Cuba: The Present & The Future

Cuba: The Present & The Future 

By Rachel Aylett

This is the first in a regular series of articles where I will focus on the professional scene in various countries. I could think of no more interesting place to start with than Cuba.

Of course, as Cuban boxers have been forbidden to turn professional at home for so long, many have defected from their home nation in order to chase fame and fortune in other climes. Currently, there are 46 active Cuban professional boxers. Not all of them are former amateur stars who left their island under a cloud, but I have counted 27 that are. Here are the most noteworthy.

The Top Five:

Guillermo Rigondeaux – Super-Bantamweight, 38 years old, 18-1 (12)

Rigo is, and has been, the most infuriating fighter in the sport for years now. High on the pound-for-pound list for several years, he absolutely dominated his closest rival Nonito Donaire in 2013, but he failed to kick on, and will never recover from his infamous “no mas” declaration when being somewhat humiliated by Lomachenko in December 2017. Almost certainly still the no.1 at his weight – but no one cares any more.

Next for Rigondeaux: Now with Al Haymon and the PBC, Rigo headlines their show on 23 June against Mexican Julio Ceja. in a WBC eliminator.

Erislandy Lara – Super-Welterweight, 36 years old, 25-3-3 (14)

Lara had seven successful WBA title fights before finally losing his belt on a close decision to Jarrett Hurd in April 2018. The Cuban veteran subsequently boxed very well in his last fight, drawing with Argentine Brian Castano for the secondary WBA belt. I was amongst those that felt Lara should have got the verdict. Still a threat to anyone in the division.

Next for Lara: He goes against Canelo’s brother Ramon Alvarez on the PBC’s 31st August card, before hopefully securing his rematch with Castano.

Yuniel Dorticos – Cruiserweight, 33 years old, 23-1 (21)

“The KO Doctor” has not yet reached the heights of some of his contemporaries, but as you can tell from his nickname he is way more exciting. Briefly held the WBA belt until losing it to Murat Gassiev in one of the fights of last year, a contest which doubled up as the 2018 WBSS semi-final. Dorticos, also, is a threat to anybody at his weight.

Next for Dorticos: Faces Andrew Tabiti on Saturday in this year’s WBSS semi-final. Can he get to the final this year?

Yordenis Ugas – Welterweight, 32 years old, 23-4 (11)

What happened to Ugas? Of his first 18 professional fights, he lost three, the last of those was a clear decision to Amir Imam in May 2014. During this first period of his career, Ugas had looked old and shop-worn. However, after taking 27 months out of the ring, he returned looking a different fighter. Whatever they put in his water, I want some of it! After eight victories, he barely lost a split decision to Shawn Porter in March for the WBC belt.

Next for Ugas: The revitalised Ugas faces veteran Omar Figueroa in a WBC eliminator on the undercard to the big Thurman-Pacquiao pay per view show.

Luis Ortiz – Heavyweight, 40 years old, 31-1 (26)

Time has almost run out for Ortiz to become Cuba’s first world heavyweight champion. He had his chance in March 2018 when he had Deontay Wilder rocking and reeling in the seventh round before being stopped himself in 10. For whatever reason, and there must have been one, Ortiz turned down a small fortune offered to him to take on Anthony Joshua at short notice just recently. Andy Ruiz got the gig instead and look what happened there!

Next for Ortiz: Deontay Wilder recently announced that his next fight would be the rematch with Ortiz. No date has been set as yet.

Other notable names

Yuriorkis Gamboa, Lightweight, 37 years old, 29-2 (17)

Amongst all of the Cuban boxers, Gamboa must be considered the biggest disappointment and, perhaps, waste of talent. He seemed to have all of the ability of Rigondeaux, but his fights were full of excitement. The lightning fast hand-speed and power of Gamboa were meant to take him to super-stardom – but then it all went wrong. Even so, Gamboa was still good enough to unify two alphabet belts at featherweight and to give Terence Crawford his toughest challenge to date in June 2014.

Next for Gamboa: “El Ciclon de Guantanamo” signed a deal with the PBC in February, so there will still be big fights in his future, although nothing is announced as yet.

Mike Perez, Cruiserweight, 33 years old, 24-3-1 (15)

Irish-based Perez, nicknamed “The Rebel”, has had an excellent career, without quite reaching the heights of some of the other names mentioned here. A solid heavyweight fringe contender until being wiped-out in a round by Alexander Povetkin in 2015, he has subsequently fought at cruiserweight. Four fights in four years at his new weight has blunted any momentum he had. He was outpointed in his only world title challenge by Mairis Briedis for the WBC belt in September 2017, which was also a WBSS quarter-final bout.

