A Cuban Boxer's Journey: Rigondeaux, from Castro's Traitor to American Champion

A big publisher in New York has just published a book about Guillermo Rigondeaux, and wow, some crazy stuff on there, a must buy. http://www.amazon.com/Cuban-Boxers-Journey-Guillermo-Rigondeaux-ebook/dp/B00ID8G848 Excerpted from the book It was as if a Cuban version of Mr. Kurtz had stepped out of his own version Heart of Darkness to pop into the gym for a visit. That day, back in 2007, the first time I was introduced to Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz in Havana, the thing was, I had little way of knowing who or what I was looking at. I had only seen Rigondeaux's face not obscured by headgear once. The trouble that evening was that his face was instead obscured by the photograph of Fidel he was holding aloft after having been declared the victor of a tournament. All I saw now was a solemn, 5-foot-5-inch kid, dressed in a Nike ball cap and jeans, with a fake Versace shirt that had the sleeves ripped off. Without realizing it I started toward Rigondeaux. As I approached him, in the shade under the bleachers of the entrance to Rafael Trejo, my first impression was that his was the saddest face I had ever seen on the island. One of the few things not in short supply in Havana is sadness. Rigondeaux's sadness distinguished him from his countrymen nearly as much as his boxing pedigree. I reached out a hand and introduced myself and he did what he could, under the strained circumstances at the gym, to muster a smile. Up close I noticed his right eye showed damage, slumping slightly from his left. Rigondeaux's attempt at a polite smile betrayed the gold grill over his front teeth for a brief moment as he took another drag of his Popular cigarette. "So where did you get that gold on your teeth?" I asked him. Rigondeaux snickered, dropped his head and smirked, taking a last long drag on his cigarette before flicking it on the ground and stamping it out with his sneaker. "Oh you know, I melted down both my gold medals into my mouth. I used to fight in this place ..."

Comments (20)

Just downloaded it, gonna read it in the next days, so excited for this :boxing: Would love to see a Lara book in future too, came across this article which was very interesting http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2011-10-27/news/erislandy-lara-robbed-in-a-boxing-scandal-he-s-coming-back/full/ In the ring, he floored one challenger after another during the long months of training to prepare for Beijing. "I knew I could beat anyone," he says. "I would even go up and fight drunk sometimes. It didn't matter." - what a badass! On his second defection - Hours after swimming away from his Marianao apartment, Lara had clung desperately to a seat in an uncovered boat skimming over six-foot waves and lashed with horizontal rain. "I was sure we would die on the sea," he says. "I've never felt fear like on the Gulf." On the Williams robbery - Here's the ugly truth behind Williams's phony win: All too often, promoters have influence over a fight's judges. And those promoters can make fortunes based on who wins. (Williams took home $1.5 million instead of $135,000.) Lol boxing drunk even sparring that is some crazy sh*t right there.

11y ago

WesleySnipes

11y ago

DoktorSleepless

Another fun fact from the book. Rigo was beat up badly by a 15 year old Mexican kid in a Wild Card sparring session right before Rigo's 6th pro fight. It's why Roach refused to be in Rigo's corner for that fight. They didn't mention his name, but by the clues given in this book, I'm pretty sure it was Byron Gonzalez. http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=537288&cat=boxer It's too bad it looks like he stopped fighting in 2012 though. Finished with a record of 4 wins and 3 draws. One of those draws was with Francisco Vargas, which is pretty decent.

11y ago

Bardock

mira niña linda Bazooka was a mexican killer, it took a hof and bigger man from mexico to defeat him Funny, wasn't he a HOF himself?

