Joel Casamayor showed the world what Cuban boxing could bring to the pro game, says Glenn McCrory.
What a fight we were treated to on
Sky Sports last Friday. It was great to see Joel Casamayor on top form, just great.
Michael Katsidis is a good tough kid but the Cuban kept nailing him with that left out of the southpaw stance and had him on the floor twice early on.
But Katsidis came back and when he sent Casamayor through the ropes, it looked like he had it. But credit to Casamayor, he came back with a sensational finish to win it and prove that you just cannot get away from class.
He might be 36 and slowing down but he is still the part. Because of his age, he cannot use the skills and speed the way he used to, and as a result has become more vulnerable - and therefore more entertaining. The same has happened to Oscar de la Hoya, who is more flat-footed nowadays and therefore more likely to stand and fight.
It will be interesting where Casamayor goes next. The triple world title holder at lightweight, Nate Campbell, was at the post-fight press conference calling him out, but he has already beaten him.
What is certain is that Casamayor will go down as one of the Cuban greats, although so few of them make it to the professional ranks that the list is not nearly as long as it should be.
Because of my coaches, Cuba is a country I have an affinity with and although the political issues run a lot deeper - and I am not about to pick holes in the reign of Fidel Castro in this blog - it is a shame the way the sport works over there.
Pleasant
There is a lot to be said for their system, because they continually produce the best amateurs in the world and life is fairly pleasant for them, particularly given the quality of life elsewhere in the country. But, when they do go amateur elsewhere, they tend to go mad, with all the money they can suddenly get their hands on. And they tended to get some stick back home!
Remember those two Cubans who disappeared during the world amateur championships recently? I think they were found on the back of an unpaid bar bill in Brazil! Odlanier Solis has made it to Germany, but 99 times out of 100, Cuban boxers just don't think of making it as a world champion.
They do get to see the big fights on American television and they are pretty knowledgeable, but the professional set-up and the opportunities just don't exist. Every time I go out there, I take all my old copies of the
Boxing News for them to read and they are all fascinated by what's going on in the outside boxing world.
Even though some of these fighters have beaten world champions as amateurs in the Olympics or the Pan-American Games, they will never experience fighting for a world title or the riches that go with it.
Mario Kindelan is a classic example. He beat Amir Khan in the Olympics and now has to watch him living the life of a millionaire, on the brink of a world title fight.
Maybe things will be different given the change in leadership, but it won't happen overnight. Having been to China and Cuba recently, I can tell you the former is nothing like the latter - everyone in China is making money!
But they are getting mobile phones and plasma TV's down Havannah way and I would love the new government to start a professional boxing system.
Fantastic
If they allowed all those wonderful amateurs to turn professional, I wonder just how much money they could bring into the country? It's a fantastic Caribbean resort and would be perfect to stage world title fights. But they haven't seen one since Jack Johnson took on Jess Willard in 1915, so we might have to wait a few years yet!
Big fights bring in big business and there's no reason why Cuba couldn't be the Las Vegas of the Caribbean.
In the meantime, they will continue to churn out world-class amateurs as I am sure we will see at the Beijing Olympics. They will certainly be the one's to beat again, despite what British coach Terry Edwards has said this week.
Yes it is great that we have seven fighters heading to China, but I really think Terry is jumping the gun by saying we are going to be the new Cuba. No-one is more over the moon than me that we will be so well represented but it seems a bit silly to be claiming to be the new Cuba.
Success can only be judged in terms of the medals you bring home and I do think Terry is getting a little carried away. We won a gold and a bronze at the worlds recently which was great, but that was without the Cubans.
We as an amateur boxing nation need to keep our heads down, keep grafting and then see what we bring home. We don't need these sort of statements.
