If not for the "Politics" of Cuba, Would Cuba surpass Mexico & Puerto Rico...

I dont think so, Mexico is a bigger country and its common sense that Mexico may win because its one of the main sports there, lately the mexicans have been sleeping by the way and also **** Castro, we need more Gamboas in the ring

 

of course

 

Ok how many gold medals cuba won in boxing before the revolution, please tell me i would like to know

:hat

 

Cuba takes boxing more seriously than any other country in the world. Despite their small size, my answer to this thread is still "yes". I also think they'd surpass a hell of a lot more countries than Mexico and Puerto Rico.

 

Teofilo Stevenson
Mario Kindelan
Felix Savon
Ariel Hernandez
Hector Vinent
Rogelio Marcelo
Juan Carlos Lemus
Juan Hernandez Sierra
Roberto Balado
Hipolito Ramos
Angel Herrera
Jose Gomez
Emilio Correa

Just a short list of potential Cuban world champions. I think the likes of Stevenson, Savon and Kindelan were nailed on certs.

 

That's not true. Cuba had more champions than PR or Mexico pre-revolution. Kid Gavilan or Kid Chocolate ring a bell?

It's not like Mexico and PR were boxing powerhouses 40+ years ago. They really came on in the '70's.

 

No, no lame excuse just the facts. You don't know our Cuban brothers and our Cuban traditions, except if you are Cuban only then you can understand this... :good

 

Hi PR. Before the revolution, the Cubans were a lot more involved in professional boxing just like PR and Mex is now. That's why they did'nt win much in the amateurs back then ( I really think that they did not even participate in the amateurs back then ) but they had such good professionals and Cuba had a solid " top 5 contender " in almost every weight class. The Cubans also had awesome World professional Champions like Kid Chocolate, Kid Gavilan, Jose " Mantequilla " Napoles ( World Champion on or about the time of the revolution ), and Cuba had awesome fighters like Black Bill, El niño Valdes, etc all ranked very high...

This was mostly in the early to mid 1900's when Cuba had only " half " the population we have today...

Cuba's dominance in the amateurs started after Fidel banned professional sports, since all Cuban boxers did'nt had where to go or to box they had no choice to become " amateurs "...

Here is a recent article I found about what makes the Cuban boxers " so good "...

What makes Cuban boxers so good:

The small Caribbean nation of just over 11 million people has raked in more World Championship gold medals than both the United States and Russia.

"Cubans have the whole package," Showtime commentator Nick Charles told CNN. "They have the aggression ... the technique ... the athleticism."

Banned in 1962, professional boxing gave way to amateur competition in Cuba that has routinely produced world champions.

"It's a very rigorous process," Charles added. "It really started many years ago, after the Soviets were there in the '60s to implement the sound technical foundation that these fighters needed."

The apparent rigor of that system and keen eye for young talent keep Cuban trainers like Emilio Rodriguez prowling school yards for the next top prospects.

Cuba's exceptional sports talents specially in boxing simply cannot be denied by anyone, but their " amateur dominance " has been largely due to the fact that in Cuba their is no professional boxing...

If they have " dominated " the amateurs with so much ease, then if they would be allowed to be professionals the same outcome would " repeat " just like before Castro or perhaps even more as now Cuba has 12 million people compared to just 4 or 5 million before Fidel...

 

Why should Mexico or Puerto Rico be more successful in boxing than Cuba without communism?

Do their people have more talent, do they work harder or is boxing more of an tradition there then in Cuba?

Would cuban boxing disappear when their political system changes to a western democracy because it is not part of their culture?

In my opinion all three countries would be on par in a world without communism.

 

Good list but those are only " the Elite ", there were at least 40 to 50 more that were " solid " amateurs too but have been forgotten, they also had a great chance to be World pro Champs if given the opportunity...

Angel Espinosa
Enrique Carrion
Orestes Solano
Yosvany Vega Figueroa
Juan Carlos Lemus
Lazaro Martinez
Arnaldo Mesa
Rogelio Marcelo
Jose Ramos
Julio Gonzalez
Douglas Rodriguez
Jorge Hernandez
Rolando Garbey
Adolfo Horta
Sixto Soria
Luis Martinez
Hector Ramirez
Luis Romero
Carlos Garcia
Bernardo Comas
Pablo Romero
Armando Martinez
Juan Odelin
Pedro Reyes
Candelario Duvergel
Alfredo Duvergel
Jesus Sollet
Waldemar Font
Damian Austin
Raul Gonzalez
Maikro Romero
Manuel Mantilla
Alexis Rubalcaba
Jorge Gutierrez
Diogenes Luna
Lorenzo Aragon

These fighters were all either " World Amateur Champions or finished second in the World Amateur Championships ". There are literally 20 or 30 more who were also " solid amateurs " but I will never finish this post if I decide to look for them...

 

If poverty wasn't so rampant in Mexico we would have at least 3 more champs for every Mexican champ. Mexicans are born to fight.

 

We would just never know, in the future though which is near we will see def. more great Cuban fighters hold titles all over the divisions. Politics could have the same impact in any nation. I could perhaps say if Mexico and Puerto Rico were in the same boat as Cuba about politics. We def. would have seen a dominance and many more fighters winning gold more often in the amateurs. But since the doors are open we know many fighters prefer to go pro instead of staying in the amateurs esp. when the olympics need a major improvement in the rules and lacks the respect it once had.

 

i dont think so buddy.......cuba produces great am's, not great pro's...............

 

There's no way of knowing for certain, just another 'what if' to ponder.

 

Not only is boxing just as much, or more, of a tradion in Cuba than in Mexico or Puerto Rico, but it is also more common there as well as more important to Cubans in general. However, despite their tradition and pride in boxing, their fighters are are restricted to amateurs and are not allowed to turn pro. The Cuban fighters that have recently turned pro had to defect from Cuba first. Cuba takes great pride in dominating the amateurs around the world, as well as every four years in the olympics. As far as professional boxing goes, several Cuban fighters are missing out, and the rest of the world is missing out on potentially great Cuban fighters.