havana/Cuba’s boxing crisis, previously one of the country’s “sporting jewels”, has reached a place it doesn’t usually go: the front pages of the official media. “The ‘priority’ of sports on the largest island in the Caribbean is about to sink, although it is difficult to recognize,” said a text published last Friday in Vanguard.
The last example came at the World Youth Boxing Championships held in Montenegro between October and the beginning of this November, from which the national team said goodbye without gold medals. He was barely able to collect two silvers: Yojander Fuentes (57 kilograms) and David Manuel Espinosa (67 kilograms).
“It is a real fact to see the team of the largest of the Antilles left out of the distribution of the famous golden metals, for the first time, because they made the first their trip in competitions of this type in the second draft, which was held in 1983. ,” highlights the Villa Clara newspaper.
Because of the bad results, Vanguard indicating that Cuban boxing “is emerging in an unprecedented page in the sport of fists. ” The performance of the Cuban delegation in the 2002 Youth Championship held in Santiago de Cuba, when the Island won medals in the 12 categories of the competition (six gold, three silver and three bronze), or the most height of nine titles achieved in 1996, in Havana, in the same competition.
The performance of the Cuban delegation in the 2002 Youth Championship held in Santiago de Cuba was far from over, when the Island won medals in all 12 categories.
A decline in the results of these competitions has been seen since 2010. At that time, the Island received three gold medals. “Again, in the seven editions that have been made since then, have Cubans been able to keep as many gold medals in their performances, as only two of their reporters have risen to the top of the podium in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2022, and in 2018 and 2021 only one boxer won the gold metal,” the text said.
The decline became more acute starting in 2016, the year in which Fidel Castro died, who supported, with resources and intense official propaganda, Cuban boxing even above other subjects. If chess once represented the terrain of the sports battle between communism in Eastern Europe and the democracies of the West, boxing included the competition between Havana and Washington on the Island.
Vanguard indicating that these youth tournaments were expected to rise “of the historical ones who have hung up their gloves, those who have left and the small group that is still active – Julio César La Cruz, Arlen López and Roniel Iglesias, among others -, at a time where, in addition, the stay of boxing in the Olympic program is in danger.” However, that has not been the case.
On the other hand, some of these promising youngsters have already won medals with their host countries in past Olympics, such as cases of Loren Berto Alfonso (Azerbaijan), who won silver in the 92 kg category, or Enmanuel Reyes (Spain) and Javier Ibanez (Bulgaria), both bronze in the 57 kg.
“Undoubtedly, the ship needs a good boost so it doesn’t sink,” the publication says. What happened in Montenegro “could be a bad omen” for Cuban boxing, which, since Munich 1972 – with the exception of Beijing 2008, when it did not win gold medals – has become a discipline that has the most number of medals for the country in the country. Olympic Games in history (80 out of 244), although, in the last event in Paris, he was almost unable to win a gold medal.
Not only does boxing suffer a crisis of results. Paris had its worst performance in 52 years
Not only the boxing experiencing a crisis of results. Paris had its worst performance in 52 years. Cuba contributed only nine medals. At regional level the situation is similar. The area is no longer a power. From Cali 1971 to Guadalajara 2011, the country took possession of the podium in the medal table at the Pan American Games, but, starting with Toronto 2015, it has not been able to return to being among the first three places.
Likewise, the Island has lost prominence in the Central American and Caribbean Games. The last time he finished first in the championship was in 2014, in Veracruz. Mexico won the last two editions, Barranquilla 2018 and San Salvador 2023, leaving the Island in third place for medals last year, which meant one of its worst performances in the tournament, equal to received in Panama 1938 and Kingston 1962.
What impact has the decline in Cuban boxing’s performance had on young athletes’ aspirations in the country?
1. How has the decline in Cuban boxing’s performance in international tournaments affected the country’s reputation and sporting pride?
2. What are some factors that may have contributed to the decline in Cuban boxing’s success since the late 2010s?
3. What efforts are being made to revive Cuban boxing and improve its results in upcoming competitions?
4. In what ways has the departure of high-profile boxers to other countries impacted the Cuban national team’s performance?
5. How does Cuba’s boxing program compare to other sports within the country in terms of funding and support from the government?
6. What are your thoughts on the future of Cuban boxing, and what do you think it will take for the sport to re-establish itself as a dominant force on the international stage?