11y ago

BendOver

here, mija. mira niña linda Bazooka was a mexican killer, it took a hof and bigger man from mexico to defeat him

11y ago

DoktorSleepless

Anyway, I just finished reading the book. Butler is an excellent writer. Whether a Rigo fan or not, it's worth the read. Surprisingly, Butler only ends up meeting Rigo like 6 times in the 6-7 year span this book takes place in, and most of the encounters were brief. I originally thought he was close to Rigo and had constant access to him, which wasn't really the case. A lot of what makes the book interesting is actually Butler's own journey and the trouble the went through in trying to secure these various interviews. And not just with Rigo, all these other famous Cuban Olympians that didn't defect in contrast to Rigo.

11y ago

Aztekkas

Dope read... I thought Felix Savon's speech impediment part was pretty hilarious! He used to knock dudes out, but when you heard him talk, you would think he was gay! Another commonality he had with Mike Tyson. This story also shed some light on his poor performances as well.. Particularly his fight with Cordoba. His son was gravely sick, and his moms (one of his few family members that stood behind him during his defection) passed away a year earlier.... Damn.... And Donaire was crying about his damn shoulder and his son being born... SMH. and the worst part of it all? He couldn't do much about it seeing as how he can't go back home to Cuba... depressing when you think about it and it hit home with me as well since I underwent a similar situation in the past.

11y ago

Artillery

11y ago

jsmith_tsu

Him living here it's kind of a rehabilitation process, but I didn't know the sh*t about the grill that is the most bad ass sh*t I have ever heard of. You have to be petty sick of the system to literally melt the proof of your greatest achievement. It's that true or was he just fking with the writer? The dude is known to be funny even if he don't look like it. Coach went super saiyan tho. Damn. I luv it. I wonder what his power level is

11y ago

BBomber

lmao The American media has always romanticized Cuba. Sure, they touch upon some of the "inconveniences", but the harsh realities are usually glossed over in favor of the more palatable (no pun intended) aspects of the Cuban experience. Whatever...Cubans aren't any worse off than many people in the Third World, just don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining.... No doubt , Cuba, as many other places not only in the 3rd world, is romanticized by the western media. I though disagree with the general view of the US as a safe haven, Detroit is not in Cuba, nor is St.Louis. The US are surely richer but not necessarily safer. The intentional homicide rate , for instance , is higher in the US than in Cuba , Senegal or Sierra Leone. As for Rigondeaux I agree with you, nobody can know what the man went/is going through, those are though decisions and the idea of just 'shipping' his family to the US is ludicrous at best. With all that said, Rigo is one of the most skilled boxers I've ever seen, I wish he could have turned pro much younger, I believe he'd have reached an ATG status.

11y ago

NearHypnos

It's a tough situation. My father in law is still struggling to get my bro in law in. It's not easy. These fools think it's a matter of jumping on a boat and crossing the straits. They're pathetic. El Salvadorians normally pass as Mexicans so they have sort of a shortcut coming in. Easy for them to say. The desert vs the ocean, neither is good... I hope you aren't implying it's easy for Mexicans because it only gets harder once they reach here. Funny thing though..a lot of cubans come in through Mexico. :P We actually have a fee relatives who came in that way. Rigo's situation is hard though because of his status as a traitor in the political sense. He's a public figure, he can't just "send" for his kids like amazon would be shipping em in. I don't know why that poster thinks you can. Rigo doesn't represent the normal struggle as an immigrant, it's more complicated so it's unfair to assume his situation as you would a typical cuban's or other latin american for that matter. Money talks NORMALLY, but all the money in the world can't fix Rigo's issue with the way his country perceives HIM. The problem isn't Rigo but his country and the uncertainties surrounding his situation. He could make it much, much worse for his family... Rigo can't go back to his country, that's the killer here. If worse comes to worse he cant just flip flop around , come fight in the states and go take care of his family in person. There's no going back and he has to live with that decision. If I'm being honest, generally speaking the trek from those central american countries into the U.S and then the struggle once here is much much harder though imo.

11y ago

Bardock

check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx6hbleVbXM here, mija.

