Comments Thread For: Abril: I'll Show Brandon Rios That Cuban Boxing is Superior

[CubanGuyNYC]

i want to see this fight because I want to see what cuban boxing can do

I don't think anyone would claim that Richard Abril is the champion of the "Cuban School of Boxing." In a fight, the "school" is only as good as the man who's representing it.

Currently, I regard Guillermo Rigondeaux as the greatest proponent of the Cuban system. Many people regard him as boring, but give him time....

[mex602]

Cuba has produced some vary good fighters, my personal favorite is Manteqilla Napoles, he was a marvel. The case now is, they do have a superior AMATEUR system. They have no pros, so the amateurs include the pro talent. They are pro in all but merchandising, an anomaly, turning the intent of the amateur only rule on it's head.

I put cuba over pr but abril is a scrub who has no room to talk...viva mexico cabrones

[Phenom]

No body cares about this shit fight

[CubanGuyNYC]

No one questions the class of the Cuban boxing school, but the Mexican boxing school is well respected.

Trivia: Nacho Beristain has had over 20 world champions and he said the technique he has shown to most of his fighters derived from a mixture of the Cuban boxing and Russian boxing. He took the best of both nations and implemented his own. We all know his boxers have been amazing fighters like JMM, daniel zaragoza, Rafa Marquez, Ricardo Lopez.

It's an honor to have the great trainer bestow such respect upon the Cuban system.

The current Cuban school is itself based on Russian and Eastern European ideas, blended (of course) with the island's special flavor.

Amateur boxing is much more points based than its pro counterpart. Today's Cubans tend to rely more on skill and scoring than their predecessors (hit and don't get hit). Before Castro, Cuban pros fought in a very different fashion. Guys like Gavilan and Napoles were warriors. They were highly skilled, but could also take anything you threw at them.

[Check]

I tried editing my post, but you replied too fast. lol

You're right, he made an umbrella statement. Basically he's saying Cuban boxing tops everyone else's. That would include the U.S. (But, although Rios is American, I regard "Bam Bam's" brand of boxing as Mexican, rather than American.)

Abril is talking out of his ass; but I think Cuba is a top five boxing nation, even now. The island has been the juggernaut in amateur boxing for decades. Even with just with a trickle of defectors, Cubans are already making their presence felt again in pro boxing.

Yuriorkis Gamboa won a belt; Guillermo Rigondeaux holds a belt; Yoan Pablo Hernandez holds a belt; Erislandy Lara is a top contender in his division; Odlanier Solis fought for the heavyweight title. Not bad for virtually a handful of boxers that are actually competing. There will be more on the way....

Bam Bam is American he was born here but he certainly has Mexican decent. He even reps both flags but that's for another conversation. Cuba is doing good and p4p might be the best nation but just overall I'd have it in that 5-7 range. I know people like to compare the amount of fighters a nation has and obviously the United States or Mexico has a lot more fighters but elite talent doesn't come in high quan******, as you see by Cuba and PR, so I never give credit strictly on a country having a low population. That's not a knock on Cuba though because they are doing very well. In fact, if PR doesn't start the ball rolling again Cuba may very well pass it. PR has that one kid though, I forgot his name but he looks like a real talent.

[Alpha & Omega]

Cuban fighters have great amateur pedigrees and superb fundamentals. I respect their boxing tradition, but in this fight, Abril is going to get KOed. As good a boxer as he may be, Rios is just a beast. This is a mid-late rounds stoppage win for Rios. Rios is still improving and he is not even fighting at his best weight yet.

WAR Bam Bam!

[CubanGuyNYC]

Bam Bam is American he was born here but he certainly has Mexican decent. He even reps both flags but that's for another conversation. Cuba is doing good and p4p might be the best nation but just overall I'd have it in that 5-7 range. I know people like to compare the amount of fighters a nation has and obviously the United States or Mexico has a lot more fighters but elite talent doesn't come in high quan******, as you see by Cuba and PR, so I never give credit strictly on a country having a low population. That's not a knock on Cuba though because they are doing very well. In fact, if PR doesn't start the ball rolling again Cuba may very well pass it. PR has that one kid though, I forgot his name but he looks like a real talent.

The population of Mexico is over 112 million. The amount of Mexican-Americans in the U.S. is about 32 million. There are approximately 4 million Puerto Ricans in the mainland U.S. and approximately the same number on the island. That makes eight million Boricuas. Boxing is a huge sport for people of either heritage, so you have a large percentage of participants.

There are 1.5 million Cubans in the U.S., most of whom never cared for pro boxing because their people weren't represented. The eleven million on the island are not free. When you consider how few Cubans there are (and the fact that we still have untapped talent on the island), it's not difficult to see how good we are at boxing. The numbers don't lie.

[Check]

The population of Mexico is over 112 million. The amount of Mexican-Americans in the U.S. is about 32 million. There are approximately 4 million Puerto Ricans in the mainland U.S. and approximately the same number on the island. That makes eight million Boricuas. Boxing is a huge sport for people of either heritage, so you have a large percentage of participants.

There are 1.5 million Cubans in the U.S., most of whom never cared for pro boxing because their people weren't represented. The eleven million on the island are not free. When you consider how few Cubans there are (and the fact that we still have untapped talent on the island), it's not difficult to see how good we are at boxing. The numbers don't lie.

I understand your theory but I can't agree with it. Look at how many American heavyweights there are. I think nearly 50% of the heavyweight division are Americans and they all virtually are garbage. Just because there are less Cubans in boxing doesn't mean if a bunch started boxing they would automatically do well. Boxing is a very detailed sport and it takes a lot more than interest to excel at it.

[CubanGuyNYC]

Cuban fighters have great amateur pedigrees and superb fundamentals. I respect their boxing tradition, but in this fight, Abril is going to get KOed. As good a boxer as he may be, Rios is just a beast. This is a mid-late rounds stoppage win for Rios. Rios is still improving and he is not even fighting at his best weight yet.

WAR Bam Bam!

Rios is a monster at lightweight; he should win this fight.

As for this not being his best weight, time will tell. I believe that "Bam Bam" has been fighting at 135 because his handlers felt his chances were better at lightweight. Otherwise, why would he be killing himself all this time to make weight?

I believe Brandon's career will be exciting but short. His face-first style just doesn't lend itself to longevity. We'll see how Rios fares when he starts getting tagged by bigger punchers. Acosta (yes, the same guy Abril just beat) belted Brandon pretty good in their encounter. A bigger hitter might've taken "Bam Bam" out.

[CubanGuyNYC]

I understand your theory but I can't agree with it. Look at how many American heavyweights there are. I think nearly 50% of the heavyweight division are Americans and they all virtually are garbage. Just because there are less Cubans in boxing doesn't mean if a bunch started boxing they would automatically do well. Boxing is a very detailed sport and it takes a lot more than interest to excel at it.

Okay, we disagree on the point. However, if you look at Boxrec and note the number of Mexican and Puerto Rican pros, versus the number that are actually "good," the percentage is significantly lower than that of Cuban pro boxers. And, by the way, the Cubans back on the island I was referring to are actually promising amateurs, not just regular people.