To this day this gymnasium continues being an important quarry of Olympic boxers. This is one of the oldest boxing gyms in Cuba and where great world-renowned champions have trained. In the popular neighborhood of San Isidro, quite close to José Martí's birthplace, we can find the Rafael Trejo boxing gym. It was because of the latter that it was decided to give boxing a new chance on Decemand the National Boxing and Wrestling Commission was established, thus legitimizing the sport.Īs a result of the lifting of the ban, an influx of tourist dollars began as a result of the bouts.Īfter a couple of years a national boxing academy was created to train young athletes and the amateur sport Golden Gloves also came of age. But that's not the only thing despite the ban on the sport, boxing provided an outlet for poverty. Thus, fights were only to be held behind closed doors. However, as a result of street brutality between blacks and whites, the government banned boxing two years later. Havana had the first professional bout in 1909 and in 1910 Chilean John Budinich founded the first boxing academy in Havana. There are currently 494 boxing coaches and 185 facilities in Cuba, and 19,000 of Cuba's 99,000 athletes are boxers.īoxing was initially introduced as a tourist attraction, with championship bouts between North American boxers held during the peak tourist season. In Cuba, boxing has become a traditional sport in fact, in 1992 there were already more than 16,000 boxers on the island. But there are also those who are only interested in boxing as a recreational activity. Some train here for the Olympic Games or other international competitions or bouts. However, if you train with other foreign boxers of all levels from all over the world. In addition, there will be regular classes at all times of the year, although you will not be able to train exclusively Cuban, but trainers can arrange sparring with Cuban fighters. The Rafael Trejo club is one of the few clubs that has experience in training foreign travelers. ![]() Sparring and preparation sessions at Rafael Trejo take place throughout the day and finals are held at night under the spotlight of the ring. It is undoubtedly a club that tells a story, and the club atmosphere is defined by determination, hard work, perseverance and effort. Here the Rafael Trejo boxing gym is the best known, being the oldest club in Cuba, located in Old Havana, Havana's Historic District. This is precisely one of the reasons why boxers from this Caribbean island stand out in boxing. Something to highlight about the Cuban Boxing School is that they train Cubans on a daily basis from a very young age. This is due to the results obtained in the international arena in Central American, Pan American, World Championships and Olympic Games.Īll this has allowed it to earn the recognition of "Buque Insignia" (Flagship) of Cuban sport. It should be mentioned that amateur boxing has also predominated.īasically, boxing in Cuba is considered a sociocultural phenomenon, since it is one of the most popular sports. In all this lapse of time great figures emerged, but the most relevant was Eligio Sardiña Montalvo, who is mostly known all over the planet as Kid Chocolate. It should be noted that the Cuban pugilistic scene was dominated by professionalism from 1910 to 1962.Īs for the spread of boxing throughout the rest of the island, it is something that occurs slowly in fact it was in 1919 when in Santiago de Cuba, located on the southern coast of the former Oriente province, when boxing was seen for the first time. It was in 1939 when the first tournament in Cuba was held, which was called "Guantes de Oro" (Golden Gloves). However, it was not until 1921 that the Cuban Boxing Federation was founded, presided over by Colonel Rosendo Collazo. In 1910 he founded and directed the first gymnasium for the teaching and practice of this sport in the territory currently occupied by the City of Havana. The first thing we should know about boxing in Cuba is that it was introduced by the Chilean John Budinich, who came from the United States. So in this case we are going to review the history of boxing in Cuba and the reason for its popularity. ![]() Without any doubt, Cuban boxing is internationally recognized, and this is due to the fact that it has 11 boxers who have won two or more Olympic titles.
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