11y ago

DoktorSleepless

More on scumbag Rigo if you needed more proof. http://i.imgur.com/IWYB9yX.png Also, it's right on Rigo's contract with Gary Hyde that Hyde would smuggle his family out of Cuba, but Rigo changed his mind and doesn't want them here anymore. Hyde has the resources and is 100% capable of doing it. If I remember correctly, the book said he successfully smuggled 20 other Cubans himself.

11y ago

garfios

r all cubans traitors??? Posted from Boxingscene.com App for Androidcheck this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx6hbleVbXM

11y ago

ManOfVictory

r all cubans traitors??? Posted from Boxingscene.com App for Android

11y ago

SonOfCuba

Great discussions guys.

11y ago

ElMeroChingon

Interesting, I sat down and started reading Rigo's book ,after about 3min I had to get off my seat and leave the room because it was so boring.:bottle: Book publishers are going to have their hands full trying to sell this one:bottle: You prob haven't read a book since middle school so I can understand Boxing fans after 3 minutes of reading a Rigo book ..... http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UtNfrJYrXw0/UX-njQWQbmI/AAAAAAAALiY/9ObI918bTIU/s1600/throwing-book.gif here you go bro:bottle: It'll stop your crying.

11y ago

CubanGuyNYC

Yeah i know what you mean. I am currently living in Makati City, Manila, Philippines and even the upper class act as if nothing is wrong. Once you head out of this immediate area you see the realities. I went to a McDonalds once through the slums in Pasay and i was ordering, when out the window i saw a naked, dirty child. I ended up buying him a combo meal and walked outside to hand it over. I realised many things that day and how much we take for granted in the US. I also lived in Mexico throughout my child hood in piss poor conditions***8230; but when things are that bad, nothing seems bad to you***8230;if that makes any sense? The struggle is real my friend. It makes perfect sense. When you're living on a mound of shit, nothing stinks. I've been considering a trip to the Philippines soon. I expect more of the same you see around rest of the world. Your tale seems par-for-the-course. You don't even have to look beyond the U.S. I drove through West Texas and parts of New Mexico on my way to Vegas a couple of years ago. Some of those places made you wonder if you weren't in Africa, or something. Without getting too much off-target, my original point was simply that Cuba is nowhere near the island paradise/successful social experiment some would have you believe. It's not much different than any other Third World den of misery you'd find in 90% of the planet. It just irritates me a little when a guy like Rigo is judged for the handling of his fate with regards to the shithole he came from. You've gotta walk a mile in those shoes....

11y ago

Aztekkas

90% of the world is a fucked up mess, bro. I'm just glad that I'm privileged to live in one of the patches that lives relatively well. Some dudes haven't got a clue. They think the rest of the world lives the way they do. lol Even in places like Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Sergio is from, the living is choppy as hell. They call it the "Paris of South America." I was there three years ago. I'd be chillin', having a great lunch al fresco with my boy, and some dirty, three year old, shoeless child would come begging for money. It was a real eye-opener. One moment you're in places reminiscent of Fifth Avenue in NYC (or Paris, for that matter), the next, you're reminded there are starving people in this world. Cuba is generally a shithole. Mexico isn't much better off, if at all. But fret not, we're not at all alone.... Yeah i know what you mean. I am currently living in Makati City, Manila, Philippines and even the upper class act as if nothing is wrong. Once you head out of this immediate area you see the realities. I went to a McDonalds once through the slums in Pasay and i was ordering, when out the window i saw a naked, dirty child. I ended up buying him a combo meal and walked outside to hand it over. I realised many things that day and how much we take for granted in the US. I also lived in Mexico throughout my child hood in piss poor conditions… but when things are that bad, nothing seems bad to you…if that makes any sense? The struggle is real my friend.

11y ago

CubanGuyNYC

Funny how TV celebrities visit the island and it's paradise. I'm not nearly into politics the way I used to be -- everyone is full of shit. But the Cuban image is an invention of the so-called "liberal media." That I must grant the right wing (who, as I said, are also full of mierda).

11y ago