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The 1984 US Olympic Boxing Team

1984 Olympics, Felix Trinidad, Wba

The 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was one of the historic events forming the background of world affairs in the 1980s. Taking place prior to the Soviet thaw under Gorbachev, it was boycotted by the Communist bloc in retaliation for the US-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games. Set in the center of the Reagan Years and on American soil, the 1984 Olympics was the chronological and moral high point of Reagan’s aggressive anti-Soviet stand. It was therefore somehow fitting that the United States fielded the strongest US Boxing Team in its history. The absence of the Cuban and Soviet boxing teams propelled the US team to an unheard of collection of 9 Golds, 1 Silver, and 1 Bronze, raising the question of how well they would have done against the cream of Communist fighters. What is beyond question is how well they did as professionals after the Olympics. Members of the 1984 team dominated the sport of boxing for the following decade, winning world championships and capturing popular imagination.

Paul Gonzales, Light Flyweight

LA-native Paul Gonzales won Gold before his hometown crowd. He turned pro and won the IBF Bantamweight title from Orlando Canizales in 1990. He lost the rematch on cuts, and his career deteriorated after that. He retired from boxing in 1991.

Steve McCrory, Flyweight

McCrory was another 1984 Gold Medal winner. However, he did less well as a pro. In 1986 he challenged Australian Jeff Fenech for a Super Bantamweight title, and was knocked out in the 14th. He moved up in weight and was then defeated by Jesse James Leija. He then retired from boxing, and passed away in 2000.

Robert Shannon, Bantamweight

Shannon qualified for the 1980 Olympics, but the US boycotted those Games and he therefore did not compete. He qualified again for the 1984 team, and was one of the few to not win a medal that year: he was eliminated in the semi-finals by knockout at the hands of the great Korean, Sung-Kil Moon.

Meldrick Taylor, Featherweight

Taylor won Gold in Los Angeles, winning every bout either in a 5-0 shut-out or by stoppage. He then went on to a solid pro career, capturing the IBF 140lbs world title from James McGirt in 1986. A year and a half laer, Taylor met the rising Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez in a classic unification match. Taylor was ahead on all scorecards when he was controversially stopped with mere seconds remaining to the final bell. That Taylor was badly hurt is not in question, but whether he could have survived just a little longer continues to be hotly debated to this day. The fight with Chavez took a heavy physical toll on Taylor. In 1991 he won the WBA Welterweight title from Aaron Davis, but he clearly wasn’t the same. He was knockd out in a bout with Terry Norris, defeated by Crisanto Espana, and was knocked out in a rematch with Chavez. Continuing to fight sporadically for years after that, finally retiring in 2002.

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Pernell Whitaker, Lightweight

Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker was yet another US boxer to be crowned with Gold in 1984. Whitaker went on to a superlative professional boxing career, establishing himself as the greatest defensive wizard of modern times. Watching Whitaker fight was mesmerizing, for in his prime he could literally stand flat-footed in front of a world class fighter and not be squarely hit by a single punch. He unified the lightweight title, reigning as Undisputed World Lightweight Champion, before going on to win world titles at Super Lightweight, Welterweight, and Super Welterweight. Along the way he defeated such luminaries as Greg Haugen, Joe Luis Ramierez, Freddie Pendleton, Azumah Nelson, Jorge Paez, James McGirt, Wilfredo Rivera, and Diobelys Hurtado, drew with Julio Cesar Chavez, and dropped a narrow decision loss to Oscar de la Hoya. A much faded Whitaker still managed to take the feared Puerto Rican puncher Felix Trinidad the distance in 1999, and he eventually retired as one of the sports greatest-ever technicians in 2001.

Jerry Page, Light Welterweight

Page won Gold, but did not do well as a professional. His career stalled and he hung up the gloves at 11-4-0 in 1990.

Mark Breland, Welterweight

Breland was another Gold Medal winner in the star-studded 1984 team who went on to a solid professional career. In 1987, he captured the WBA Welterweight title, only to later lose it to Marlon Starling. He won it back in 1989, losing it again to Aaron Davis. Breland’s late 1980s championship reigns occupied center stage in the welterweight division following the departure of men like Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns to the ranks of the middleweights.

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Frank Tate, Light Middleweight

Tate won Gold, and then went on to campaign as a pro middleweight. He won the IBF title after it was stripped from Marvin Hagler in 1987, later losing it to Michael Nunn in 1988. He challenged for a Super Middleweight title, but narrowly lost. Moving up to Light Heavyweight, he had a winning streak that included beating Uriah Grant, setting the stage for a showdown with his former Olympic team mate Virgil Hill for the WBA title in 1992. He lost that bout and a later rematch on points.

Virgil Hill, Middleweight

Hill was something of an oddity on the 1984 team, winning a Silver Medal and not a Gold. He went on to a gold professional career, however, as one of the best light heavyweight champions of the last quarter century. He won the WBA Light Heavyweight championship in 1987, and defended it 10 times before being defeated on points by Tommy “Hitman” Hearns in 1991. He won his vacated title back in a fight with his former team mate Frank Tate in 1992, and defended it another ten times in a reign that saw him defeat Lou de Valle and unify with longtme IBF champ Henry Maske of Germany. He was then defeated by Dariusz Michalczewski and Roy Jones before moving up to cruiserweight (190lbs) and taking the WBA championship from France’s Fabrice Tiozzo. He later lost that title to another Frenchman, Jean-Marc Mormeck. After suffering a few more high profile losses, including a dinosaur rematch with Henry Maske, he finally retired.

Evander Holyfield, Light Heavyweight

The Real Deal” won only a Bronze in Los Angeles. He was ordered to break with his New Zealander opponent, but did not hear the instruction (the referee was out of position), continued throwing punches, and knocked his opponent down, who was unable to coninue. Holyfield was disqualified and won a Bronze. In 1986 he challenged Dwight Qawi in the last great 15 Round title fight, an action-packed buzzsaw engagement that saw Holyfield narrowly win the WBA Cruiserweight title. He went on as a 190lbs fighter to defeat his former Olympic team mate Henry Tillman, and unify the cruiserweight belts to reign as the first Undisputed World Cruiserweight champion. Holyfield then went on to heavyweight and a career that rightfully established him as one of the great sports figures of the 1990s. He defeated Michael Dokes, Ray Mercer, Larry Holmes, George Foreman, went 1-2 with Riddick Bowe in a classic trilogy, won two bouts with Mike Tyson, and 1-1 with Michael Moorer. Holyfield was only the second man to win the world heavyweight title three times (the first being Muhammad Ali) before he drew one and lost one to Lennox Lewis. Holyfield then went on to fight John Ruiz for the WBA title three times, and stopped Hasim Rahman in 2002. Although he fought in a set of high profile bouts after that, he has thus far won none of them, but continues to campaign as an aged fringe contender to this day.

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Henry Tillman, Heavyweight

Henry Tillman won Gold at the Olympics, but struggled badly as a pro. He was knocked out in a crusierweight bout by Evander Holyfied, and a heavyweight bout by Mike Tyson.

Tyrell Biggs, Super Heavyweight

The biggest of the team’s big men, Biggs also won Gold. He had a mixed record, beating James Tillis, Ossie Ocasio, and Renaldo Snipes, but losing to MIke Tyson, Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis, Tony Tubbs, Buster Mathis, Jr., and Larry Donald. He never won a world title.