From Havana
Rigondeaux and Lara in the public opinion
By Manuel Alberto Ramy
maprogre@gmail.com
On July 22, the international news agencies covering the 15th
Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, reported that two Cuban
boxers had defected.
Guillermo Rigondeaux, twice world and Olympic champion in the
bantamweight category, and Erislandy Lara, welterweight Olympic
champion, had disappeared before their routine weigh-in before scheduled
fights.
Commentators and reporters for Cuban TV, which broadcast the events from
start to finish, reported only that the two pugilists did not show up
for the weigh-ins. They made no additional comment.
Nevertheless, the fans used different means (information is hard to
contain) to find out that defections had occurred. The following day, a
newspaper article by Fidel Castro confirmed that a Germany-based "mafia"
was behind the defections.
In his article, Castro quoted news reports with statements by the
promoters, who claimed that both boxers had been hired for a lot of
money, that they would join professional boxing and that they were no
longer in Brazil. That's just feinting, I wrote in my blog about the
claim that the boxers had left Brazil.
Later, Rigondeaux and Lara were detained in Praia Branca, a few
kilometers from Rio, for lacking identification papers and were taken to
a Federal Police station house. There, they refused to meet with lawyers
sent by the promoters and expressed -- without the presence of Cuban
officials -- that they were remorseful and wished to return to their
homeland.
From the legal point of view, their detentions were legitimate, because
their permanence in Brazil had exceeded the limits of their visas. On
the other hand, they never requested political asylum. As to what
actually happened, why they turned around, there is still much to find out.
I took to the streets of Havana to record the opinions of people of
various professions and ages, as well as different political positions,
as I gathered from their responses. Let me share them with you.
"What bugs me is that the sports commentators said nothing at the time.
They gave no explanation for the Cubans' absence from the ring. Is it
that they need to wait for orders at all times?" said Jorge, 26, a
technician in an unspecified trade. "It's contradictory for Fidel to
deal with a sports topic while the sports press remains silent. I found
out from a friend who has access to the Internet. Things go on and one
is left ignorant."
The boxers "took the money from the guys [the promoters] and then they
pulled back," opines Juan de la Fuente, 33, a private taxi driver. "Then
they saw the affair was getting hairy."
To Esteban, a Sugar Ministry employee, "anything could have happened,
even a ploy by Security [the Cuban intelligence service] to demonstrate
how the sports mafias work and how they go after our people. And not
just athletes. [Foreign societies] would kill for our scientists and
technicians."
"If they want to become professionals, that's their right, and they had
no other opportunity. There's no opportunities here," says Orlando, 66,
a food-service retiree. "But the world of professional boxing is a pain
in the ***. [Promoters] use them and then the boxers end up in the
gutter and most often without any money."
Orlando believes that the Cuban government must find a formula to permit
Cuban athletes to become professionals. "In baseball, for example, they
could play in our league and in the professional leagues too," he says.
As an example, Orlando points to several players who have played in the
professional leagues in Japan, "such as Omar Linares, and also in the
volleyball leagues in Europe." That's not all. Orlando says he has a
solution: "The INDER [Cuban Institute of Sports, Physical Education and
Recreation] should become a promoter and coordinate our sports calendars
with those overseas."
"I'm not in favor of professionalism. To me, sports are part of the
formation of a human being and a good source of entertainment. But to
make a living out of them, well, that I don't like," opines Ernesto, 43,
a high school teacher.
"The right of someone to go live wherever he wishes, that's something
else; that has to be respected," Ernesto adds. "Whoever wants to go
away, let him go away in peace, without problems. And if he wants to
make a living by punching others and being punched, that's his business."
"I agree with Fidel's article; don't punish them. To change one's mind
is wise, and they have done so," says Arturo, 38, who describes himself
as a boxing fan. "What's more, I'd like to see Rigondeaux return to the
ring. He's wonderful."
"Look, they returned because they saw that their departure was not easy
and that the fellows they were with [the promoters] were telling them
stories," Arturo adds. The promoters "painted a pretty picture, but when
[the boxers] saw the exit was not easy they said no."
To others who say they know more about the affair -- I don't know why
they say that -- the end of the story might have been different if
instead of using Brazil as a bridge to another country they would have
found ways to remain there. That happened with the handball player, who
has already been hired by a local team.
The argument of those who think that is that the promoters had to use
illegal or almost-illegal mechanisms to put the boxers on a plane and
fly them out of Brazil. Or they would have to plan an operation
involving the crossing of land borders toward another country.
Obviously, there is a diversity of opinions regarding the case of these
two fighters and perhaps many of the questions will be answered by the
time this column is on the screen of your computer, on Thursday, Aug. 9.
But the topic of Rigondeaux and Lara should not be reduced to legality
or illegality, opportunism or true repentance, or to their profession
and quality, both of which are much sought after by the promoting
enterprises.
Under the boxing gloves are the fists of human beings with dreams,
fantasies and ambitions, who live in a mad world that increasingly
resembles a boxing ring where almost everything is for sale.
Manuel Alberto Ramy is Havana bureau chief of Radio Progreso Alternativa
and editor of Progreso Semanal, the Spanish-language version of Progreso
Weekly.
http://progreso-weekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=92&Itemid=1
Rigondeaux and Lara in the public opinion
By Manuel Alberto Ramy
maprogre@gmail.com
On July 22, the international news agencies covering the 15th
Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, reported that two Cuban
boxers had defected.
