Why do Cubans get lazy when they come to America?

[Johnnybur]

the kid fought the wrong fight, he thought he was some kind of puncher looking for one shot. Cubans cant handle freedom? i'm Cuban and i handle it just fine, but food for thought, just think if you were from a place where the standered of living was way below anything you can think of, a place were doctors make $10 dollars monthly and all of a sudden you are off of the island with freedom to make your own choises and then have all these boxing people throwing money at you for something you used to do for free. I'm sure you could handle it no problem right?

All it amounts too is a self-discipline issue. Some people have it, some people dont.

[RA-Box]

Gamboa has been and will continue to be the one to stand out and fulfill potential. It also looks like Rigondeaux got the wake up call from the Cordoba fight.

Lara squeaked by an off night and an ugly style matchup that he has probably never experienced in boxing before (they don't let you hold that much in AM boxing)

also, is it just me, or is it the craziest thing in the world for someone who only speaks spanish to have an english only speaking trainer? How the fûck could he pay attention to the translator with Ronnie yelling in his face?

[DeelDough]

Gamboa has been and will continue to be the one to stand out and fulfill potential. It also looks like Rigondeaux got the wake up call from the Cordoba fight.

Lara squeaked by an off night and an ugly style matchup that he has probably never experienced in boxing before (they don't let you hold that much in AM boxing)

also, is it just me, or is it the craziest thing in the world for someone who only speaks spanish to have an english only speaking trainer? How the fûck could he pay attention to the translator with Ronnie yelling in his face?

I look at this post and all I see are excuses.

First of all , Lara did not have an off night. He looked very determined to win. But he couldnt execute.

Also , how the **** do you know for a fact that Lara doesnt UNDERSTAND (not speak) english. One thing is to not speak it fluently , but he might very well know what the hell his trainer is telling him.

When I first got to this country , all I knew how to say was corn flakes , hot dog , pop corn 1,2,3,4,5 , yellow , red and green. and sandwich.

And I remember I had a black coach for baseball. And he use to scream at me like crazy. For a week or so I didnt understand what the **** he was saying. Then we both agreed without even talking that we would need to come up with a way to communicate. And a few weeks later we were having full sign language conversations.

Common man , that is the lamest excuse ever. He doesnt know english. Give me a fkn break. Im pretty sure they can communicate.

lara was exposed , he could not execute. He was being lazy on the ring , and thought he could simply turn it on whenever he wanted , but he was unable to dominate.

[RA-Box]

I look at this post and all I see are excuses.

First of all , Lara did not have an off night. He looked very determined to win. But he couldnt execute.

Also , how the **** do you know for a fact that Lara doesnt UNDERSTAND (not speak) english. One thing is to not speak it fluently , but he might very well know what the hell his trainer is telling him.

When I first got to this country , all I knew how to say was corn flakes , hot dog , pop corn 1,2,3,4,5 , yellow , red and green. and sandwich.

And I remember I had a black coach for baseball. And he use to scream at me like crazy. For a week or so I didnt understand what the **** he was saying. Then we both agreed without even talking that we would need to come up with a way to communicate. And a few weeks later we were having full sign language conversations.

Common man , that is the lamest excuse ever. He doesnt know english. Give me a fkn break. Im pretty sure they can communicate.

lara was exposed , he could not execute. He was being lazy on the ring , and thought he could simply turn it on whenever he wanted , but he was unable to dominate.

Hey man, if that's how you feel about it, fair enough.

When I compare his performance with his past bouts, it looks to me like he had an off night. People aren't machines man, it happens.

He was not "Exposed" though.

The only thing you might be able to say is that his inside game is lacking, which I'll definitely agree and is recognized as something not built up in the amateur program, which just 16 fights ago, Lara only experienced. So yeah, a fighter ducking and weaving in to hold every 10 seconds is probably something Lara hasn't seen yet.

And as far as the english thing goes. I'm not using it as a reason for his performance tonight, but it definitely doesn't help. I guess I am crazy for thinking it is a bad idea.

[SonOfCuba]

Cause they are in America.

[mrpain81]

Because they don't have to eat octopus for breakfast/lunch/dinner any more.

[DeelDough]

Hey man, if that's how you feel about it, fair enough.

When I compare his performance with his past bouts, it looks to me like he had an off night. People aren't machines man, it happens.

