Cuba lifts ban on professional boxing

[DrDuke]

Interesting news: https://www.badlefthook.com/2022/4/4/23 ... -news-2022

The landscape can change significantly with Cubans going pro more often now.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Read an article yesterday. Great news. No more defecting.

[Enlightened-One]

It took about a decade, but when the former Eastern Bloc countries were eventually allowed to compete in the paid ranks, fighters from that region started capturing lots world titles.

And the same will probably with the Cubans, who led the medal table during last years’ AIBA world boxing championships.

[The Docker]

It took about a decade, but when the former Eastern Bloc countries were eventually allowed to compete in the paid ranks, fighters from that region started capturing lots world titles.

And the same will probably with the Cubans, who led the medal table during last years’ AIBA world boxing championships.

Yeah really good call. Can see the Cubans becoming as elite as any other nation over the coming years, they’ve always been super competitive at the Olympics etc and the paid ranks would offer far greater incentive through rewards. Will also be fun when their superstars start matching / outmatching the US superstars.

[joshj909]

This could lead to some great boxers and great matchups within the next decade that we are not really used to.

There will no doubt be quite a few pay issues down the line though.

[Fray Bentos]

Miami will become a boxing mecca!

[Ruthless-RKO]

It took about a decade, but when the former Eastern Bloc countries were eventually allowed to compete in the paid ranks, fighters from that region started capturing lots world titles.

And the same will probably with the Cubans, who led the medal table during last years’ AIBA world boxing championships.

Yeah really good call. Can see the Cubans becoming as elite as any other nation over the coming years, they’ve always been super competitive at the Olympics etc and the paid ranks would offer far greater incentive through rewards. Will also be fun when their superstars start matching / outmatching the US superstars.

Yeh they can dominate.

Not all Cuban’s have the most appealing style obviously.

Maybe some will prefer to stay amateur.

I mean the ones who have wanted to turn pro have just defected.

[HomicideHenry]

Just more proof that 60 years of communism simply did not work. It's untenable. Little by little they've been turning away from communism because it wasn't that long ago they started allowing people to keep money from their own businesses.

Jesus Christ Almighty God bless you all

[adislav123]

It took about a decade, but when the former Eastern Bloc countries were eventually allowed to compete in the paid ranks, fighters from that region started capturing lots world titles.

And the same will probably with the Cubans, who led the medal table during last years’ AIBA world boxing championships.

Yeah really good call. Can see the Cubans becoming as elite as any other nation over the coming years, they’ve always been super competitive at the Olympics etc and the paid ranks would offer far greater incentive through rewards. Will also be fun when their superstars start matching / outmatching the US superstars.

Yeh they can dominate.

Not all Cuban’s have the most appealing style obviously.

Maybe some will prefer to stay amateur.

I mean the ones who have wanted to turn pro have just defected.

'just defected'. guess there are easier decisions than leaving your country and everything that comes with it behind. but i get what you mean.

still, if they now can turn pro without defecting we will have a massive wave of new top boxing pros coming out of cuba.

i don't know the numbers but obviously it'll be much more than the handful of cubans that every year up until now made that difficult decision

[gregregegg]

This combined with pros being able to fight in the Olympics is interesting. I wonder if any will have hybrid carrers.

Box an olympics, then have 10 quality pro fights over the next 3 years, then back to amature training and box the next olympics, then turn pro for good and strait in as a contender.

[H8Usernames]

Not sure about this really. A country where the average salary is what 250$ per month the incentive to get into the ring for big bucks is gonna be a bit much. Hope no tragedies will come from this.

[joshj909]

Not sure about this really. A country where the average salary is what 250$ per month the incentive to get into the ring for big bucks is gonna be a bit much. Hope no tragedies will come from this.

$250 can go a long way when you don't have bills and much of your essentials can be obtained cheaply. How is this any different from boxers from low average salary countries like Mexico or Ukraine?

[Bandog]

Does anyone remember the great cuban hw that many thought would possibly beat Alu back in the day?

[oogiebe]

Does anyone remember the great cuban hw that many thought would possibly beat Alu back in the day?

Teofilo Stevenson

[Enlightened-One]

Does anyone remember the great cuban hw that many thought would possibly beat Alu back in the day?

Teofilo Stevenson

Unfortunately, many of the heavily-hyped Cuban heavyweights seem to fail miserably at the highest level in the pro ranks (i.e. Luis Ortiz, Jorge Luis Gonzalez, Odlanier Solis and Mike Perez).

