Cuban Fighters are Overrated

[Angry Cuban]

The mere fact a fighter originates from Cuba is an indication of skill that should already be assumed. The reasoning for this is soley based on Cuban politics and how they treat there athletes. Baseball and Boxing, chosing one or the other, youre destined to be a champion.

Boxing in Cuba is under Government Control (as well as Baseball), and specifically sets out to identify young fighters who have potential, and dedicate a lot of resources to there training.

Unfortuantely because Boxing in Cuba is under communist control, Cubans have to defect (usually at an older age) and most of the time, leave there entire life, and family behind...that shows how dedicated they are to the sport (and money).

Because of this unique aspect, Cuban fighters are my favorites and have a very very unique advantage compared to other countries.

Please watch a documental in youtube called the boys who fought for castro..it have English subtitles..I drop some tears when I watched..and I m not soft..lol..wha this kids go thru is an admirable mix of sacrifice and dedication to the highest level...my respect to you and warm my heart your like toward my country...

[pesticid]

So Gamboa tearing up Orlando Salido's ass putting him down twice , that's the Gamboa that fights Journeymen lol

[DannYankee]

Every single Cuban amateur star who has defected has had success in pro boxing not all will become super star, because you still need chin and learn to put the hurt on people not just win by points because lets face it, that's boring as ****. But when you take into account the miniscule Number of Cuban boxers who ever even get the chance to do the pro game and how many are talked about every day, and the influx of prospect of an island who labels you a traitor as soon as you leave its the Ultimate story of Quality over Quantity nothing short of amazing and this might butt hurt some people obviously but at least you know where the "hype" comes from.

[CubanGuyNYC]

I mentioned something along similar lines once before.

I mean, with all of the Cuban defectors (many of them athletes) with 40 years + of communism all the Cubans from Miami have to show for it is Joel Cassamayor?

They get too much praise for things unaccomplished in pro boxing.

Your post is a good example of what is meant by the saying "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing." You've heard/read a little about Cubans and make these inaccurate extrapolations. For starters, Castro took over in January 1959. Therefore, the commies are going on 54 years in power. Before the relatively recent defections that included Gamboa and Rigondeaux, Casamayor was pretty much the only Cuban of note to defect. Joel was an Olympic gold medalist, unlike the very few Cubans that were his contemporaries.

There are approximately 1.5 million Cubans in the United States. How many champions do you expect to come out of that population? By contrast, there are over 30 million people of Mexican descent in the U.S., while Mexico has a population of nearly 115 million. Even the Puerto Ricans, who have a tiny population, number over 3.5 million on the island and over 4.5 million in the mainland U.S. The very fact that Cubans have such a disproportionate representation in today's professional boxing is testament to the quality of our fighters.

[MVOLT]

So Gamboa tearing up Orlando Salido's ass putting him down twice , that's the Gamboa that fights Journeymen lol

salido is a journeyman

[CubanGuyNYC]

Now they are, but i'll be damned if Gavilan isn't one of the toughest and most brilliant fighters I've seen on tape.

Kid Gavilan was an amazing fighter. If you look at enough top-ten ATG welterweight lists, you see two Cubans consistently make the cut: Gavilan and Jose Napoles. A good argument for inclusion can be made for Luis Rodriguez. These men were all products of pre-Castro Cuba. While the communists may have improved the amateur system on the island, they utterly destroyed the pro game by choking all of our talent out of the free world.

[Barn]

Kid Gavilan was an amazing fighter. If you look at enough top-ten ATG welterweight lists, you see two Cubans consistently make the cut: Gavilan and Jose Napoles. A good argument for inclusion can be made for Luis Rodriguez. These men were all products of pre-Castro Cuba. While the communists may have improved the amateur system on the island, they utterly destroyed the pro game by choking all of our talent out of the free world.

Gavilan is usually a top 20/30 P4P ATG at the very least.

Not bad.

[Angry Cuban]

it seems these fighters are getting praise more for potential then actual achievements

let's start off with Gamboa a career filled with tune ups and journeyman who even then he struggles to beat and gets knocked down on his a$$ by them
his best career win is probably 11 losses salido

then we have Lara......he fights Carlos Molina (hadn't fought in 2 years prior) and gets a gift draw...he gets robbed of a win over a past prime williams...then goes on to draw with vanes.....

Rigo is probably the most overrated he went life and death vs cordoba and got rocked by a prospect........best win is rico ramos

Your thread didn't work..you got five pages of ppl respect for cubans boxers...not much hate...but I keep good post from this thread...thanks for that..and happy new year for everyone!!!! .2013 will be memorable for boxing..

[CubanGuyNYC]

There's been a mystique attached to Cuban athletes for decades. The main reason is because they're unable to freely compete in the world at-large. Americans rarely get to see them, and the U.S. media has played on this fact to create interest for years.

It's widely known that the Cuban government has managed to produce some excellent boxers due to their amateur program. But Cuban fighters are individuals and must be judged as such. As far as I'm concerned, the main Cuban pros today are Gamboa, Rigondeaux and Lara.

I've never been a huge fan of Erislandy. I think he's a solid fighter, but nothing special. He seems overrated to me. Guillermo is special, but he's already 32 and only has eleven professional fights. It's a shame. I’m beginning to believe too many of his formative years were spent in the amateurs. The jury is still out. Yuri is the star. He possesses the best combination of style and substance. He's P4P material. Gamboa might be over-hyped, but not overrated.

[CubanGuyNYC]

Gavilan is usually a top 20/30 P4P ATG at the very least.

Not bad.

Yes, P4P. But he routinely makes the top-ten ATG welters lists, along with his compatriot, "Mantequilla" Napoles. They're in the upper-crust of ATG Latino fighters, along with guys like Duran, Monzon and Chavez.