From Barcelona to Seville and beyond, everyone expects Savon to dispose of Nicholson quickly and efficiently - everyone except Nicholson and his coach.
"I'm expecting Danell to win," said U.S. head coach Joe Byrd. "This will be the biggest upset in the history of amateur boxing."
And just how will Nicholson accomplish what nobody else has done since 1988, when another Cuban defeated Savon?
"When Savon throws that big right hand, he tends to get off-balance," Byrd said. "Danell has to step to his left and throw the left hook. That's the counter. That's how you beat a guy with a big right hand."
There is only one problem with that strategy. In his two previous matches in the tournament, Nicholson has thrown nothing but straight punches - jabs and rights. Maybe his elbows should be oiled so that he can start bending his arms more.
"He hasn't been throwing the hook, that's true," Byrd said. "But he's going to have to start."
Because of the draw, Nicholson has finished his matches only moments before Savon has begun his. It has been a fistic revolving door, and neither boxer has stopped to watch the other. Neither has wanted to, particularly Nicholson.
"It wouldn't do me any good," said Nicholson, 24, of Chicago, who went
from high school basketball to amateur boxing four years ago. "What would one more night of studying him accomplish? I've already seen him once."
Yeah, but that fight - a 13-second demolition of Sung Bae-Chae at the World Championship Challenge in March in Tampa, Fla. - ended quicker than you can say Cuba, si.
"Didn't last long," Nicholson agreed, shrugging his shoulders.
Byrd has not wanted his fighter to watch Savon.
"I didn't want him to see Savon land a lucky punch and knock somebody out," Byrd said. "That would distract him. That would play on his mind. And I don't want that."
As for Savon, he has not seen Nicholson, either, but he does not seem concerned.
"They tell me he is a good boxer," he said. "But I will find out more about him when I step into the ring."
No less an authority than Stevenson, who won gold medals in three Olympics (1972, '76 and '80), thinks Savon is the best prospect for a gold medal on the Cuban team.
"He's very strong, and he's in tremendous condition," said Stevenson, who said he is 40. "He's very disciplined."
Stevenson works for the Cuban Ministry of Sports, and part of his job includes serving as a consultant for the boxing team.
How would he compare Savon with himself, Stevenson was asked.
The former great, still in excellent condition, smiled and clasped his hands, letting his body Spanish be his answer.
