New Rivalry? Cuba vs Mexico

[Tay Roc]

I'd say there's a lot of truth to this. South of, let's say, middleweight, the number of Mexican professional boxers is overwhelming. Check any random lower division and the number of Mexican pros is staggering. I just looked up featherweight. There were 274 Mexicans listed on Boxrec. That's not even including all the Mexican-Americans competing at the weight. Wanna know how many Cubans are at 126? Two. Even Puerto Rico, with it's lower population, has almost fifteen times as many featherweights as Cuba: 29.

There may or may not be a rivalry brewing, but the few Cubans competing as pros are doing pretty damn well. There are only about 50 Cuban professional boxers worldwide. Rigo is a champion at 122; Abril is a champion at 135; Hernandez is a champion at cruiserweight; Gamboa was champ at 126; Lara is top-five at 154; several other Cubans are doing well in their weight divisions. Is there another country that boasts such success with so few?

Great post.

Cuban amateur system is amazing. I wish more were allowed to go pro.

[DannYankee]

There are about 10000 times more Mexican pro fighters in the pro ranks than Cubans the number of Cuban pro fighters is insignificantly small, the fact that Cubans are dominating and at top level all over the pro ranks is a fking statistical miracle considering the odds.

Quality over quantity but lets be real this is ******, would be like playing a soccer match with Messi and Iniesta being one whole team by themselves against Manchester United full man team sure they're way more skilled than every player on the Manchester other team individually but theyre still just 2 guys. But maybe someday this will change and when the floodgates of boxers of the lost island open the rivalry wont be Cuba v Mexico its gonna be a Cuba v Everyone not just Mexicans XD.

Don't forget you guys only seen the marketable Olympic Cubans that have fled in an island and made it by some miracle, in an island where so Many kids grow up eating breathing boxing literally there's academy's for it, there is so much talent trapped there that is sad. It would be a good boost for boxing if things changed.

[apocalypto]

Let me clarify one thing: Cubans don't get "a chance to turn pro." They have to risk their lives by defecting and leave their loved ones behind in order to have a shot at a professional career. If it were so easy for Cuban fighters to turn pro, there would be far more Cuban stars than there are now.

You're right that many of the better Cuban fighters were Olympians, but not all of them. Lara, for instance, wasn't an Olympian, neither was Abril. Yoan Pablo Hernandez was eliminated early at the 2004 Olympics, but he's a cruiserweight world champ. It's funny how so many people love to say "the ams don't mean shit," but then I hear you make this point.

I bet lara and those guys had big amature careers. If some one has been boxing since they where a child it makes all the diffrence they already know theyre craft unlike most mexicans who learn on the job and end up with records like chavez jr and sr. Look how most succesfull amatures become world champs its that simple

[Aztekkas]

I don't see it. Sure Cuba has some great boxers but to say they have a rivalry with Mexico, nah. Mexicans don't even acknowledge them as a contender, although they do give them credit when they see it. Also, it's not right to seek acceptance from the people you despise. Sure we have hundreds of fighters, but what they lack in skill they make up for it with heart and grit. That's how you forge legends my friend. If you can notice one particular diamond in a sea of glimmering crystals, you'll know its special.

[DannYankee]

I bet lara and those guys had big amature careers. If some one has been boxing since they where a child it makes all the diffrence they already know theyre craft unlike most mexicans who learn on the job and end up with records like chavez jr and sr. Look how most succesfull amatures become world champs its that simple

Yes look at it ....FLoyd mayweather (olympian) Andre ward(olympian) #1 and 2 right there. And i think his point was more like yours meaning in Cuba stuck there are alot more fighters like the ones you describe. That are not olympians and because theyre style doesnt play well with olympic scoring they are never given chances to be an olympic medalist in Cuba, but they would kick ass in the pro's. A lot of wasted talent.

[CubanGuyNYC]

I bet lara and those guys had big amature careers. If some one has been boxing since they where a child it makes all the diffrence they already know theyre craft unlike most mexicans who learn on the job and end up with records like chavez jr and sr. Look how most succesfull amatures become world champs its that simple

I agree that a good amateur career is an asset, but many people on this site claim that it means nothing. I'm just wary of people that say otherwise when it suits their argument. You're right, most of the Cubans out there had solid amateur careers. It's all they have.

Back in the day, Cubans weren't any more involved in amateur boxing than anyone else. Yet, we had a world champion (Kid Chocolate, an ATG) before Mexico did. Kid Gavilan, another ATG, didn't fight as an amateur either. Jose Napoles, yet another ATG, fought only as a pro. "Sugar" Ramos a HOFer, same thing. All these guys, and more, came from the same small island. Now explain that to me.

Mexico has a great boxing legacy. I respect it. But she wouldn't be the pro boxing behemoth she is if lands like Cuba and Puerto Rico had the same population. If populations were equal, my guess is that there would be comparable numbers of champions from all these places.

[CubanGuyNYC]

Yes look at it ....FLoyd mayweather (olympian) Andre ward(olympian) #1 and 2 right there. And i think his point was more like yours meaning in Cuba stuck there are alot more fighters like the ones you describe. That are not olympians and because theyre style doesnt play well with olympic scoring they are never given chances to be an olympic medalist in Cuba, but they would kick ass in the pro's. A lot of wasted talent.

This is an excellent point, and one I've been wanting to expand on. Just because some Cuban athlete isn't big in the amateur system doesn't mean he wouldn't be a monster in the pros. Mike Tyson wasn't the biggest amateur success, but we all know where he went. In some real ways, the amateur system hinders professional potential. Sure these kids learn proper fighting technique; but if they linger too long, they're "boxed" into that amateur style for life.

[jri9d0]

Right now puerto rico doesnt have anybody people are talking about...
And dont come with cotto either, lol

You missed the point dumb a s s, he was merely speaking from a historic sense that both Mexico and PR has always maintained rivalry that goes far beyond just a "few" fighters/fights.

If you knew anything about the history of the sport (which is obvious your Green Eggs and Ham reading A S S doesn't) you would know that these two cultures has had a rivalry that literally spans decades.

Right now PR boxing is firmly on park no doubt...

[CubanGuyNYC]

You missed the point dumb a s s, he was merely speaking from a historic sense that both Mexico and PR has always maintained rivalry that goes far beyond just a "few" fighters/fights.

If you knew anything about the history of the sport (which is obvious your Green Eggs and Ham reading A S S doesn't) you would know that these two cultures has had a rivalry that literally spans decades.

Right now PR boxing is firmly on park no doubt...

The way I remember it, the Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry effectively started with Gomez-Sanchez. There were meetings between fighters from both lands before then, but this seems to be where the rivalry took off.

[Ringlife]

One of the fights I like to watch is Marquez vs Casamayor what a classic chess match that was.