BoxRec

Another question to address....

Exactly WHY are the Cuban amateurs so good?

In the blood? Top trainers? Facilities (doubtful!)?

Savon, Kindelan, Stevenson, and PLENTY more...all from one small island. Whats the deal....

As a country they "outperform"...why? And what can the rest of the world draw from their boxing masterplan? If they act as the benchmark for amateur boxing success, shouldn't other countries look to follow suit??

The training regime is positively frightening, that's got a lot to do with it. Boxing is a big deal in Cuba, like football is over here.

A lot of reasons. They don't turn pro so they stay in the amateur game a long time so there's Cuban competitors of all different ages at once and consequently a deep pool of talent. Also training there is very strict on the kids especially, they're very serious about it and very sensible also, if you're a young kid and you're not doing well in school you're not allowed to come to the gym and suchlike.
I would hazard a guess that boxing is also one of comparably few means to become famous over there so there is a glamour attatched the same as is attatched to acting or singing badly over prerecorded electronic bland drum beats and synths with no melody, over here and in the states.

Boxing is a national sport in Cuba and fighters are held in high regard.

Cubans identify potential fighter's at a relatively early age and they are 'streamed' and it is each fighter's wish to eventually make it to the 'elite fighters' camp, which comprises of about 50 of Cuba's best boxers.

The training is hard, but spartan. I saw a docuentary on, I think, The Discovery channel called Boxeo de Cuba or something like this.
It showed you the lack of angle bags, speed balls or other modern equipment but did display the determination and drive etched on the young men's faces.
This is more then enough to overcome the lack of modern training facilities.

i saw good thing a while back on the discovery channel or something about Cuban boxing. Like Terry says it's the national sport, they all start at a young age and it's a tough place to live.

adamiw wrote:i saw good thing a while back on the discovery channel or something about Cuban boxing. Like Terry says it's the national sport, they all start at a young age and it's a tough place to live.

Yes I saw that Discovery Channel documentary as well, it was very good, I think it was called Boxeo Cuba. They seem to repeat it every few months.

that documentary was excellent.

That was a great documentary, i have actually been to Cuba, back in December 2002 in fact i ventured over for two weeks. I visited Holguin City and Havana on a rickety Russian plane etc Anyway i could not go without asking the tour guide "Julio" why Pro boxing is banned, all i was told was "Fidel Castro don't want" and that was that :( Apparently Fidel is good friends with Heavyweight star Teofilo Stevenson, Teofilo got away with a drunken rampage a few years ago when he got bladdered and set fire to a police station!

Cuban amateur boxers are national heroes amongst the people as you would expect, guys like Savon, Solis, Kindelan etc but strangly as one might think there are not pictures or posters or statues commemorating there achievements, that would take up room set aside for pictures of Fidel One fellow i met was a huge fan of Montannier.

But....one man not to be mentioned is Joel Casamayor! When i mentioned his name i was told by waiter Carlos "Never mention that name out loud" and he proceeded to spit on the floor....nuff said

steve689 wrote: Apparently Fidel is good friends with Heavyweight star Teofilo Stevenson, Teofilo got away with a drunken rampage a few years ago when he got bladdered and set fire to a police station!

haha,

I once heard a story about him headbutting someone at a us airport. back in about 1999 i think.

Funny man

many reasons for this. i could recommend john duncans fine book, "in the red corner"

It was Boxeo Cuba, i caught it as well. Excellent little section about Savon at the end! Great fighter!
The main reason i picked up during the programme was the almost total lack of anything else to do. No magazines, no games, no pcs etc. So the kids live on boxing. They don't have the distractions that we take for granted.
Another factor not covered is junk food culture. They have more kids participating in sports because the have lower levels of obesity in children.

Why are cuban's so good, cause of their mentality (their upbringing) and the amateur system they have there.

Just watch that documentary and you have your answer.

Their a different breed and they basically proffesionals - also a very naturally athletic race, look at the long jumpers.

They play this documentary on Cuban boxers on the Mexican HBO channel. It includes the youths to champions to past legends like Savon.

I think the main thing that makes them great is the fact that they literally start boxing at the age of 5 or 6 and they keep doing it all of their lives. Their training programs (like stated above) are insane, just nonstop intensity for long periods of time. The state sponsors them as athletes, so boxing is their job, as compared to other boxers (especially in the states) who have to box on the side while they maintain jobs to support themselves. Cubans love their boxers more than anything, that is the pride of their country.

Ah shit, maybe I should read more than 2 replies to the whole thread before posting......

Sorry about that, guys.

WHY are the Cuban amateurs so good?

Why are rainbows good?

Why are sunsets good?

Why are boobs good?

They just are.

Also they encourage their boxers to be southpaws.

Apparently 60% of cuban fighters are southpaws, whereas in other countries we generally only encourage left handed people to box right foot forward.

That's quite a good ploy in fact, everyone hates southpaws so why not teach there guys to be southpaws, i might open by own gym "STEVES SOUTHPAWS - TRAINED TO FRUSTRATE"

I'd say the Southpaws are natural, not manufactured.

You can be head coach Southpaw Stylist

Southpaw Stylist wrote:I'd say the Southpaws are natural, not manufactured.

A bit of both....but if you were always trained to fight right hand forward, even if you are left handed, you would find this stance more natural.

There are plenty of right handed orthodox boxers with great left hooks (supposedly their weak hand) so there's no reason why a right handed southpaw can't have a great left cross.