The Future of CUBA in the Pros, by Weightclasses. (List Inside) ***UPDATED/VIDEO***

Lara stole the show.

 

i must admit i go to this cuban forum and some cubans are just delusional , most of them think that every single fighter in 126 is scared of gamboa, they think they dont have any flaws at all including barthelemy lol the excuse they gave me was yan fought at a very light weight for the fight he lost. also i said that the cuban boxer by the name of stalin was too old for having only 3 fights "he's almost 32" and the most he will ever be is a top 60 they tell me he's not old at all and that he will be a world champion just like gamboa, lara, rigo. sorry guys just got back from that forum and i tell you im amazed with the stuff i read there

they are also a 100 percent sure that hyde is not going to have any chance in the rigo case.

 

Lara is the best prospect all the others are going to turn into gate keepers and journey men.

 

YURIORKIS GAMBOA’S CICLON PROMOTIONS SIGNS CUBAN AMATEUR STARS!

Ciclon Promotions was created by former Cuban 2004 Olympic Champion and current WBA Interim Featherweight Champion Yuriorkis “El Ciclon”Gamboa (15-0, 13 KO’s) and Miami local boxing promoter Henry Rivalta.

Gamboa which dreamed about being a promoter since arriving in the U.S. in 2007, this afternoon at the Deauville Beach Resort in Miami Beach (Ciclon Promotions) announced the signing of the latest former Cuban amateur boxing stars breaking into the pro ranks. They are Heavyweight Humberto Savigne, Light Heavyweight Sullivan Barrera and Yuriorkis’s younger brother Jr. Lightweight Yoelvis Gamboa.

Humberto Savigne started boxing in the Cuban system at the age of 11 and has 491 amateur bouts under his belt. He had fought as an amateur for the Cuban boxing team worldwide at 178Lbs. Light Heavyweight Sullivan Barrera which is also a Cuban Amateur veteran with 413 amateur bouts had fought for the Cuban team in the Central American and Caribbean games, and the Pan Am Games. The youngest of the trio Yuriorkis’s 22 year old younger brother Yoelvis Gamboa will be fighting as a Jr. Lightweight, had 79 amateur bouts all inside Cuba.

All three boxers are happy to be here in the states fulfilling there lifelong dream of being professional world champs, and are glad to be the first to sign with Ciclon Promotions.



Okay... so I did some resarch.

I don't know how old Humberto Savigne is, but he already participated in the 1998 Pan American and Caribbean Games and the 1999 World Amateur Championships, so my guess would be he's at a veteran age.

Sulivan Barrera competed at the 2000 World Junior Championships, beating Chad Dawson in the semis and winning the gold. I guess he's about 27-28 years old today.

Yoelvis Gamboa (on picture), is 22 as stated. I think he left Cuba a few months after his brother. Rumors say he hits harder than Yuri, but let's just wait and see. He was supposed to debut on May 22, but that didn't happen for some reason (licencing would be my guess).

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Be sceptical about them because of their age (not Gamboa's brother), but the number of amateur fights they had are truly abnormal if those numbers are actually true.

 

Luis Franco, 23, a Junior World Champion in 2000 and 2004 Olympian, debuts on July 31 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida.

 

Any news on their debuts? Or why the WBA upgraded Yuri to 'normal champ"?

 

luis franco is fighting july 31 in hollywood fla for the friday night fights show but i doubt it will be televised

the guy is fighting at featherweight and is going against Kato Ferguson

 

Do any of you guys have an update on when Gamboa's fight will be rescheduled?

 

Isn't it on the July show with JCC Jr?

 

he's off the card. apparently due to visa problems. damn.

 

I guess I should be thankful; Gamboa was actually making me consider buying the Chavez card. I'm already sold on the August 15 Filipino one because of the addition of Johnson/Solis.

 

Well I guess the positives are Jesus Soto Karrass will probably be inserted onto the Top Rank card. Good for him...the dude is a very exciting fighter and well going out of your way to see.

 

new article about luis franco

HOLLYWOOD, FL, June 14 – One of the best amateur boxers to hail from Cuba in the past decade, 2004 Olympian Luis Franco has defected to the United States and has his sights set on a professional world championship. To help him get to the top, Franco has inked an exclusive co-promotional deal with Seminole Warriors Boxing and Bad Dog Productions, with his professional debut to take place at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida on Friday, July 31st.

