Olympic champions, world amateurs and rising youngsters have, for the first time since 1962, been given permission by the Cuban government to return to competing on the professional boxing circuit.
The participation of Cubans in professional boxing had been prohibited after the establishment of the communist regime, on the grounds that it exclusively benefited businessmen and because there was no concern for the well-being of boxers.
Two of the greatest idols of Cuban boxing, the three-time Olympic champions Teófilo Stevenson and Félix Savon, who dominated, respectively, the 70’s and 90’s, remained their entire career in amateurism. In Stevenson’s case, there was no shortage of multi-million offers for him to fight American professional champion Muhammad Ali.
The card that marks this return is scheduled for this Friday (20), with transmission to Brazil by ESPN4, at 10 pm. The participation of Cuban champions in Olympic and World Amateur Games is scheduled, such as the bi-Olympics Julio Cesar la Cruz and Roniel Iglesias.
The objective is for these Cuban athletes to climb the rankings and compete for professional world titles, but the priority remains their participation in the Olympics, Amateur World Cups, Pan American Games, Central American Games, among other competitions held under Olympic rules, important to the image that the country projects to the world.
In other words, Cuba has the last word when it comes to the participation of its athletes in events. In practice, the Cuban government, through its sports directors, will assume the role of “manager” of the athletes.
“The participation of Cubans in professional boxing will serve as a motivation for the next generations, economically benefits the athlete and the Cuban boxing federation, which will allocate its part of the money to the development of boxing programs”, he explained to Sheet Gerardo Saldivar, president of Golden Ring. “Boxers will receive 80% of the scholarships, coaches, 15%, and the medical team accompanying the team will receive 5%.”
Golden Ring is a Mexican boxing promoter. It is foreseen in the contract signed with her that Cuba will be financially compensated through a percentage on the athletes’ “gloves” (bonus on signing contracts), billing with broadcasting rights for the events, etc.
The possibility of more robust financial compensation for boxers, through their adhesion to professional boxing, is seen as an incentive to discourage new defections, according to a source with background in Cuban boxing heard by the report. According to the same source, the approximation, in recent years, of the styles adopted by Olympic and professional boxing has also facilitated the decision of Cuban leaders.
Saldivar stated that he cannot reveal the values, information protected by a confidentiality clause.
In recent decades, Cuban leaders have seen dozens of the country’s top boxers defect and go to the United States or Europe. Because of their technical quality, a product of the Cuban system, they reached world belts without a penny going to the country’s government.
Two such examples are Erislandy Lara and Guillermo Rigondeaux, who tried to escape during the Rio 2007 Pan, were sent back to Cuba, succeeded in defecting later and became professional world champions.
Through the agreement concluded with the Golden Ring, the Caribbean island will be entitled to at least “a slice of the cake”.
THE Sheet contacted the spokesperson in charge of Cuban boxing, but received no response at the time of writing.
At least one entity, the World Boxing Council, does not welcome the participation of the same athletes in amateur and professional competitions. Its president, Mauricio Sulaiman, has already spoken out against it, as in an interview with UOL shortly before Rio-2016.
The same posture is not adopted by the World Boxing Association, for example, which allowed Hassan N’dam, who already participated in Rio-2016 as a professional (the International Boxing Association allows the participation of professionals in the Olympic Games), a short time then enter your rankings and fight for a professional world title.
As the Cuban government’s approval for the participation of Cubans in the professional circuit has just been given, it is not out of the question that some famous Cuban boxers could abandon amateurism for good to dedicate themselves exclusively to professionalism, according to the report found.
That is, in theory, they could rotate between the amateur and professional circuits in the early part of their careers and, later, abandoning amateurism altogether, they could compete for a professional belt, dodging any bans.
Last year, there was a card, which served as a test event, also promoted by the Golden Ring, in which Cubans faced professionals in Mexico, but no official results were released. Although the winners of the fights were internally appointed, the duels ended with the status of “exhibitions”. “This event was important for Cuba to see how we work and close the contract,” says Saldivar. “But on this Friday’s card, it’s going to be professional fights.”
A few years ago, Cuban boxers participated, in the form of a team called “Domadores de Cuba”, in the World Series of Boxing, the extinct AIB league that mixed amateur and professional rules.
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