by Fernando Galván charged forward and tossed a circling right uppercut. Arlen López, the Cuban fighter who won the light-heavyweight gold decoration at the Olympics the previous summer, made a half-stride back and countered with a fast, clinical left snare.
The punch arrived at the intersection of Galvan’s jaw, whiplashing the understudy fighter’s head, thumping him oblivious and dropping him face first to the material of a little confining ring the focal point of a hall in Aguascalientes, Mexico, this month.López’s knockout showed the mix of force, accuracy, workmanship, science and viciousness that has made Cuba’s beginner boxing program the world’s ideal. Cuban fighters have won 15 Olympic awards starting around 2012, contrasted and nine for the United States. At the Tokyo Games, Cuba entered fighters in seven weight classes, and arose with five decorations — four gold and one bronze.For a country that banned pro athletics in 1962, an ace boxing card featuring three Olympic gold medalists addresses a critical change in needs.
A fundamental impetus for that change, partners say, is rivalry. In the wake of coming out on top for numerous Olympic championships, proceeding to further develop in boxing implied looking for new difficulties.
“At the beginner level, Cubans are the best fighters ever,” said Julio César La Cruz, the double cross Olympic gold medalist and group commander who took out Deivis Casseres, a Colombian, in the subsequent round. Be that as it may, “we want to conflict with the best fighters on the planet at the expert level to gauge force,” he said.
However in Cuba, whose top fighters and baseball players frequently deformity looking for proficient paydays, cash additionally matters. Under their arrangement with Golden Ring, fighters like López and La Cruz will keep 80% of the net compensation from each battle, with the rest of among mentors, clinical staff and the public league.
Brilliant Ring President Gerardo Saldívar wouldn’t unveil the fighters’ payouts, or his organization’s cut, however said the Cuban fighters would get “typical market esteem.”
“They will be generously compensated,” Saldívar said.
In any case, the public group will not be leaving novice boxing. While four additional expert occasions are booked abroad in the not so distant future, contending at the Olympics and World Championships will stay the need for the country.Rolando Acebal, the lead trainer of Cuba’s boxing crew, said the choice was likewise vital for keep the game first class, particularly as experts have been qualified to contend in the Olympics starting around 2016. “We’re battling with them, however we don’t have any acquaintance with them,” he said.
Yet, on an island that has long imparted a novice ethos, boring competitors to battle for country magnificence as opposed to lucre, the choice has huge ramifications encompassing the cash.
“What is $1 million contrasted with the affection for 8 million Cubans?” heavyweight Teófilo Stevenson, who won Olympic gold in the Munich, Montreal and Moscow Olympics, when asked in the wake of turning down a $5 million proposal to challenge Muhammad Ali.
With apparently more modest dollar figures in question during the card in Aguascalientes, Cuban fighters took part in an ace show with a novice feel.
