hard and Savon wouldn't take it well.

Bowe - As skilled as Riddick Bowe was, as tough as he was, as big as he was, I don't think he ever had the dedication to the sport or the ring generalship that Felix Savon had. Felix Savon KO mid rounds.

Bruno - When Franky got hurt he stayed hurt and Felix would bring the pain to him, Savon KO2.



Ah man, it's Friday, I'll get to the rest later.