Cuban Gold Medalists in Rio 2016 (Super Rare Talents)

Okay so listen, if i were a promoter id try to bait these 3 fighters to defect from Cuba ASAP so that they can fullfil their destiny. With that being said we wont know if any of them ever will defect but if they do theyre bound for greatness Robeisy Ramirez, Bantamweight 56kg/123lbs Gold Medalist (2012 Gold as Flyweight): Ramirez looked really impressive the whole olympics and Shakur came into the Gold medal fight with a huge advantage: not having to fight the semifinal, while Ramirez for his part had a tough fight vs Akhmadaliev, and you could see in the final that Ramirez wasnt as sharp as he had been in the previous fights in Rio, but in the end Shakurs inexperience on the world level proved the factor imo (kids really talented) but Ramirez was the better fighter. Now Ramirez is a 2x Gold Medalist and he is still just 22 years old Out of the 3 fighters in this thread i think Ramirez is the one that is least likely to defect. If he want to defect he should do it soon cause otherwise if he chases his 3rd Gold in 2020 and wins, then i think he will not be able to resist to try to go for a 4th Gold medal in 2024 to be the first ever boxer in history to do so. Arlen Lopez, Middleweight 75kg/165lbs Gold Medalist: Man, Lopez should be every promoters wet dream, he is the COMPLETE package, and when i say complete i mean he has it all: Fast Hands, the master Cuban defense, fast reactions, makes his opponents pay with good counter punching accompanied by Scary Power, good punch technique and variation, physically seems very strong, good footwork and he seems to be able to take a punch pretty well also... and he is a southpaw that likes to switch hit like Crawford He breezed through the olympics in Rio with ease and never really showed any weaknesses, altho has to be noted that Middleweight was probably the easiest division to win a gold in this olympics, but he outboxed Melikuziev who himself is a special talent, in the final Julio Cesar La Cruz, Light Heavyweight 81kg/178lbs Gold Medalist: Now for my personal favorite, out of the 3 i think La Cruz is the one with the highest ceiling, id even go as far as saying that he is arguably the most technically skilled active boxer in the world, amateur or pro, his defense is on the level of Mayweather So what makes him special? Well for one he has the fastest reflexes in boxing today, he has superb atheleticism and upper and lower body movement, and seems to have that 6th sense of how to dodge pretty much everything thrown at him. Like Mayweather he rarely gets hit clean, and he barely took a punch in the entire Rio Olympics, and imo he is the one that deserves this olympics Val Barker Trophy But unlike the now entirely defensive minded Mayweather, La Cruz also has a great offensive game, where he dodges punches and counters with insanely accurate and powerful punches, whenever the oppurtunity rises (which is often) then bolts away before his opponent can hit him back. But unlike Mayweather his style is very very fun to watch and he does alot of showboating and taunts his opponents when they try to pin him down, which seems like an impossible task If you are a fan of sweet science and the art of boxing then it doesnt get anymore beautiful then the work of La Cruz, this guy is a rare once in a lifetime type talent while Lopez and Ramirez are special talents themselves they arent on La Cruz's level. He is in an entire category of of his own He is the Sauron of amateur boxing pretty much, one to rule them all. Would be a great loss for boxing if this guy never turns pro.

The #Rio2016 work of Julio César La Cruz #CUB in a nutshell: pic.twitter.com/2GZ7kYNwDa
— Bad Left Hook (@badlefthook) 18 augusti 2016

Thoughts?

Comments (12)

soul_survivor

Ye unlike most other cubans Lopez arsenal isnt mainly based on his defense and i view him more of an agressive fighter that breaks his opponents down with accurate punching, which is why i think Lopez would probably be a promoters dream, highly skilled - looking for the knockout, and as mentioned before he has devastating power I agree Ramirez has the most charisma and would probably be able to be a boxing star but i dont agree with Ramirez being more technically gifted then La Cruz Id rank em like this Skillwise: 1-La Cruz 2-Ramirez 3-Lopez (Might seem unfair since Ramirez is the only 2x gold medalist of the lot, but La Cruz is the biggest natural talent imo) Star potential: 1-Ramirez 2-Lopez 3-La Cruz I disagree, La Cruz isn't as technically good as Ramirez but he does have the superior athleticism which allows him to get away with certain errors. Might come back to bite him. I agree with the rankings. Of the 3 Lopez would be the biggest star. Ramirez is incredible but probably too small to make a huge splash. La Cruz is a bit more defensive, even though his style of defence imo is very entertaining, casual fans might be turned off. Lopez has the style, the punch, the age and is big enough to be fighting in the 160-168lb classes which holds a lot more attention in the west Agreed, Ramirez is just too small to be as big a star as people are thinking he could be in the pros.

