If Cuba opened it's ranks for professional boxing

[PugilisticPower]

Would we see the impact across the lower weights that we've seen in the higher weights with European nations representing the bulk of the champions from 160 up?

[Slyk]

I think so.

Then the Mexican fans could say something like..."all our lighter weight fighters are playing soccer, you guys".

[Hatesrats]

Absolutely, it would make the professional aspect of boxing much better.
The competition would increase & the talent would improve.

Open the flood gates.

[Doc]

Amateurs > pros to Cubans... when that mentality is eliminated Cuban boxers will prosper...

[Cellz831]

they would be a force for sure.

[Robney]

Certainly.

As long as they don't open McDonald's and Burger King restaurants over there too.

[WhataRock]

They would have a definite impact...and not just the lower weights...they have talent all the way up.

I'd be very interested to what kind of depth they have to compete at the pro ranks...because when the big defections of 07-10 occured there was a notable slump in results for Cuba..as you would expect but would that mean that if the next generation of defectors came through would they get the same kind of results some pro
Cubans are getting now?
Even some of their really impressive amatuers did not find instant success in the pros..so it would be interesting to see how it all panned out.

There are a lot more Cubans around then people I think realise..some of them are the ones that couldn't quite get to the top at a national level so came to America (sometimes Ireland and Germany) to try their luck in the pro game.

[Kid Cubano]

It will be,no doubts, a source of new talents in the sport. not only for the champs already members of the national team but - and more important-the base of new kids training in unknown places.Places like Guantanamo -home of casamayor,gamboa,and many more are full of kids going to train daily in hard conditions.The east of Cuba is the poorest of the nation,they migrate to the west( Havana)because it's tough in Oriente.Their dream is to become a gamboa,a rigondeaux .Since little kids they learn how to fight-a way to survive and gain respect.
Boxing in Cuba ,along with baseball,is part of the culture.Always been like that since before the fucking revolution.

[Kush]

Every other country's KO percentage would increase because of all the glass

[Kid Cubano]

Originally Posted by Kush

Every other country's KO percentage would increase because of all the glass

don't worry,the percentage of stupidity in this forum has gone up since you joined it and still the forum is alive.

[Cuban Bon Bon]

Originally Posted by PugilisticPower

Would we see the impact across the lower weights that we've seen in the higher weights with European nations representing the bulk of the champions from 160 up?

They would cause a " Cat 5 boxing Tsunami " and overflow the pro ranks with top Cuban talent and World Champions. Not just in the smaller divisions but in all divisions as well. It's simple mathematics, back in the 1920's and 30's when Cuba only had about 3 to 4 million people they managed to have 6 great ATG World Champions ( Kid Chocolate, Mantequilla Napoles, Luis M Rodriguez, Kid Gavilán, Sugar Ramos and Kid Paret ).

They also had many other top Cubans ranked in almost all weight classes waiting to fight for World Titles.

Presently, Cuba has about 11+ million people and much better boxing schools, and let's not forget that back then there was only 1 Champ per weight class and that made it much more difficult to become World Champion than now.

The new Cuban defectors are giving us " a clue " of what would be like if ALL of the Cubans are allowed to become pros. Gamboa, Lara, Rigondeaux, etc have showed that the Cubans are a major force in the pros too when totally focused and dedicated.

But when will this boxing Tsunami finally happen? Unfortunately, only God knows ...

[Vantage_West]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZLUgFhrzkw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZLUgFhrzkw[/ame]

[Jack]

I think it'd be interesting to see how things would change within the Cuban system. Amateurs and pros are two very different fighting styles, so I don't think there would be an immediate influx of world champions. However, due to the popularity of the sport in the country, success would be inevitable at some point.

I wonder how big pro shows would be in the country? Would a show in Havana with a world title headlining get 20,000 fans attending?

[Vantage_West]

ugas, castilloX2, gonzalez, abril, barthlemy, hurtado, garbey, fiss, diaz etc.


lets not get fooled amatuer wins do not equate to pro success.BUT if the cubes went pro nationally, it think we would see a massive influx across all weights.

but it's throwing the system and the whole reason why the cubes are so feared in the amateurs. they are continuous winners because they are fully grown men gritty,cagey,groomed and full time athletes which you cant with a wealth of experience due to all the other gritty,cagey,groomed fighters in the area.



had mongolia,india,middle east been given the proximity of the united states, the culture of boxing in there domain and then closed off so that nobody else could see them come olympics or championships. then say we did the same and released the hounds and they all went pro we would see a similar thing.

[Kid Cubano]

People forget that before Castro, Cuba was already a force of pro boxing.
Champs like kid chocolate,kid gavilan,mantequlla napoles,kid tunero,kid paret,florentino Fernandez ,Jose legra,Ultiminio Ramos,Luis Rodriguez .
What the revolution did was to use the talent and culture of Cubans toward boxing as a propaganda in Olympic games and amateur championship.