Cuban Legends of Boxing

By F. Daniel Somrack

Cuban Legends of Boxing highlights the professional careers of Cuba's original five International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees. Featherweight champ Kid Chocolate became a national hero when he captured Cuba's first world title in 1930. Kid Gavilan followed winning the world welterweight crown in 1951.

When the Cuban government banned professional sports in 1961, Cuba's top fighters fled the Communist revolution

to pursue their careers in exile. In 1963, Luis Manuel Rodriquez and Ultiminio "Sugar" Ramos won world championships in their adopted homelands.

In 1969, Jose "Mantequlla" Napoles won the world welterweight title and reigned supreme for the next six years as the undisputed champion of the world.  Cuban Legends of Boxing tells their incredible stories as they rose from humble beginnings to the top of the world and eventual induction into the prestigious International Boxing Hall of Fame.

• Language: English
• Publisher: F. Daniel Somrack
• Release date: Jun 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201067564

F. Daniel Somrack

F. Daniel Somrack is a boxing historian who authored his first book for Arcadia Publishing entitled Boxing in San Francisco. His subsequent titles include The Eddie Futch Interview, Jack Dempsey “Nonpareil,” Pancho Villa: The Filipino Legend, Kid Gavilan: The Cuban Hawk, Cuban Legends of Boxing and The Great Benny Leonard. As a filmmaker, Somrack produced feature films and documentaries including the highly acclaimed Champions Forever that highlighted the life and times of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. Billboard Magazine listed Champions as one of the highest-selling, original sports video of the 1990s.

Book preview

Cuban Legends of Boxing

Cuba’s Hall of Fame Champions

By

F. Daniel Somrack

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Kid Chocolate

Cuba’s First World Boxing Champion

1931

For

Teofilo Stevenson

A Cuban Legend

Boxing Scribe Books

Copyright © F. Daniel Somrack

––––––––

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. Boxing Scribe Books. March 2022

Table of Contents

Introduction

Cuban Legends of Boxing

Chapter 1.

Kid Chocolate- The Cuban Bon-Bon

Chapter 2.

Kid Gavilan – The Cuban Hawk

Chapter 3.

Luis Manuel Rodriquez El Feo

Chapter 4.

Ultiminio Sugar Ramos

Chapter 5.

Jose Manquilla Napoles

About the Author

Introduction

Cuban Legends of Boxing

Initially, the sport of boxing began in Cuba as a tourist attraction, with Cuban boxers matched against North American fighters during the winter tourist season. It wasn’t until 1910 that a Chilean named John Budinich established the first boxing gym in Havana; this gym was called Academia de Boxeo. 

As Chile’s first professional fighter, Budinich was a well-known figure throughout South America before settling in Cuba. He’s credited as the founder of boxing in Cuba. In addition to being a trainer, Budinich was also a promoter who often headlined his events.

Budinich’s Havana debut came on July 14, 1910, when he defeated Cuban Jack Johnson on points at the Payret Theater. Two weeks later, when Budinich fought American Jack Ryan, it was reported in the United States media, and consequently, it gave Cuban boxing international attention.

Budinich continued fighting professionally in Cuba until June 25, 1915, when he was knocked out by American journeymen John Lester Johnson. 

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Budinich continued to run his academy in Havana until 1917, when he returned to Chile and eventually died in 1945.

George M. Bradt, publisher of The Havana Daily Post built a boxing arena to hold fights, which was known as The Stadium. The grand opening was February 13, 1915. There, he matched American Willie Lewis against British fighter, Young Ahearn, and for publicity purposes, billed it as the Middleweight Championship of the World.

Bradt imported American heavyweights, Sam McVey, Battling Jim Johnson and John Lester Johnson to fight in Havana, and also invited American sportswriters to cover the bouts.  On February 20, 1915, Sam McVey faced off with Battling, Jim Johnson in Cuba’s first heavyweight match-up. 15,000 spectators showed up for the twenty-round contest, and this was a sign that professional boxing was now beginning to gain traction in Cuba.

Before long, boxing promoters began to pop up everywhere, searching for young talent to meet their ever-increasing demand to fill venues.  Local newspapers like La Noche organized amateur boxing competitions for their newsboys as a way to increase publication.

On April 5, 1915, Cuba hosted the world heavyweight championship fight between reigning champion, Jack Johnson, and challenger, Jess Willard. This historic event brought worldwide attention to Havana, and launched the sport of boxing throughout the island nation.

Situated just 90 miles south of Key West, Florida, Havana was a perfect location for the championship contest. When the fight was announced, cruise ships and chartered boats sailed into the capital daily from Key West. The exposure it gave Havana marked the beginning of tourism to Cuba as well.

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Johnson was dethroned by Willard in the 26th round, ending the great white hope era in the sport. Alongside baseball and cockfighting, boxing became one of the three most popular sports on the island, with gyms springing up across the country, encouraging youngsters to train in the sport.

The fight game continued to thrive on the island. On July 15, 1931, Cuba crowned its first world champion when Kid Chocolate won the Junior Lightweight Championship of the World.  With the success and notoriety of Kid Chocolate, every Cuban boy dreamed of becoming the next world champion and idol of millions.

By the time the Castro revolution rolled into power in 1959, Cuba had crowned its second world champion when Kid Gavilan won the world welterweight championship in 1952. When professional sports were outlawed in Cuba, many of the leading contenders in the professional ranks fled the island to pursue their dreams in exile.

Post-revolution world champions included Benny Kid Paret (’60), Luis Rodriquez (’63), Sugar Ramos (’63) and Jose Napoles (’68). All of the aforementioned champions have been elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame except for Benny Paret. Paret died tragically in a 1962 welterweight title fight against Emile Griffith, before his greatness could be realized on the world stage. 

In 1962, when the Cuban National Decree 83A was published, stating, professional sports enrich a few, at the expense of many, the writing was on the wall. At the end of that year, all professional sports were banned. This decree caused a mass exodus of Cuba’s professional athletes to foreign soil.

The Cuban diaspora spread to Mexico, Spain and other Caribbean islands; although, most of Cuba's expatriates settled in the densely populated Latin barrios of Miami and New York City.

Cuban Legends of Boxing highlights the professional fighters who fled Cuba to become World