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Professional boxing is once again taking center stage in Cuba, a scenario unthinkable for more than sixty years, when the communist regime banned it for being seen as a symbol of “capitalist commercialism.”
Today, with the national sport in crisis and an increasing exodus of athletes, the government clings to the few talents who still fight under the Cuban flag… even if it's now in a format they condemned for decades.
On November 29, the Meliá Internacional Hotel in Varadero, Matanzas, will host a professional boxing event featuring eight Cuban boxers in matchups, including two title defenses, a second appearance, and four debuts in the professional circuits, according to the digital site JIT.
Lázaro and Erislandy Álvarez: two standard-bearers of Cuban boxing
The highlight of the night will feature Lázaro Álvarez, a triple world champion, and Erislandy Álvarez, the Olympic champion of Paris 2024, both undefeated as professionals.
Lázaro (9-0) will face Mexican Raúl Hernández (15-3-2) in defense of his continental title of the Americas from the World Boxing Association (WBA), while Erislandy (5-0) will do the same against Rogelio Jiménez (14-2-1) for the continental Latin title of the same organization.
Both titles were won on April 11, when Cuba celebrated for the first time a professional boxing card under the auspices of its state promoter Agon Sports, a historic event that symbolically marked the end of the embargo imposed since 1962.
Debuts, promises, and challenges
The card also features the Pinar del Río native Yusnier Sorsano (1-0), who will be seeking his second professional victory against the Argentine Nicolás Verón (11-14-1), after debuting with a spectacular knockout against the Mexican Javier Castañeda.
Four more Cubans will make their debut in the professional arena: Saidel Horta (world silver medalist), Alejandro Claro (world bronze medalist), Nelson Williams, and Keylor García. While they have talent and an amateur background, their opponents come with greater experience in the paid circuits, with more than 15 fights in some cases.
The evening will also feature international clashes, including the matchup between Moroccan Moussa Gholam (24-1) and Mexican Ramiro Cesena (19-2) for the continental gold belt of America.
Between openness and contradiction
The return of professional boxing to Cuba evidences a pragmatic shift from the regime, which seeks to revive a historically successful discipline while its sports structures crumble and hundreds of talents emigrate each year.
For decades, professional boxing was synonymous with betrayal and "ideological deviation" in the official narrative. Today, those who once censored it are trying to capitalize on its profitability and international appeal, creating a space that was previously unimaginable on Cuban soil.
The event in Varadero will be more than a sports evening: a reflection of how Cuban sports reinvents itself amidst necessity and contradiction, trying to survive in a country where even the ring has, for years, been an ideological battleground.
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