Next for Perez: Mike was due to fight Ilunga Makabu last week (8th June), but the African was pulled from that fight for a more lucrative match in Russia this weekend. A shame for Perez as that was a very winnable fight for him.

Sullivan Barrera, Light-Heavyweight, 37 years sold, 22-2 (14)

Another veteran who came up short in his only world title challenge to date, being one-sidedly stopped in the 12th round by
WBA champion Dmitry Bivol in March 2018. Barrera’s only high-profile fight before then had been as Andre Ward’s first opponent after stepping up to light-heavy in March 2016. Barrera has won a couple since his failure against Bivol, but is just hanging on to his top 10 ranking by a thread.

Next for Barrera: Sullivan is involved in an excellent match this coming Saturday when he takes on Jesse Hart on the undercard to Tyson Fury. The outcome of this match will dictate whether or not he still has a future at top level.

Rances Barthelemy, Lightweight, 32 years old, 27-1-1 (14)

Rances is the middle brother of three, the others being Yan and Leduan, and is so far the most successful in the professional ranks. He has won IBF belts at both super-featherweight and lightweight, but came up short when trying to win an alphabet belt in a third weight class last March. On that occasion he lost badly to Kiryl Relikh at super-lightweight for the WBA. Rances is still a big factor at lightweight, having drawn with Robert Easter for the WBA belt in April.

Next for Barthelemy: Under normal circumstances, one would expect an immediate rematch with Easter for the still vacant WBA belt. However, the first fight was such a stinker that I can’t imagine anyone having any interest in watching it.

You will probably notice that all the fighters mentioned to date are in their 30s – or older! This is a worrying sign for fans of Cuban professional boxing. There is light peeking through the clouds though.

Five prospects to watch

Robeisy Ramirez, Featherweight, 25 years old, yet to make his debut

Ramirez is the most decorated amateur to skip the Cuban system for years, being the 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medallist. In winning those tournaments, he defeated Shakur Stevenson, Michael Conlan, Andrew Selby and Tugstogt Nyambayar, amongst others. He won Gold in the 2011 Pan American games and was five times the Cuban national amateur champion. He was also the 2010 World youth gold medallist. Are you excited yet?

Next for Ramirez: He defected last year during a national team trip to Mexico and has now signed a multi-fight promotional deal with Top Rank. He will make his debut in the coming months.

Joahnys Argilagos, Bantamweight, 22 years old, 2-0 (0)

Argilagos also disappeared from the Cuban national team last year, but has stolen a march on Ramirez by already making his professional debut. However, being in one of the lighter weight classses will make Joahnys a harder sell and he is yet to sign a deal with a major promoter. As an amateur, he was bronze medallist in the 2016 Olympics, world champion in 2015 and 2017 and Pan American games silver medallist 2015. One-time Cuban nationals winner and one-time runner up.

Next for Argilagos: Continue to win and try to impress a major promoter and/or manager who can take his career forward.

Santiago Amador, Flyweight, 27 years old, yet to make his debut

Amador will face the same problems in the professional game as Argilagos, in that the lighter weights do not attract the eyes of most fans. However, he is making all the right moves by signing with MTK Global, who will manage his career when he turns professional in Uruguay later this year. As an amateur, Amador was twice the Cuban national champion.

Next for Amador: Look for him to make his professional debut on an MTK Global show in the next couple of months.

Leinier Pero, Heavyweight, 26 years old, 1-0 (1)

Pero was the third Cuban to “disappear” from the team last year and has now turned up in Germany, where he made his professional debut last month. He had a stellar amateur career, representing Cuba in the 2016 Olympics and 2015 World championships. He was also World youth champion in 2010, Pan American games gold medallist in 2011 and 2015 and four times Cuban national champion.

Next for Pero: He is scheduled to have his second professional outing this Saturday in Germany against Evgenios Lazaridis.

Lenar Perez, Cruiserweight, 21 years old, 4-0 (4)

Perez is a very exciting cruiserweight, who took advantage of a change in the visa rules between his country and Russia, to box professionally in the latter country. Three of his four fights to date have been in Russia. Perez was one of the highest ranked boxers in the world at youth level, and it was a big shock when he lost to Scot Willie Hutchinson at the World youth championships in 2016.

Next for Perez: The combined record of Perez’s four opponents to date is 0-2! Look for him to start fighting opponents who have a pulse.