Madrid Spain.- Cuban boxer Billy Rodríguez decided not to return to Cuba after his successful debut as a professional boxer.
In the city of La Paz, Mexico, Rodríguez had defeated the Mexican Miguel Ángel Luna by KO in two rounds, out of six scheduled, in the 108-pound division.
After his victory, Cubadebate He reviewed last Friday that “the Antillean showed the solidity of his forehand against a man with 14 previous incursions of this type. After exhibiting speed and offensive variety in the closing of the opening chapter, Billy increased the hitting to fulfill the purpose of giving himself a joy called to accelerate a second outing with greater range.
He also recalled that “the island’s light flyweight leader should have started as a professional on June 5 in Buenos Aires, but the host Sergio Daniel Rosales failed to comply with the body weight requirements.”
The news of his “abandonment” was released this weekend by the page of Facebook Tamers of Cuba and the official HIT who, as usual, condemned the athlete’s decision.
Domadores de Cuba reported that, “turning his back on his contractual obligations, Billy Rodríguez decided not to return to Cuba after making his debut last night in professional boxing. We condemn his attitude, oblivious to the contracted commitment. #Cuba #boxing #boxeocubano“. pic.twitter.com/AXjMNGqwag
— JIT Cuban Sport (@jit_digital) August 20, 2022
“Turning his back on his contractual obligations, Billy Rodríguez decided not to return to Cuba after making his professional boxing debut last night. We condemn his attitude, oblivious to the commitment made, ”reads the information.
In comments to said publication, Cubans supported the boxer and recalled the reasons that lead to the emigration of athletes.
“They send them to fight and they go whatever. It is worth 10 dollars more than the misery of Cuba. This is how doctors, engineers, etc. go. etc. and then the government says they are heroes. And of course they are, but in order to get a few pesos they risk their lives, ”said user Sergio El Rasta Ortiz; who added that “the first immoral are those who enslave the athletes and to top it off, they cheat them, because in the end they never or almost never give them what they are entitled to, neither in time nor in quantity.”
For his part, Glenis González pointed out: “It is sad for any Cuban to live as we are living, but a boxer of his talent has to seek his improvement.”
While Néstor A. Montesino congratulated Billy Rodríguez for his decision and pointed out: “The best he could do. No more misery while the bosses keep lining their pockets and growing their paunches.”
Recent exodus of Cuban boxers
Last March the boxers Kevin Brown (67kg) and Herich Ruiz (86kg) took advantage of their trip to the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, on the occasion of the Continental Championship, to leave the Cuban delegation with which they traveled to that country.
Herich Ruiz, bronze in the 2021 Boxing World Cup, left the tournament shortly after the weigh-in for his fight against the American Arjan Iseni, with whom he would seek a place in the final.
For his part, Kevin Brown did not make it to the competition, but took advantage of a stopover at the Tocumen airport, Panama, to leave the team.
At the end of last June, 26-year-old Matanzas native Andy Cruz was caught by Cuban authorities while trying to leave the country with baseball prospect César Yanquiel Hernández. As a consequence, they both spent several days in prison.
In July, after the boxer ask to leave of sports in Cuba, the island’s authorities reported that they were expelling him from the Cuban sports structure, “as a result of exhaustive analyzes initiated within the disciplinary commission of the national school.”
Regime agrees with Mexican company professional contract
In its (frustrated) attempt to stop the massive exodus of athletes, last April the Cuban government signed a “representation contract” with the Mexican company Golden Ring Promotions, after 60 years without boxers residing on the island being able to compete in the professional circuit.
However, the contract made it clear that the Cuban Boxing Federation (FCB) would continue to monitor the athletes’ decisions and keep 80 percent of what the athletes earned.
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