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Calling it quits Cuban great Savon hangs up his gloves
HAVANA (Reuters) -- Three-time Olympic heavyweight boxing champion Felix Savon announced his retirement from the ring but he will help train Cuba's fighters for the 2004 Athens Olympics, Cuban television reported on Saturday. Savon was already obliged by international amateur boxing rules to stop competing in September when he turns 34 years old, but the official announcement means he will not take part in the next world championships in Ireland in June. The six-time world champion had originally intended to fight in Ireland in a final appearance of a glittering career that had transformed him into a popular hero at home and one of the world's boxing legends. Cuban television did not say why Savon decided to cut short his remaining active career by several months. But it said he would join the national boxing squad as a coach. Cuba's sports authorities had unsuccessfully lobbied the International Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) to raise the competitive age limit in the heavyweight categories to 40. In another surprise announcement, Cuban television said that longtime national boxing coach Alcides Sagarra, who had trained the Olympic squad for three decades, was being replaced by Sarvelio Fuentes, another experienced teacher. Sagarra was being put forward to represent Cuba in the IABA, the report said. Savon, a staunch supporter of President Fidel Castro's Communist government, was hailed as a national hero, not only for his success on the world stage but for repeatedly rejecting lucrative offers to abandon his country's amateur-only sports system and turn professional. Prior to Savon's success at the recent Sydney Games, only Teofilo Stevenson, another Cuban boxing legend, had won three Olympic golds at the same weight when he dominated the division in the 1972, 1976 and 1980 Games. Savon's previous Olympic gold medals came in Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996. In a prolific amateur career, Savon boasted a record of 358 wins and only 17 defeats. Cuban television also announced that three other Olympic boxing medalists -- Juan Hernandez Sierra, Enrique Carrion and Hector Vinent -- were ending their active careers.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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