Who was the greatest Cuban Boxer of all time?

[Ron C]

Who was the greatest Cuban Boxer of all time?


I know the Poll is missing a few really big names, but I tried to mainly include fighters that have existing footage around... It was also real hard to make with only 10 choices.


Please post your choice, especially if you picked "Other."

[Seamus]

1.Jose Napoles
2.Kid Chocolate
3.Luis Rodriguez
4.Kid Gavilan
5.Sugar Ramos

[Ron C]

3.Luis Rodriguez

Damn I knew I was forgetting someone real important!

[enrique]

You are missing Luis Rodriguez -the greatest to me- and Black Bill.

[Ron C]

Black Bill.

Black Bill I kept out because there's no existing fight footage of him out there. . . Atleast that I know of.

[Ambling Alp]

1.Jose Napoles
2.Kid Chocolate
3.Luis Rodriguez
4.Kid Gavilan
5.Sugar Ramos

Those are the 5 guys that I would rank as the Top 5 as well. The first 4 are all very close. Ramos is a pretty solid #5; though I suppose you could argue for Fernandez for #5.

[Ezzard]

1.Jose Napoles
2.Kid Chocolate
3.Luis Rodriguez
4.Kid Gavilan
5.Sugar Ramos

I'd swap 1 and 2 around, and possibly 3 and 4 but not as sure on that one.

[elmersalsa]

The great Kid Gavilan no doubt...He whupped the great Sugar Ray Robinson if you ask me.

My top 5 greatest cuban boxers of all time:
1. Kid Gavilan
2. Kid Chocolate
3. Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles
4. Luis Manuel Rodriguez
5. Sugar Ramos

The first 3, Gavilan, Chocolate and Napoles are definately top 50 pound per pound all-time consideration in my book.

[slakka]

Music Hall Sports Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Ezzard Charles L Kid Tunero SD 10 10
Extremely superb fighter

the greatest of all cubans according to sarriea
Alis cuban masseuse

[raylawpc]

According to Boxrec, Tunero had a 97-32-16 record. Just glancing at his record, it appears the win over Ezzard was the most remarkable of a long career.

I recall Tunero as the trainer of some Cuban exiles who migrated to Spain after Castro's takeover of Cuba - notably Jose Legra.

[slakka]

Took many impressive scalps,
Overlin-Basora-Holman Williams-Marcel Thil

Chris Dundee and Hank Kaplan among "Sarria" maintained this fighters greatness.

He wrote a book too, alas only published in spanish.

[raylawpc]

Certainly, but Ezz had a great 1942 otherwise, defeating Anton Christoforidis, Ken Overlin, Charlie Burley (twice), Holman Williams and a young Joey Maxim (twice).

That was the basis of my comment and not intended to depreciate his other wins.

[slakka]

TERAP ASKED ME TO POST ON TUNERO. MIKE DE LISA AND I HAVE RECONSTRUCTED HIS RECORD FAIRLY WELL - MUCH OF THE RAW DATA WE BOTH OBTAINED FROM HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY WRITEN IN SPANISH. I DID NOT SEE HIM FIGHT BUT I HAVE TALKED TO THOSE WHO DID AND READ THE CLIPPINGS.

OLD TIME CUBAN AND EUROPEAN SPORTS WRITERS STATE THAT TUNERO WAS AN EXCELLENT, VERY ORTHODOX BOXER. CRITICS SAID HE WAS SO GOOD THAT HE WAS BORING - A LA ZORA FOLLEY. A SOFT SPOKEN BLACK MAN WHO NEVER CURSED, DRANK OR SMOKED, TUNERO WAS A FIRST RATE COUNTERPUNCHER WHO KNEW ALL THE BOOK MOVES AND EXECUTED FLAWLESSLY. NO WASTED MOTION OR FLASHY MOVES. SHORT UPPERCUTS AND SNAPPING JABS. ALWAYS IN BALANCE, MEASURING DISTANCE IN FRACTIONS OF INCH TO MOVE IN AND OUT OF THE DANGER ZONE.

OF THE CHARLES FIGHT, TUNERO WROTE THAT HE WORKED CHARLES FROM THE OUTSIDE, HIS BEST ROUND BEING THE SEVENTH WHEN HE WENT INSIDE AND SURPRISED CHARLES WITH A BODY SHOT ATTACK. TUNERO STATED IN SEVERAL INTERVIEWS THAT HE WAS VERY SHARP AND TOO SEASONED FOR CHARLES, ALSO STATING THAT EZZARD'S PUNCHES WERE EXTREMELY SOLID.

I DID NOT KNOW TUNERO BUT I DID KNOW CHARLES -IN THE SIXTIES WHEN I TRAINED AT JOHNNY COULON'S AND EZZ WAS BEGINNING TO GO DOWNHILL WITH ILLNESS. I TALKED TO HIM ABOUT TUNERO AND HIS COMMENT -OR ALL I REMEMBER- IS THAT HE DESCRIBED THE KID AS BEING SLIPPERY, DIFFICULT TO HIT.

TUNERO FOUGHT ALL OVER THE WORLD IN EVERYONE'S BACK YARD AND BEAT HIS SHARE OF CHAMPIONS AND CONTENDERS. TUNERO BECAME A CELEBRITY AND WAS ONE OF ERNEST HEMINGWAY'S REAL FRIENDS HANGING OUT WITH HIM IN BOTH EUROPE AND CUBA.

AFTER CASTRO CAME TO POWER HE WENT TO EXILE IN SPAIN. TUNERO WAS A TOP TRAINER AND MANAGER IN BARCELONA. HE HANDLED SEVERAL NATIONAL SPANISH TITLEHOLDERS AND WAS THE TRAINER-MANAGER OF WORLD CHAMP JOSE LEGRA. HIS WIFE- YOLETE- IS FRENCH AND I DO BELIEVE HIS TWO SONS ARE ART TEACHERS IN FRANCE OR SPAIN.

I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT KNEW TUNERO AND I HAVE NEVER HEARD A BAD WORD SAID ABOUT HIM. HE WAS A CLEAN LIVING FAMILY MAN, AN EXCELLENT PRO WHO CAME CLOSE TO A TITLE WHEN A BELT MEANT SOMETHING AND A FIRST RATE TRAINER AND HONEST MANAGER.

IF BOXING IS A RELIGION -TUNERO WAS A SAINT - AND IN THE FIGHT GAME, SAINTS ARE RARE....


Enrique Encinosa 2003

[My2Sense]

There seems to be general agreement that the top 4 are Gavilan, Rodriguez, Napoles, and Chocolate, and there seems to be some distance between them are the rest of the pack. Personally, I'd rate the four in this order:

1) Gavilan
2) Rodriguez
3) Napoles
4) Chocolate