Cuban 119lb. World and Olympic champion Gillermo Rigondeaux and 141lb champ Inocente Fiss are not going to compete in their National Tournament "Playa Giron" because of a medical recommendation, the tournament started yesterday in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba until Jan 25. I guess that means they are not going to be in Venezuela next month at the first Pan Am Games classification tournament. Good news for all the 119 pounders of the tournament.
And there is a rumor that Olympic Champions 106lb. Yan Bartelemy, 126lb. Yuriorkis Gamboa and 201lb. Odlanier Solis are not competing either because they were training in Venezuela and didn't report back on time or they are lost in Venezuela. Reports or press info is not clear about this but they are not in Cuba for their National Tournament.
ricky wrote:
And there is a rumor that Olympic Champions 106lb. Yan Bartelemy, 126lb. Yuriorkis Gamboa and 201lb. Odlanier Solis are not competing either because they were training in Venezuela and didn't report back on time or they are lost in Venezuela. Reports or press info is not clear about this but they are not in Cuba for their National Tournament.
If they have defected, I think Gamboa is the one that will have the best chance as a pro, he's very young and he was not fighting in his best weight because of Rigondeaux.
I think Bartelemy and Solis are already in their thirties, a bit too late for them to turn pro, even thought some heavyweights start at that age so maybe Solis still have a chance but Bartelemy will have to hurry.
Its on the newspapers already so I guess its official, they have defected. In an article they say they are missing since Dec 25 but they don't mention anything else. Maybe they are waiting to have them in Miami to make a press conference or something.
You are right Karlof:
Solis is only 26 and a dream fighter for any promoter. Bartelemy is supposed to be 26 also but I think he is a bit older than 26. But who knows Gamboa is 25 and I thought he was younger.
Does this mean they are all done with amateur boxing or will see their names appear on the roster of some other country's Olympic boxing team?
Switzerland (or whichever country takes them in) could win a bunch of medals at the Olympics!!!
I think they will turn pro as soon as they can. I guess money is their reason to leave. I definitely don't see them fighting amateur for any other country.
Yes, they would have to wait three years. I think it's pretty safe to bet they will turn pro pretty soon. If they can handle the "western lifestyle" I'm pretty sure we'll have three cuban world champions in the future.
Bartelemi is a wonderful boxer, slick and very fast, If he stays at light flyweight he'll be champ.
Gamboa has adapted well to the featherweight division and maybe he can fight as a super bantam (doubtful), he'll be champ too.
Solis has also adapted well to the super heavys but I do have some doubts on him. No doubt he'll be the best boxer around but he slaps a lot and with todays big heavies he may have some trouble. He'll win some kind of title anyway.
How much of a drop-off is there from these boxers to the next boxers in Cuba? In many cases in the U.S. the #2 guy is just as good as the #1 guy. They are separated by the slimmest of margins.
Dennis wrote:How much of a drop-off is there from these boxers to the next boxers in Cuba? In many cases in the U.S. the #2 guy is just as good as the #1 guy. They are separated by the slimmest of margins.
Well. I'm not so sure. Odlanier Solis doesn't have any replacement in Cuba. The next one is Michel Lopez and he has failed too many times, remember the Olympics.
Yan Bartelemi may have some substitute, probably Yampier Hernandez but I doubt he has the international experience to beat Zou Shiming or David Airapetian. Maybe Andry Laffita can drop back down from flyweight.
Yuriolkis Gamboa has experienced olympian Luis Franco as a good substitute but he lost at the Playa Giron tournament this week to Ivan Oñate. World junior champ Yordan Frometa may be ready for the next Olympics.
It's definitely a very hard blow for cuban boxing, no doubt.
I'm happy for them, it's totally unjust that the lives of these boxers are controlled by a dictator. What's wrong with wanting to make money if you have the talent. I hope they get a good deal and wish them a good profesional career.
ricky wrote:Its on the newspapers already so I guess its official, they have defected. In an article they say they are missing since Dec 25 but they don't mention anything else. Maybe they are waiting to have them in Miami to make a press conference or something.
You are right Karlof:
Solis is only 26 and a dream fighter for any promoter. Bartelemy is supposed to be 26 also but I think he is a bit older than 26. But who knows Gamboa is 25 and I thought he was younger.
Three Olympic champion Cuban boxers who defected and signed seven-figure contracts with a German promoter have been refused entry to the United States, their manager said Wednesday.
Heavyweight Odlanier Solis, flyweight Yan Barthelemy and featherweight Yuriorkis Gamboa were to have made their pro debuts in Miami on Friday night, but the fights were postponed a week, said Antonio Gonzalez, the Miami-based manager and attorney.
He said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security approved entry for the three but consular officials at the embassy in Colombia, which the three entered from bordering Venezuela in late December, wouldn't grant them visas.
Gonzalez said each of the three fighters had signed seven-figure, three-year contracts with Hamburg-based First Artist and Arena with an option for two more years. That doesn't count purses.
All three were training with the Cuban national team in Venezuela when they defected to Colombia, which granted them temporary visas, said Irichelle Duran, daughter of the boxer Roberto Duran, who works with Gonzalez.
I'm quite skeptical of the alleged contract. My guess is they will receive 7 figures over 3 years if certain goals are met. I'm sure it is not a guaranteed contract. I would also be curious as to how much they were paid as a guaranteed signing bonus.
Cuban Olympian gold medalists Odlanier Solis, Yan Barthelemy and Yuriorkis Gamboa will be introduced to the German media tomorrow at the Arena Gym in Hamburg.
Promoter Ahmet Öner stated, "The boys are a major attraction. This trio will unleash an earthquake in the boxing world.
In Miami, where there is a very large Cuban community, everyone is crazy about them.
Probably in one month they'll have their first pro fights there before hitting Hamburg at the end of April."
