Igor Vysotsky

Who is Igor Vysotsky?

Igor Vysotsky was an amateur boxer from Soviet Union, best known for twice defeating 1972, 1976, and 1980 Olympic Gold Medalist Teofilo Stevenson. He was the U.S.S.R. Heavyweight Champion in 1978 and had an amateur record of 161-24.

Vysotsky first fought Stevenson in July 1973, defeating him by a 3-2 decision. Their second and final meeting was in April 1976. Vysotsky stopped Stevenson in the third round.

Shortly before the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Vysotsky was badly cut in a sparring session, which prevented his participation in the Olympics. The Cubans didn't know about the injury and sent two heavyweights to Montreal, Stevenson and Milyano Romero. If Vysotsky had participated, Stevenson would have been an alternate.

In 1976, He stopped future WBA Heavyweight Champion Tony Tubbs in two rounds. The following year, he fought another future WBA Heavyweight Champion, Greg Page, losing by a split decision. Both bouts were in Las Vegas, Nevada and were part of a series of matches between the U.S.A. team and the U.S.S.R team.

In June 1978, Muhammad Ali went on a ten-day tour of the Soviet Union. While there, he sparred several rounds with Vysotsky.