Cover Throwback: Demetrius Havanas
- Black Belt Team
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Some stars don't shine long enough to make a difference. Conversely, Demetrius Havanas' star shone so bright on his short time on earth, it's still lasting today — nearly 40 years after his passing!
Demetrius “The Golden Greek” Havanas — a Dallas-born karate black belt, kickboxer, and tournament phenomenon whose presence graced covers and advertisements alike in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Standing just five-foot-five, Havanas towered in the martial arts world with his record of dominance. He won more than 90 consecutive tournaments, racking up 13 grand championships in 1971 alone. As a brown belt, he strung together 125 straight tournament victories, and his accolades piled up: six-time Texas State Karate Champion, four-time Louisiana State Champion, and three-time U.S. Karate Champion under Allen Steen. Between 1971 and 1975, he was consistently ranked among the top ten American Karate fighters.
By the mid-70s, Havanas had transitioned into full-contact fighting, where he built a professional kickboxing record of 39 wins, 4 losses, and 24 knockouts. In 1980–81, the Star System ranked him as the #1 world welterweight contender, cementing his reputation as a fighter who blended speed, precision, and grit.
Tragically, Havanas’s life ended on July 23, 1981, in a plane crash en route to Atlantic City, where he was scheduled to work the corner of champion Cliff Thomas. His funeral was attended by martial arts royalty, with pallbearers including Skipper Mullins, Jack Hwang, and Chuck Norris. Posthumously, he was inducted into both the World Taekwondo Hall of Fame and the Texas Martial Arts Hall of Fame, honors that ensure his name lives on.
The cover reminds us that Havanas’ star still shines.