9y ago

mannysavage

Of the 3 Lopez would be the biggest star. Ramirez is incredible but probably too small to make a huge splash. La Cruz is a bit more defensive, even though his style of defence imo is very entertaining, casual fans might be turned off. Lopez has the style, the punch, the age and is big enough to be fighting in the 160-168lb classes which holds a lot more attention in the west Ye i agree Lopez has a very good pro style and he seems very physically strong and hes just gonna get stronger with age, you can see he that he physically has a punchers build And sure Ramirez can definetly surpass La Cruz skillwise since hes only 22, but i dont think he is there yet

9y ago

Tom_Cruise

9y ago

mannysavage

I think Lopez probably has the most fan friendly, pro friendly style of the lot. Ramirez however is the most technically gifted of the fighters and only 22. Cruz hast he best reflexes but I'm not sure what else he does. Ye unlike most other cubans Lopez arsenal isnt mainly based on his defense and i view him more of an agressive fighter that breaks his opponents down with accurate punching, which is why i think Lopez would probably be a promoters dream, highly skilled - looking for the knockout, and as mentioned before he has devastating power I agree Ramirez has the most charisma and would probably be able to be a boxing star but i dont agree with Ramirez being more technically gifted then La Cruz Id rank em like this Skillwise: 1-La Cruz 2-Ramirez 3-Lopez (Might seem unfair since Ramirez is the only 2x gold medalist of the lot, but La Cruz is the biggest natural talent imo) Star potential: 1-Ramirez 2-Lopez 3-La Cruz

9y ago

soul_survivor

9y ago

mannysavage

This KO by Lopez was beautiful Arlen López's (#CUB) KO of Zoltán Harcsa (#HUN) #Rio2016 #boxing pic.twitter.com/xVtRPKp8nZ— Bad Left Hook (@badlefthook) 12 augusti 2016

9y ago

M_Bison

Man I really wish these guys could go pro, Cuba are being absolute dicks for holding these awesome talents back but the main standout for me has to be Ramirez! Ramirez would make a perfect guy to become a pro he entertains and he can box your ears off guys like Cruz I think he is very talented but nobody will care about him being a pro but that said I think he could reign supreme in the 175 division which isn't strong. So out of the hype for the lot it would be 1 Ramirez 2 Lopez 3 Cruz

9y ago

mannysavage

Robeisy Ramirez has the most star quality. Nice hair, charisma, and he's 22 years old as a two time medalist. If he defects he should have promoters lining up to sign him. I didn't see much of Lopez tbh. Julio La Cruz is another Rigo. Very skilled, but incredibly boring style and lacks the charisma to attract people to his fights. I don't think promoters will be lining up to sign him. Mayweather/Haymon should sign them, that would be the perfect scenario, that way they could earn alot of money, cause there is always a great risk when leaving your homeland never to return, and the last thing you want then is some greedy promoter like Arum to pull your strings, especially as Arum favors his american/mexican/puertorican fighters, and cares nothing for his other fighters (with exceptions ofc)

9y ago

Godsfly

Robeisy is a beast of a talent. really impressed with this kid.......shakur was never gonna beat Robeisy even on his worst day with no rest. shakur screams too much. i don't know who in the living hell is training shakur but you can't be screaming with every punch. it's more easy to time your attack with each scream, & thats just 1 plus 1 = 2 basics man. as basic as it gets. & he's yet to be taught not to do that.

9y ago

TheCell8

9y ago

mannysavage

Robeisy out of the three is the greater all around better fighter imo. As good as la cruz is he makes mistakes Ramirez on the other hand rarely does. I think that is mainly due to his showboating, and he likes to keep his hands very low, but because he has superfast reflexes and atheleticism he can get away with it, but like Roy Jones he will perhaps fade when his reflexes becomes slower with age

9y ago

LarryX

Yea Cuba has always had a lot of talent..sad so few get to turn pro

9y ago