“Cuba has a rich boxing history, from Kid Chocolate to Kid Gavilan and Joel Casamayor,” said Leon Margules, Executive Director of Seminole Warriors Boxing. “We believe Luis Franco has the talent and potential to do big things in the coming years, and we’re proud to have him on our roster,” Richard Dobal of Bad Dog Productions adds; “As a Cuban-American, I follow the Cuban Olympic Boxing Team very closely. What jumps out and separates Luis Franco from the recent group that defected from Cuba is his boxing style, which is more suited to the professional game. Because of that, Luis Franco may be the best prospect to come out of Cuba in years.”

A stellar amateur with over 400 fights to his name, the 27-year old Franco won the world junior championship in 2000 and competed in the 2004 Olympics. In 2008, Franco earned another Olympic berth, but was removed from the team due to fears that he would defect. Franco did decide to leave his home country in 2009, choosing to better his family’s life by competing in the professional boxing ranks.

With a wife and child who both still live in Cuba, Franco – who will compete in the 126-pound featherweight division – is eager to do his family proud by eventually earning a world championship belt and adding his name to the roster of Cuban boxing greats.

An opponent for Franco’s professional debut on July 31st will be announced at a later date.

 

Don't know why they keep reporting he's 27. According to wikipedia and yahoo information, he was born in 1986.

Here's another article:

Finally in Miami, boxer Luis Franco is a star ready to shine

By CARLOS FRíAS, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer, Tuesday, July 14, 2009

MIAMI — The scenery hadn't changed for months, then years, and while Luis Franco's Cuban compatriots went abroad to box, his career was at the bottom of a well.

And the light at the top looked a lot like Miami.

Franco, a world junior champion in 2000, a 2004 Olympian, an amateur who fought more than 400 times, was no longer allowed to leave the country because the Cuban government had deduced - correctly, it turns out - that he was a flight risk.

So, the 23-year-old fighter with his best years ahead of him, the one called estrella, star, sat home while the Cuban national team went to Beijing for the Olympics last August without him.

He retired from his sport in January, the first step in slipping far enough below the radar to head for the light.

"I decided, 'Why am I going to keep boxing here, without seeing the light of day? I'm going to retire and find a way to reach Miami,''" he said.

On June 1, he did just that, leaving behind his wife, mother and 8-month-old son to put to use the only real skill the Cuban government had helped him develop. Franco, who didn't share the details of his emigration from Cuba, signed with Seminole Warriors Boxing, which helped land him his first professional fight - a featherweight bout July 31 against Kato Ferguson at the Seminole Hard Rock Live in Hollywood. Franco will wear his son's name, Kelly, embroidered on the belt of his trunks.

"I miss my son, my wife, my mother," he said at a news conference in Little Havana's Versailles restaurant Tuesday. "But you have to say, 'I'm going to help my family the best way I know how.' That's why I'm training as hard as I am, to have my family here, at my side."

Franco resumed his training three days after landing in the U.S. There was no time to waste because he hadn't worked in a gym since January. The most he did since leaving the Cuban national team was shadow box, hit the heavy bag, and play soccer and basketball every chance he could while still on the island. And he'd run. He loves to run, to clear his mind and stretch his lungs.

"Anything that involved physical work, I was there," he said. "I tried to keep in shape because I always had faith I'd be here some day."

He felt his stamina snap right back. And he'll need it, considering one of the biggest changes he'll face in professional boxing is going from four rounds to 12. He won't be wearing headgear for the first time. And, he'll feel every punch that much more because pro gloves are thinner and two ounces lighter than amateur gloves.

"Anybody can knock anybody out, if you're careless," he said. "You feel the punches more ... like you're getting kicked by a horse."

But he clearly is not afraid of punishment. When Franco's close friend and teammate Yan Barthelemy, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist, fled Cuba, the government banned his younger brother, Rancel, from boxing as a punitive punishment.

Rancel Barthelemy was prohibited from going to any gyms or speaking with any other Cuban boxers. Others stayed away, not wanting to risk their careers, but not Franco.

"Him being Franco, of course he came to see me," said Barthelemy, who emigrated from Cuba last year and was at Franco's news conference. Last weekend, Barthelemy won his weight class at the Florida Golden Gloves tournament.

Now, they are teammates again, trained by Orlando Cuellar, who works at Thump Gym in Kendall with several Cuban boxers, including 2004 Olympic gold medal winner Yuriorkis Gamboa.

Franco initially stayed with the family that helped him escape Cuba, but has since moved into an apartment just two blocks from Miami's Tropical Park. He works in the gym all day, but not before going for a run in the park, the way he used to in Cuba, dreaming of this day.

"Sometimes I look around and I can't believe I'm in Miami," he said. "The streets, the cars, she's a beauty."