Jorge L. Ortiz. San
Francisco Chronicle. Saturday, January 6, 2001
RECEIVING A bicycle as reward for winning an Olympic gold medal was
demeaning. Being forced to box at 119 pounds when his body could barely go under
130 was oppressive. But not being able to provide for his family or to express
himself freely without fear of retribution, that was downright unbearable.
So Joel Casamayor defected from Cuba in 1996, just weeks before the Atlanta
Games, leaving behind a 5-year-old daughter and a girlfriend, as well as his
parents and siblings.
He turned his back on his country because, after becoming one of President
Fidel Castro's favorites, he felt pressured and threatened to speak in favor of
the Communist Party. He also left because he had to trade the bicycle for a pig,
just so he could feed his family.
"I'm happy with my decision because I'm free," said Casamayor, who
tonight in Las Vegas defends his WBA super featherweight title against former
champion Roberto Garcia. "That's the main thing -- I'm free, nobody's
pressuring me. I came here to do my job, to box, and to show I'm one of the
best."
He'd already done that in Barcelona in '92, when as a late fill-in he won
the 119-pound Olympic title at 21, only to find glory but no fortune when he
returned to his Caribbean home. Cuba had been cut adrift financially by Russia
following the breakup of the Soviet Union, so the vehicle awarded Casamayor had
a handlebar instead of a steering wheel.
"People from other sports who didn't perform as well as I did, who
didn't win Olympic gold medals, they were given cars just because they were
well- known," said Casamayor, attaching a Spanish epithet to Castro's name.
"Me, I got a bicycle, which made me mad."
He was still favored to reprise his Olympic victory four years later in
Atlanta, but instead joined forces with another highly touted boxer, Ramon
Garbey, in walking out of the team's training camp in Guadalajara, Mexico. They
made their way to Tijuana and eventually received political asylum from the
United States in July 1996.
Even though he's already 29, Casamayor's fast ascent has raised
expectations, and his name has even landed on some lists of the world's best
pound-for-pound fighters. Casamayor aspires to bigger purses than the $250,000
he'll earn against Garcia, a heavy underdog despite his record of 33-2 with 24
knockouts.
A victory by the slick Cuban lefty may pave the way for a title-unification
fight with WBO champ Acelino Freitas, not to mention open the door to a number
of other attractive bouts in a highly competitive division.
"Jan. 6 kicks off what figures to be a tremendous tournament, so to
speak, of all the 130-pounders out there that claim to be the best," said
Dan Goossen of America Presents, promoter of tonight's card, which will be
televised by Showtime at 10 o'clock PST.
Besides Casamayor and Garcia, the division boasts Floyd Mayweather and Diego
Corrales, who are set to fight for the WBC belt on Jan. 20. And just 4 pounds
below, such distinguished fighters as "Prince" Naseem Hamed and Erik
Morales may be looking to take the step up.
Shortly after his defection, Casamayor (23-0, 14 KOs) became one of the
original members of Team Freedom, a group of 13 Cuban defectors and other Latin
American fighters based in Miami. He's the organization's first champion,
snatching the belt from South Korean Jongkwon Baek with a fifth-round
knockout last May 21 in Kansas City, Mo.
Casamayor, who sends money to his relatives in Cuba, has been criticized for
abandoning his daughter and the rest of his family, especially after having a
son with a new girlfriend in the U.S. However, don't count Garcia among those
pointing fingers.
"To me that takes a lot of heart and it's a decision that I don't know
if I could handle," said the 25-year-old Garcia, whose star has dimmed
after losses to Corrales and Ben Tackie. "I give Joel all the credit for
doing that. I don't think I could leave my family behind, with my kids. I would
not do it, but I do not know the way they live in Cuba."
Casamayor obviously does. That's why he opted out.
UPPERCUTS: In the undercard of the Casamayor-Garcia fight at Texas Station
Gambling Hall and Hotel, featherweight Luisito Espinosa (45-9, 24 KOs), a native
of the Philippines based in the Bay Area, will face Augie Sanchez (26-2,
23 KOs) in what Goossen said would likely be "the end of the line"
for the loser. . . . Undisputed light heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr. is
doing nothing to dispel the notion he has no interest in finding challenging
opponents. His decision to pass on a rematch with IBF middleweight champ Bernard
Hopkins and instead face the uninspiring Derrick Harmon on Feb. 24 couldn't have
pleased HBO, which recently signed Jones to a three-fight deal. Hopkins,
regarded by many as the world's best middleweight, gave Jones 12 tough rounds
before losing a decision in May 1993. . . . In between pondering retirement and
waiting for Mike Tyson to get in the ring with him, Lennox Lewis may be trying
his hand at managing. The IBF and WBC heavyweight titlist has scheduled contract
negotiations with fellow Briton Audley Harrison, a gold medalist in Sydney
looking to turn pro. . . . West Sacramento's Willie Jorrin will put his WBC
super bantamweight title on the line Jan. 19 when he faces Mexico's Oscar Larios
in the main event of an eight-bout card at Arco Arena. . . . Hall of Fame
referee Davey Pearl has retired.
E-mail Jorge L. Ortiz at jortiz@sfchronicle.com.
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