15 Best Cuban Boxers of All Time

15 Best Cuban Boxers of All Time

From Olympic gold medalists to world champions, Cuba has had a long history of producing some of the best talents in the boxing world. Cuba has faced many setbacks through the years but this has not stopped the boxers who have shown their resiliency in the ring going to achieving numerous accolades along the way. These boxers displayed exquisite skills which left fans to wonder why Cuba is home to such exceptional fighters.

Since the early 1920s to date, Cuban boxers display unique skills and their in-ring practical methods are second to none. Their fighting tactics and technical abilities have established their dominance hence carving their names in the boxing world. While some of these boxers have long since retired and others are still competing, their legacy endures. Here are the 15 best Cuban boxers of all time.

1. Kid Gavilan

El Gráfico, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

From 1951 through 1954, Kid Gavilan, a Cuban boxer, held the welterweight belts of the NYSAC, WBA, and The Ring simultaneously. He was the undisputed welterweight champion at the time. He was selected Fighter of the Year in 1953 by the Boxing Writers Association of America. Gavilán was ranked as the 26th greatest fighter of the last 80 years by The Ring magazine. He was a member of the inaugural class of 1990 to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. In 143 professional fights, he had a record of 107 victories, 27 coming by knockout, 30 losses, 6 draws, and one no-contest.

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2. Kid Chocolate 

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Eligio Sardias Montalvo, often known as Kid Chocolate, was a Cuban boxer who achieved considerable success in the 1930s both inside and outside of the ring. Chocolate participated professionally as a boxer from 1927 to 1938, finishing his career with a record of 136 wins, 10 defeats, and 6 draws, 51 wins came by knockout and one match was a no-decision. He was included in a list of fighters that the Ring magazine inducted that included those with 50 or more victories.

3. Luis Rodriguez

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Cuban professional boxer Luis Manuel Rodriguez started his career in Havana before the Castro era. In Cuba, he twice defeated the ill-fated future welterweight champion, Benny Paret. In 1963, he held the welterweight titles of the WBA, WBC, and Lineal Association. In 1969, he made one attempt to win the middleweight titles of the WBA and WBC.

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4. Jose Napoles

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5. Sugar Ramos

Ultiminio Ramos Zaqueira, also referred to as Sugar Ramos, was a Cuban-born boxer who fought outside of Mexico, which elevated him to the status of a national hero. He was a world featherweight champion and a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

6. Florentino Fernandez

Cuban middleweight Florentino Fernández competed from 1956 to 1972. In total, he had a 50-win (43 by KO), 16 losses, and a 2-draw record.

7. Joel Casamayor

Former professional boxer Joel Casamayor, a Cuban-American, boxed from 1996 to 2011. From 2000 to 2002, he held the WBA super featherweight championship, and from 2006 to 2008, he also held the WBC, Ring magazine, and lineal lightweight titles. At the 1992 Summer Olympics, Casamayor competed as an amateur and won the gold medal in the bantamweight division. On the eve of the 1996 Summer Olympics, Casamayor defected to the United States.

8. Jose Legra

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9. Benny Paret

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World Welterweight Champion twice, Cuban boxer Benny Paret dominated the early 1960s by winning the Welterweight Championship twice.

A title defense against Emile Griffith on March 24, 1962, that was broadcast on television and watched by millions of viewers as part of ABC’s Fight of the Week, left Paret injured. He passed away 10 days later. With 35 victories (10 knockouts), 12 defeats, and 3 ties over his career. Paret had been involved in 50 bouts until his demise.

10. Kid Tunero

Kid Tunero was a great fighter and puncher in the traditional Cuban style. Officially named Evelio Celestino Mustelier, Tunero was born in Victoria de las Tunas, Cuba. Tunero began his career at the age of 19 in 1929. As one of the best middleweights of the 1930s and 1940s, Tunero would retire with a final official record of 96 wins, 34 of which came by knockout, 33 losses, and 16 draws throughout 148 fights.

11. Black Bill

Eladio Valdés famously known as “Black Bill” was a Cuban boxer of the 1920s. Small of stature at 5 feet, 3.5 inches, and weighing between 109–115 pounds, he made his first official appearance on September 11, 1920, in a fight in Havana, his native city, where he defeated Diego Blanco in the fourth round at just 15 years old.

Throughout the 1920s, Valdés kept fighting, splitting his matches between Havana and New York City. Despite not being very big or powerful, he had a reputation for surprising opponents by attacking quickly and with angled punches. He finished his career having been involved in 168 fights, winning 127, 20 by knockout, 25 losses, 14 draws, and 2 no contests. 

12. Diosbelys Hurtado

Diosbelys Hurtado is a former NBA, IBA, and WBA Light Welterweight (super lightweight) Champion who is of Cuban and Spanish descent. He engaged in 47 fights in total, winning 43, 26 by way of knockout, only losing three, and drawing one.

13. Issac Logart

During the mid to late 1950s, Isaac Logart competed at welterweight and was one of the most feared welterweights. After four straight losses in 1959, Logart was knocked off the list. Logart settled in New York City following the conclusion of his boxing career, where he passed away in 1988 at the age of 55.

14. Jose Stable

During the mid-1960s, lean years for boxing, Jose Stable was considered a legitimate threat in the welterweight division. He fought in 41 bouts where he won 27, lost 12, and drew 2.

15. Orlando Zulueta

Orlando Zulueta was a lightweight who wreaked havoc in the 40s and 50s. He retired having been involved in 126 bouts winning 67, losing 45, and drawing 14.

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