If Cuba was not under Communist control how different would boxing be?

[Weebler I]

Great place yet horrible at the same time... if you lived there like I did. But we find ways to manage tho.

What was so bad about it?

[americanbot]

What if the Sovjetunion were allowed to go pro back in the days? That'd have changed everything drastically!

Sovets sucked in the amatures...........cubans are historically great in the amatures.

how can you compare the 2

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

If you change one thing in history, it will dramatically change a lot of other things.


What if Cuba being what it is, is what makes their boxers so good?

If Cuba wasn't communist, it would have entered the pro ranks with ease. It would be more dominant than any other island in the Caribbean IMO.

I think the base of amateur boxing is what has made Cuba great but the transition to the pro's would have been very easy for a country that bleeds boxing and athletics like Cuba does.

[Light_Speed]

Teofilio Stevenson was once offered a seven figure sum to defect in the seventies by Don King, he famously said he'd rather have the love of millions of Cubans than millions of dollars. Integrity.

He probably had a gun to his head when he said that.

[MalikKnucklez]

I agree with a lot of whats been said.

Boxing/baseball are very much an institutionalized thing on the island. Its presented as a career choice to youngins in the slums very similar to the way a career as a doctor or teacher would be.

All of this isn't just because of poverty though. Most, if not all of the Latin American countries that these great fighters come from (Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama,etc.) suffer the same socioeconomic difficulties.

Cuba's success needs to be looked at (objectively) through its ideological framework as well. Not just its boxing training systems.

Whether some of us may agree or disagree with Cuba's politics, the philosophy and axiom behind Fidel's revolution does as much to fuel the worldview and beliefs of these athletes as anything else. Unlike prominent professional athletes in the States, National Cuban Champions are revered, but not taken care of financially. A lot of former Olympic medalist are starving and jobless in Havana right now. Meaning, a lot of these fighters really do fight for national pride and nothing else.

We are beginning to see a transition now that I think will change the face of pro boxing here in the States for years to come. Cuban National Champs & Olympic medalist are defecting at younger and younger ages, some to Germany, some to France, some here.

It'll be interesting.

[MalikKnucklez]

Here's the trailer to a good film chronicling some young Cuban amateur fighters some years ago in a Havana Boxing School. The film is called "Sons of Cuba"

It does a good job in exploring the Cuban amateur boxing system as well as the personal lives and ideas of these young brothers.

You can find the whole film on youtube just search "Cuban School Boxing"

[frosty-g]

Imagine if integrity could be used as currency in the US when its time to buy food or pay your mortgage.

not so much of a problem when you don't have a mortgage and are guaranteed a basic diet for as good as free.
oh, it's not like that in the US...?! it is in Cuba...

[Medved]

If Cuba wasnt communist they wouldnt have the amount of Boxers they do. The whole point was to breed Olympians to win medals and they built aton of gyms and paid good money for medals and fighters to train.

Oh and Cuba would be a complete mess if it wasnt communist (see Haiti)

[calamaro]

Cuba produce great medics too, the best of latin america, all children are in school, infant mortality is lower than the US. They have tough years when URSS lost the cold war, but we can only imagine what Cuba would be if the USA let Cuba grow. (mostly Cubans in Miami who support the block, are killing their country and their brothers) life expectancy is 78.8 years, one of the highest of the world. They dont have apple gadgets or 200$ sneakers, and really have problems providing meat for their population, but there are great success on Cuba on a lot of areas, not just boxing or baseball.

USA provide soldiers and weapons all over the world, while Cuba provide doctors all over the world.

[big paulie]

Cuba produce great medics too, the best of latin america, all children are in school, infant mortality is lower than the US. They have tough years when URSS lost the cold war, but we can only imagine what Cuba would be if the USA let Cuba grow. (mostly Cubans in Miami who support the block, are killing their country and their brothers) life expectancy is 78.8 years, one of the highest of the world. They dont have apple gadgets or 200$ sneakers, and really have problems providing meat for their population, but there are great success on Cuba on a lot of areas, not just boxing or baseball.

USA provide soldiers and weapons all over the world, while Cuba provide doctors all over the world.

Well said, there is a huge amount of misinformation regarding Cuba and if it wasnt for Americas illegal embargo it would be in a better state than it is now.

Drive through some parts of America and you will of course see some terrible poverty and homelessness, if your sick and cant afford insurance you will die, if your smart but cant afford to pay for higher education you will be denied the right to further yourself. In Cuba healthcare (which is some of the best in the carribean) and university education is free to all. Going off subject here but you get my point, this is a subject where people will always dissagree