Very common as a tactical move from the ex Soviet bloc countries, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba etc. Europe and USA take a much more instinctive approach to boxing, rather than teaching a perfectly honed system. Teaching orthodox fighters to become southpaws is something the majority of British and north American coaches would never dream of, it requires a level of effort and discipline that doesn't really exist in non communist countries. Actually that mindset does exist in USA wrestling, which is why USA is actually better at wrestling than Russia.
Honestly, i am not impressed with a couple of those guys on the video. Specifically on the pads. Are you sure these are actually Cuban national team members? Seems to me Cubans are better than that or maybe i have been watching too much of The Jackal. :)
The Cuban team has seen better years. Still, the first guy on the pads is Arlen Lopez and he is a straight up killer. Look him up. The other guy must have been filling up for someone injured or suspended.
It was a 6 hours time zone differences, going from tropical to cold oceanic climate. They should be sloppy and tired. Also El Chacal is Bantam, small and fast, while those guys doing pad were at least welter.
Lmao the first guy on pads is Arlen Lopez, 2x Olympic gold and world champ. Last guy on pads is Osley Iglesias who fought in the same weight class as Lopez and lost to him four times in Playa Giron, although some of which were very close and could go both ways. Iglesias did very well whenever he represented Cuba on the international stage, beating Gleb Bakshi of Russia twice. He is now a professional in Germany and is doing very well. Then the bald guy is Ronniel Iglesias who is also multi-time Olympic gold medalist and world champ. Finally, the southpaw guy in blue jacket shadowboxing is Lazaro Alvarez, 3-time world champ and 3-time Olympic Bronze medalist. How are you dealing with Cubans in the ring all the time and not be able to recognize them?