The same would have probably applied with Teofilo Stevenson, because amateur boxing back then was almost an entirely different sport to the paid ranks.

That said, I strongly suspect that Teofilo Stevenson would have easily defeated Muhammad Ali between 1979 and 1981 - for blatantly obvious reasons.

[CMCanavessi]

Does anyone remember the great cuban hw that many thought would possibly beat Alu back in the day?

Teofilo Stevenson

Unfortunately, many of the heavily-hyped Cuban heavyweights seem to fail miserably at the highest level in the pro ranks (i.e. Luis Ortiz, Jorge Luis Gonzalez, Odlanier Solis and Mike Perez).

The same would have probably applied with Teofilo Stevenson, because amateur boxing back then was almost an entirely different sport to the paid ranks.

That said, I strongly suspect that Teofilo Stevenson would have easily defeated Muhammad Ali between 1979 and 1981 - for blatantly obvious reasons.

Let's have faith in Frank then...

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

Luis ortiz failed miserably by being thisclose to stopping wilder in a shootout

[Enlightened-One]

Luis ortiz failed miserably by being thisclose to stopping wilder in a shootout

Luis Ortiz has not beaten a top-ten world-rated heavyweight since 2015.

The heavily-hyped weak resume-owning Cuban fighter, that tested positive for banned substances twice, is still with the same handlers (Jorge Carmenante and Jay Jimenez) that openly admitted to lying about Eddie Hearn’s “bṹllȿhȋț” “low ball offers”, “games”, “unfair treatment” and “gimmick’s” that led to Luis Ortiz rejecting the world-title opportunity against Anthony Joshua.

For the record, Luis Ortiz has rejected guaranteed opportunities to face Joshua, Whyte, Joyce, Wallin, Ustinov and Hrgovic.

So yes, I’d say that Luis Ortiz has “failed miserably” to live up to his allegedly “fearsome” ‘King Kong’ moniker.

And just a gentle reminder...

75% of the BoxRec forum expected the “fearsome” Luis ‘King King’ Ortiz to beat Deontay Wilder in their first bout, with 97% of those individuals expecting the Cuban to stop the American.

And during 2016, the majority of the forum considered the allegedly “fearsome” Luis ‘King King’ Ortiz as the “best heavyweight in the world.”

For the record, I actively refrained from jumping on the “fearsome” Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz hype train and was ridiculed for doing so.

I did the same with Efe Ajagba… and was ridiculed for doing so.

And the same applies with Daniel Dubois… and once again, I was ridiculed for doing so.

Until all three men suddenly looked ordinary and lost.

And then I was ridiculed for gloating!

[oogiebe]

Luis ortiz failed miserably by being thisclose to stopping wilder in a shootout

Luis Ortiz has not beaten a top-ten world-rated heavyweight since 2015.

The heavily-hyped weak resume-owning Cuban fighter, that tested positive for banned substances twice, is still with the same handlers (Jorge Carmenante and Jay Jimenez) that openly admitted to lying about Eddie Hearn’s “bṹllȿhȋț” “low ball offers”, “games”, “unfair treatment” and “gimmick’s” that led to Luis Ortiz rejecting the world-title opportunity against Anthony Joshua.

For the record, Luis Ortiz has rejected guaranteed opportunities to face Joshua, Whyte, Joyce, Wallin, Ustinov and Hrgovic.

So yes, I’d say that Luis Ortiz has “failed miserably” to live up to his allegedly “fearsome” ‘King Kong’ moniker.

And just a gentle reminder...

75% of the BoxRec forum expected the “fearsome” Luis ‘King King’ Ortiz to beat Deontay Wilder in their first bout, with 97% of those individuals expecting the Cuban to stop the American.

And during 2016, the majority of the forum considered the allegedly “fearsome” Luis ‘King King’ Ortiz as the “best heavyweight in the world.”

For the record, I actively refrained from jumping on the “fearsome” Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz hype train and was ridiculed for doing so.

I did the same with Efe Ajagba… and was ridiculed for doing so.

And the same applies with Daniel Dubois… and once again, I was ridiculed for doing so.

Until all three men suddenly looked ordinary and lost.

And then I was ridiculed for gloating!

Nah, you get ridiculed for a lot more than gloating.

