(HAVANA, CUBA) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) - Cuban triple Olympic heavyweight boxing champion Teofilo Stevenson has died of a heart attack at the age of 60, state media reported on Monday (June 11).

Stevenson won Olympic gold medals at Munich in 1972, Montreal in1976 and Moscow in 1980 and was widely considered the greatest amateur boxer of his time.

After the 1976 games, U.S. boxing promoters offered Stevenson five million dollars turn professional and fight Muhammad Ali, then heavyweight champion of the world, but he stayed loyal to the Cuban revolution, which outlawed professional sports and declined.

"I have always liked to match up with people better than me and for me to have competed against Ali, that was my goal, because he was a great boxer," said Stevenson.

After his fighting career ended, Stevenson became a coach and served as vice-president of the Cuban Boxing Federation.