Guillermo Rigondeaux, twice world and Olympic champion in the
bantamweight category, and Erislandy Lara, welterweight Olympic
champion, had disappeared before their routine weigh-in before scheduled
fights.
Commentators and reporters for Cuban TV, which broadcast the events from
start to finish, reported only that the two pugilists did not show up
for the weigh-ins. They made no additional comment.
Nevertheless, the fans used different means (information is hard to
contain) to find out that defections had occurred. The following day, a
newspaper article by Fidel Castro confirmed that a Germany-based "mafia"
was behind the defections.
In his article, Castro quoted news reports with statements by the
promoters, who claimed that both boxers had been hired for a lot of
money, that they would join professional boxing and that they were no
longer in Brazil. That's just feinting, I wrote in my blog about the
claim that the boxers had left Brazil.
Later, Rigondeaux and Lara were detained in Praia Branca, a few
kilometers from Rio, for lacking identification papers and were taken to
a Federal Police station house. There, they refused to meet with lawyers
sent by the promoters and expressed -- without the presence of Cuban
officials -- that they were remorseful and wished to return to their
homeland.
From the legal point of view, their detentions were legitimate, because
their permanence in Brazil had exceeded the limits of their visas. On
the other hand, they never requested political asylum. As to what
actually happened, why they turned around, there is still much to find out.
I took to the streets of Havana to record the opinions of people of
various professions and ages, as well as different political positions,
as I gathered from their responses. Let me share them with you.
"What bugs me is that the sports commentators said nothing at the time.
They gave no explanation for the Cubans' absence from the ring. Is it
that they need to wait for orders at all times?" said Jorge, 26, a
technician in an unspecified trade. "It's contradictory for Fidel to
deal with a sports topic while the sports press remains silent. I found
out from a friend who has access to the Internet. Things go on and one
is left ignorant."
The boxers "took the money from the guys [the promoters] and then they
pulled back," opines Juan de la Fuente, 33, a private taxi driver. "Then
they saw the affair was getting hairy."
To Esteban, a Sugar Ministry employee, "anything could have happened,
even a ploy by Security [the Cuban intelligence service] to demonstrate
how the sports mafias work and how they go after our people. And not
just athletes. [Foreign societies] would kill for our scientists and
technicians."
"If they want to become professionals, that's their right, and they had
no other opportunity. There's no opportunities here," says Orlando, 66,
a food-service retiree. "But the world of professional boxing is a pain
in the ***. [Promoters] use them and then the boxers end up in the
gutter and most often without any money."
Orlando believes that the Cuban government must find a formula to permit
Cuban athletes to become professionals. "In baseball, for example, they
could play in our league and in the professional leagues too," he says.
As an example, Orlando points to several players who have played in the
professional leagues in Japan, "such as Omar Linares, and also in the
volleyball leagues in Europe." That's not all. Orlando says he has a
solution: "The INDER [Cuban Institute of Sports, Physical Education and
Recreation] should become a promoter and coordinate our sports calendars
with those overseas."
"I'm not in favor of professionalism. To me, sports are part of the
formation of a human being and a good source of entertainment. But to
make a living out of them, well, that I don't like," opines Ernesto, 43,
a high school teacher.
"The right of someone to go live wherever he wishes, that's something
else; that has to be respected," Ernesto adds. "Whoever wants to go
away, let him go away in peace, without problems. And if he wants to
make a living by punching others and being punched, that's his business."
"I agree with Fidel's article; don't punish them. To change one's mind
is wise, and they have done so," says Arturo, 38, who describes himself
as a boxing fan. "What's more, I'd like to see Rigondeaux return to the
ring. He's wonderful."
"Look, they returned because they saw that their departure was not easy
and that the fellows they were with [the promoters] were telling them
stories," Arturo adds. The promoters "painted a pretty picture, but when
[the boxers] saw the exit was not easy they said no."
To others who say they know more about the affair -- I don't know why
they say that -- the end of the story might have been different if
instead of using Brazil as a bridge to another country they would have
found ways to remain there. That happened with the handball player, who
has already been hired by a local team.
The argument of those who think that is that the promoters had to use
illegal or almost-illegal mechanisms to put the boxers on a plane and
fly them out of Brazil. Or they would have to plan an operation
involving the crossing of land borders toward another country.
Obviously, there is a diversity of opinions regarding the case of these
two fighters and perhaps many of the questions will be answered by the
time this column is on the screen of your computer, on Thursday, Aug. 9.
But the topic of Rigondeaux and Lara should not be reduced to legality
or illegality, opportunism or true repentance, or to their profession
and quality, both of which are much sought after by the promoting
enterprises.
Under the boxing gloves are the fists of human beings with dreams,
fantasies and ambitions, who live in a mad world that increasingly
resembles a boxing ring where almost everything is for sale.
Manuel Alberto Ramy is Havana bureau chief of Radio Progreso Alternativa
and editor of Progreso Semanal, the Spanish-language version of Progreso
Weekly.
http://progreso-weekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=92&Itemid=1
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