He was not "Exposed" though.

The only thing you might be able to say is that his inside game is lacking, which I'll definitely agree and is recognized as something not built up in the amateur program, which just 16 fights ago, Lara only experienced. So yeah, a fighter ducking and weaving in to hold every 10 seconds is probably something Lara hasn't seen yet.

And as far as the english thing goes. I'm not using it as a reason for his performance tonight, but it definitely doesn't help. I guess I am crazy for thinking it is a bad idea.

In my honest opinion. I think he was WAYY to lazy.

He has good fundamentals and has great skills. But it doesnt seem like he knows how to fight in the pros.

All I saw from him was head hunting , looking for the one lucky shot. He was being bullied.

When this fight started you could tell who was the most skilled and more athletic guy , and also who had the better boxing.

Molina made him fight his fight.

Lara couldnt adjust. He needs to be more active , specially when you dont have that inside game. You better keep your opponent away. He had the right tools to do so. Just cant accept why he couldnt do it.

I guess your right. He wasnt exposed. maybe not the the fullest. But a part of him was. A part of his style was.

[Evil Abed]

In my honest opinion. I think he was WAYY to lazy.

He has good fundamentals and has great skills. But it doesnt seem like he knows how to fight in the pros.

All I saw from him was head hunting , looking for the one lucky shot. He was being bullied.

When this fight started you could tell who was the most skilled and more athletic guy , and also who had the better boxing.

Molina made him fight his fight.

Lara couldnt adjust. He needs to be more active , specially when you dont have that inside game. You better keep your opponent away. He had the right tools to do so. Just cant accept why he couldnt do it.

I guess your right. He wasnt exposed. maybe not the the fullest. But a part of him was. A part of his style was.

His lack of inside game is going to get him killed against a good pressure fighter.

Ala Angulo or Kirkland.

He's going to end up like Cordington when he fight Bika if he's not careful.

[joe strong]

cuba is an extremely poor country & once they hit the states they are surrounded by good food,women,big parties,basically the fast lane lifestyle.there are many distractions in america.they make money fast & have never had it so they can sometimes spend it foolishly.no different then americans or any athlete at that who came from the ******.ask mike tyson what money does to a poor kid....its easy to have discipline when you have nothing but once the fridge is full sometimes that discipline can deteriorate fast...we are all guilty of spending foolishly & living beyond our means...one note gamboa sold his olympic gold medal to pay for his daughters first bday party.i thought that was great & i think he is the one cuban who may have his head on straight & isnt destracted by the big city lights of the states...

[Khmelnytsky]

Man, I hate excuses. I try to avoid them in my own life. I'm not a fan of making them for others, either. I can only offer theories as to why some of these guys don't seem as successful as they should be.

Cuban athletes are selected from a young age to train in a particular sport. The programs are all about success in the amateur system. Cubans are the best amateur boxers in the world. The problem is, when you're in your mid-twenties to early thirties, and all you've ever known is the amateur system, it's hard to change. In short: you can't teach an old dog new tricks. To top it off, these Cuban boxers are so used to beating everyone they fight that some have difficulty believing it's even possible to lose.

From a psychological perspective, these young men have been deprived of a lifestyle that many Americans take for granted. Nice clothes, good food, party money, etc. These are all things that Cubans go nuts on because they don't get them on the island. And, let's not forget the most important thing that most Americans take for granted: FREEDOM. You take a young man that's never had these things and you give them more than even most Americans have...it's like having too much candy....

cuba is an extremely poor country & once they hit the states they are surrounded by good food,women,big parties,basically the fast lane lifestyle.there are many distractions in america.they make money fast & have never had it so they can sometimes spend it foolishly.no different then americans or any athlete at that came from the ******.ask mike tyson what money does to a poor kid....its easy to have discipline when you have nothing but once the fridge is full sometimes that discipline can deteriorate fast...

Virtually all of these things can be said about fighters from Eastern Europe (or Asia, South America and alot of other places) yet i don't see them being completely undisciplined, becoming obese, or simply giving up on their one meal ticket once it's right in front of them with so many of their athletes.

Joe Strong's 'poor kid from the ******' excuse is particularly pathetic. Pacquiao's poverty > Tyson's. Russian poverty in the 90's > Tyson's.