[margaret thatcher]

so, would these cubans sign with international promoters, or is the idea here to have cuban run shows for them and still have control over everything?

[margaret thatcher]

luiz ortiz has only beat a single top 10 fighter his entire career, but still fair play. for a guy who was stopped the one time he competed in the world championships and continually got beat in the cuban nationals all the way into his 30s, he's done better than one may have expected.

hell, he even just scored one of his very best wins ever, coming off the deck twice against the great chuck 'hammer hands' martin. too bad he called aj out then ran off timidly when offered the fight, maybe it couldve been him becoming the star and unifying titles like big andy did that night

[Ruthless-RKO]

Luis ortiz failed miserably by being thisclose to stopping wilder in a shootout

Luis Ortiz has not beaten a top-ten world-rated heavyweight since 2015.

The heavily-hyped weak resume-owning Cuban fighter, that tested positive for banned substances twice, is still with the same handlers (Jorge Carmenante and Jay Jimenez) that openly admitted to lying about Eddie Hearn’s “bṹllȿhȋț” “low ball offers”, “games”, “unfair treatment” and “gimmick’s” that led to Luis Ortiz rejecting the world-title opportunity against Anthony Joshua.

For the record, Luis Ortiz has rejected guaranteed opportunities to face Joshua, Whyte, Joyce, Wallin, Ustinov and Hrgovic.

So yes, I’d say that Luis Ortiz has “failed miserably” to live up to his allegedly “fearsome” ‘King Kong’ moniker.

And just a gentle reminder...

75% of the BoxRec forum expected the “fearsome” Luis ‘King King’ Ortiz to beat Deontay Wilder in their first bout, with 97% of those individuals expecting the Cuban to stop the American.

And during 2016, the majority of the forum considered the allegedly “fearsome” Luis ‘King King’ Ortiz as the “best heavyweight in the world.”

For the record, I actively refrained from jumping on the “fearsome” Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz hype train and was ridiculed for doing so.

I did the same with Efe Ajagba… and was ridiculed for doing so.

And the same applies with Daniel Dubois… and once again, I was ridiculed for doing so.

Until all three men suddenly looked ordinary and lost.

And then I was ridiculed for gloating!

That 75% poll was from 2015 you know. Way before they actually fought. Apart from that, you’re oryt.

[Fightnight Scores]

amateur boxing back then was almost an entirely different sport to the paid ranks.

What!? Did they not try to punch each other in the head repeatedly or something?

[Enlightened-One]

amateur boxing back then was almost an entirely different sport to the paid ranks.

What!? Did they not try to punch each other in the head repeatedly or something?

So would it be correct of me to assume you’re unfamiliar with the rules surrounding the scoring of amateur bouts throughout the years, which have changed during various periods, resulting in fighters adopting a style to optimise their likelihood of winning by decision?

Sometimes witty comments, such as yours, come across as an admission of you lacking knowledge in certain aspects of boxing.

[Crease]

It is BIG news - but, I suspect that it isn't the seismic change that some anticipate it to be. Had this happened 10-20 years ago, we would have a lot of fun watching the likes of Mario Kindelan and his countrymen punching their way through the professional ranks...

After the downfall of the Soviet Union - we seen a major influx of Eastern bloc fighters enter the pro game and do fairly well - probably the easiest example if the 4 Ukrainian Champions - Vitali & Wladimir Klitchsko, Vassily Lomachenko & Oleksander Usyk. I would say that it is likely that Cuba will be getting a few more World Champions added to their nations honour list before we hit the 2030s....

One question I do have is - will the defectors people like Guillermo Rigondeaux and Luis Ortiz be allowed to return home to the island and visit their families? Hopefully so, perhaps money will talk and they'll have to pay some sort of entrance fee to the Cuban government. But at least they'll see everyone again.

I do wonder why it has taken so long. As a boxing fan, of course I am very excited about the influx of fresh talent, but could this not have been done decades ago? Maybe with the fighter giving 10% of his loot back to Cuba... That brings money in to his home country and could only be good for their economy... I know that many Muslims donate a certain percentage of their salary to charity and good causes as indicated by their faith. Could the Cubans not have worked something out with their boxers?

Lastly, I have to mention the great man - Teofilo Stevenson... Would always have loved to have seen him in there with Ali, Foreman & Frazier. And I don't think he would have looked out of place either, I suspect he might have held his own....