When and if Cuba becomes free again (maybe when Castro passes on)... will the Cubans come to dominate professional boxing? As of now... Cubans dominate much of the time in the amatuers... producing some of the finest amatuer boxers in the world. They often go home carrying Olympic gold. Anyone who knows their boxing history will know how many great boxers Cuba produced in the days before Castro came to power... Cuba was home to champs like Kid Gavilan, Kid Chocolate and Ultiminio "Sugar" Ramos to name just a few and then we have more modern phenoms the likes of Teofilo Stevenson, Felix Savon and recently Sarbelio Fuentes. Again most of those names won't be known to anyone but died-in-the-wool boxing fanatics. It's a crime I tell ya! Sadly for Cuban boxers if they wanted to make a living anything above the poverty level they had to escape Cuba and fight under another flag as Castro won't let any of his fighters turn pro. Thus Cuba is rammed out with superbly trained and naturally talented boxers... with nowhere to go besides the amtauers. :bang: So.... when Castro finally shuffles off this mortal coil... and God willing someone comes into power who will let Cuban boxers have access to the professional boxing scene... will we see a boxing world dominated by Cubans? The shot below is a classic oldschool shot of Kid Gavilan of Cuba:
There are two possibiliteis, assumoing Castro's successor is less castro-like. There will either be a insurge of boxers turning pro, or it will take time. Either way, it's going to be an excting time for boxing if it does happen. I mean, can you imagine some of those guys turning pro! The whole "I won't fight because I want to fight in ........ place" or "I wan't .......... amount of money" and all that pansy BS won't happen with those guys. Can you imagine Ariel Hernandez turning down a fight with, lets say, Lenox Lewis, because he wanted to fight in Havanna and Lewis wanted to fight in Manchester. That kind of stuff wouldn't happen, and boxing as a sport would show itself more, as opposed to the dirty side of the business. Em
Don't forget that one reason they always have such a good stable is they ARE pros,in the sense that they are government supported.If Cuba allows pros in the future,they probably won't be state supported,meaning some of them may,just like everywhere else,be having to spend more time trying to feed themselves than training.And having the finest coaches and trainers available. Stevenson.Remember when they used to try and get a set-to between him and Ali?Could never agree on the particulars of the match. I'd love to see the Cubans be able to turn pro.But I sure don't wish to see their refs on the pro stage.At least until they start performing more as refs and less like another cornerman for the Cuban fighters.
Well, unfortunatly the way the ams work today doesn't really always translate to the pros that well. There have been plenty of Cubans who defected and only a few have turned out to really be special as pros. There have also been a number of great ams from the US and other countries who didn't make it as far as pros. The style of pitty-pat point scoring punches in bunches doesn't wash so well with smaller gloves and no head gear over 10-12 rounds where hard body punching can take over a fight in the late rounds. I suspect there will be some who make a big splash, but most won't.
Cuban fighters are already turning pro. Will they dominate? maybe not. Cuba's dominated amateur boxing but honestly amateur champs only gotta 1/2 chance of being great pros. Amateur boxing is basically pointfighting. Great for hand speed and accuracy but weak on power. Whole other game in pro fighting. Nonetheless I'm sure a lotta of Cubans will make a splash in pro boxing. By the time Castro croaks, regardless of his successor, I'm sure one of the defecting Cuban boxers of today will be a champ in pro boxing by then.
Just a bit of a clarification: Cuban fighters in Cuba aren't turning pro. They can't... it's illegal by order of Castro. In order to become a pro they have to defect from Cuba... and all that entails. It's not as if defecting is a decision to be taken lightly. Actually recently they flew the Cuban teams from the Pan-Am games back home early due to a fear of mass Cuban defections.
Right... I'm not saying every Cuban will become a pro champ... but when Cuba opens up... there is going to be an absolute deluge of Cubans in boxing... most of those hoping to make their mark in the pros. I've no doubt that many will. Yes the am's are a different sport in many respects than the pro's - but there is still a lot of of carryover. It's not like many of the pros were never amatuers themselves. Many have come from amatuer backgrounds and done quite well for themselves. Tyson being on of them. Roy Jones Jr. being another... Amir Khan another... I'm sure the list can go on and on. I think when Cuba opens it's going to be a big benefit for the boxing world.
They will certainly be a force in pro boxing but not all amateurs suit pro boxing-amateur boxing is way more technical and unskillful opponents will struggle-but in pro boxing power and stamina can get you to the top meaning cubans might lose to lesser skilled opponents..
Cuba might produce an occasional world champion, but they don't have the population base to dominate an open competition. The rules are different and the opposition will be different. They'll actually be going against the worlds best. In many countries, like Mexico and the Philippines, our best boxers never go the amateur route. They turn pro ASAP to make a living. As, as EL Medico said, for all extent and purposes, the Cuban boxers are already pros. They dominated in amateur competition because they were 25 to 29 year old pros fighting teenage amateurs. It probably wouldn't be so easy to beat an Amir Khan or Miguel Cotto when they're adults.
great question...i have been thinking about this forabout a half hour and have changed my mind about 5 times. i think it will be alot like baseball. the cubans that come over will be very good. and may "upset" the sport for a while. they will initally appear to dominate. but soon the guys will learn them, get used to them and expose them. some will turn out to be great, but all in all instead of dominate, they will inrich the talent pool.(this is pretty much what happend in baseball...and most sports that open up internationally) the best case senerio will be to give boxing a much needed infusion of new blood, excitement and energy.
