The 1976 Cuban Boxing Team All were predicted as 'medal' winners. * Light Flyweight..........Jorge Fernandez..... (Age; 21 1/2) * Flyweight..................Ramon Duvalon...... (Age; 21) * Bantamweight............Orlando Martinez.... (Age; 31 1/2) * Featherweight............Angel Herrera........ (Age; 19) * Lightweight................Reinaldo Valiente... (Age; 21) * Light-Welterweight......Andres Aldama...... (Age; 20) * Welterweight..............Emilio Correa........ (Age; 23) * Light-Middleweight......Rolando Garbey..... (Age; 18 1/2) * Middleweight..............Luis Felipe Martinez.(Age; 21) * Light-Heavyweight......Sixto Soria............ (Age; 22) * Heavyweight..............Teofilo Stevenson...(Age; 24) Gold Medal Winners * Jorge Ferandez * Angel Herrera * Teofilo Stevenson Silver Medal Winners * Ramon Duvalon * Andres Aldama * Sixto Soria Bronze Medal Winners * Rolando Garbey * Luis Felipe Martinez
Went to Cincy for the horse races on a 76 afternoon then to the Cincy Coliseum for the U.S. team pre-Olympic finals. We had a hell of a team as well. I knew the Cuban team was tough; so according to your post, the U.S. and Cuba garnered 8 out of the possible 11 golds? Did not remember that. I do remember Leon Spinks running across the ring and sending his Cuban opponent into a catatonic *****-street puddle.
After Sixto knocked Marine Spinks down, Leon pointed at Sixto and said: "Now I am going to really kick your ass (probably something worse)" and went over and ko'ed Sixto. SRL also showed how he could handle class southpaw fighters with use of a straight right hand.
139 lbs. 'Light-Welterweight' Both Ray Leonard and Andres Aldama were nearly the same age (20). The Cuban 'southpaw' looked awesome in his previous bouts, as he was knocking out his opponents with a 'single punch'. Andres Aldama was a 100% 'pure knockout artist'. He would have made a 'great professional'. This content is protected
To bad they only had a world class shot every 4 years and, in the meantime, had the occasional continent/world game competition. Certainly not a shout-out to U.S., or 'free-world' dominance on the planet (we've made MANY bone-headed mistakes) just a spit-in-the face to all the Marxist ****-ass hell hole regimes that asked their athletes to put their talent second to their brain-washed ideology.
Bantamweight - Orlando Martinez Was the favorite to win the Gold Medal in the Bantamweight Division. Martinez, was the most experienced boxer at the 1976 Olympics. Questions arose about the 'true' age of the Cuban. He was listed as being the age of 31 1/2, but the Cuban Representatives said he was 29. If anything, he was really a 'professional'. Orlando competed at the 1968 Olympic Games, and he was the Gold Medal winner at Bantamweight at the 1972 Olympics. And he also won a Gold Medal at the 1975 Pan Am Games. Orlando Martinez had 'amateur wins' over future professional World Champions; Alfonso Zamora, Wilfred Benitez, Wilfredo Gomez and Bernard Taylor.
:deal a sickeningly hypocritical statement. This boy probably don't know **** about Cuba and thinks the US are in the right due to being brain washed from American propaganda. I bet that Call of Duty game is where the base of his opinion is.
I recall in '75 when Castro invited Latin-American world class fighters to Havana for a presentation/dinner/tribute. Roberto Duran was, reportedly, one of Fidel's favorites. His aides told him, if Castro wanted to talk to him personally, to avoid any political discussion. Fidel took him aside and, in discussing boxing with him, asked how he thought an Ali-Stevenson match would play out. "Don't be silly, Roberto said, Ali would kill him!" Fidel walked out, end of discussion. Duran knew da facts!
Not to mention 'this boy' being totally controlled by the Marxist regime he lived in. I'm sure he didn't care what the politics were when he (and other great Cuban talents) stepped in against world class amateurs. I'll give you that. But how many of the Cuban boxing talents could have shown their meddle on a world stage without their repressive ****-ass Marxist government keeping their talents to a purely amateur level, on a limited basis?
G/T, * Orlando Martinez (Cuba) was the 'Gold Medal' favorite in the Bantamweight Division. * Orlando Martinez was 'upset' in the Third Round by Chul-Soon Hwang (South Korea) by a (3:2) Split-Decision. * Chul-Soon Hwang then lost to American Charles Mooney by a (3:2) Split-Decision. * Charles Mooney went onto win a Silver Medal. * According to the Cuban Boxing Team, Orlando Martinez had a record of 571-43 (134 KO's) * He competed from 1959 (age 14) thru 1979 (age 34) * He won the Gold Medal at the 1972 Olympics, and the 1975 Pan Am Games, as well as numerous Central American and Caribbean Tournaments, and victories in International Competition. * A 5' 6", boxer-puncher, who was very strong. Many felt, if he was a professional between 1972 and 1976, he would have been a World Champion at Bantamweight.
Clearly I've misjudged who you are, but I mean you could look at this in all kinds of different ways. Think of the amount of lives that will have been saved or extended by the banning of proffesional boxing in Cuba. Virtually every con also has a pro to it. In all honesty though, I'm just trying to cover my ass for a gross misinterpretation