Cuba looks to kids to recover faded boxing glory

HAVANA — Lazaro Perez jabs rhythmically at his rival in a steamy Havana gym, dancing, feinting and punctuating each blow with a grunt.

After the final bell, he thrusts a weary arm skyward in triumph, and a proud smile spreads across a face still years from feeling a razor's scrape. Perez has just become Havana's first under-75-pound (34-kilogram) boxing champion in a new age category for 9- and 10-year-olds.

Boxing-mad Cuba is putting its athletes in the ring earlier than ever. The idea is that those who start young will have a critical edge in the sport's motions and techniques when they start competing more seriously down the road.

It's part of a top-to-bottom shake-up aimed at restoring Cuban boxing to its former glory after the national squad returned from the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing without a gold medal for the first time in 40 years.

"I started boxing to follow in my father's footsteps," said Perez, a small and wiry 9-year-old in black boxing shorts and blue T-shirt. "I'm not afraid. I'm fast, and I really like it. I want to be great like (Olympic and professional champion Yuriorkis) Gamboa, the boxer I admire most, and win lots of medals like (Felix) Savon."

It's not uncommon for children this age to enter the ring these days. The International Boxing Association sanctions competitive boxing for 15 years and up, but lets national federations set their own rules for younger children. A spokeswoman for USA Boxing said competition starts at 8 years old in the United States, and many begin training at 7.

Since competition in Cuba's new age class began last year, hundreds of boys have been boxing in tournaments like the Jan. 21 city championship at the Rafael Trejo gym in Old Havana, with its splintering wood bleachers and discolored walls.

There are strict rules to keep competition safe for the preadolescent pugilists. A doctor examines them before each fight and referees watch the action closely. Bouts are limited to three 50-second rounds. Only straight punches are allowed, and fighters are supposed to keep their distance. Headgear is mandatory, as in all organized amateur boxing.

"At this young age we teach the basic movements, the basic punches and defense," said Jo De Vrieze, a Belgian-born coach who trains children in the Cerro district of the Cuban capital. "The idea is that the youths arrive at higher levels with a more advanced technical base."