Best American Amateur Who Didn't Turn Pro

[keithmoonhangover]

This is a question I don't have the knowledge to answer, so it's over to you guys......

[JC]

Great question.

I don't have any personal knowledge on this one either but from Googling these two came up:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Mooney

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Valdez

[bennie]

Michael Collins deserves a mention.

https://boxrec.com/en/box-am/951319

[bennie]

Great question.

I don't have any personal knowledge on this one either but from Googling these two came up:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Mooney

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Valdez

I remember Mooney from the 1976 Olympics. He beat some good men on the way to the final but was then unanimously outscored by a North Korean in an all-southpaw affair. The Korean had eliminated our own Pat Cowdell in the semi-finals. Cowdell dropped him in the first round (a flash knockdown) but wound up losing a 4-1 vote, which looked fair enough.

[margaret thatcher]

ya pretty much every top american amateur goes pro, big contrast to how the cubans and ex soviets have been. and when discussing why the usa isnt as strong in the pros as they used to be, people think it must be because of hoop dreams rather than other countries turning more of their top pros over these days

[bennie]

Lemuel Steeples is one that got away. Steeples was killed in the Polish air disaster of March 1980 that wiped out all 183 occupants, including 22 members of an American boxing team on their way to an international meeting in Poland. Steeples was just 23. Also killed was 18-year-old Paul Palomino, younger brother of Carlos.


https://boxrec.com/en/box-am/917446

[locoxelbox]

Steeples was described by the Cuban coaches as "a new Sugar Ray Leonard". The only US Olympians from 1972 onwards who didn't turn pro are: Tim Dement, Jesse Valdez and Raymond Russell (1972) and Charles Mooney (1976).
Guess most top amateurs who didn't turn pro were in the army/marines.
Some more recent boxers who had some international results and never turned pro are (already mentioned Michael Collins), Jose Rosario, Larry Nicholson, Christopher Downs and Cam F Awesome.