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I saw this new doc on Vimeo.  This guy showed loyalty to his country and payed a price for sure.  I wondered who this fighter was..... and then I see him fighting a baby Amir Khan :redbox:

 

 

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Kindelan holds wins over professional world champions Felix Trinidad, Miguel Cotto, Amir Khan and Andreas Kotelnik. Kindelan also beat fellow Olympic champions Somluck Kamsing and Felix Diaz

Mario Kindelan's amateur record was 358-22, having not lost since 1999 till his retirement in 2004

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3 hours ago, GRIM said:

Dude gave up a hell of a lot, just to not let castro down. But what really did Castro and their system do for him personally :? 

i was wondering same thing :chin 

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 I think a large part of it is a culture that teaches that nothing is lower than showing dishonor to your country. Think Rigondeaux. But also this; 

From "What Comes Next In Cuba" ~ Huffintgon Post 2015: Full article

"Since the revolution began in Cuba, the overwhelming majority of athletes have remained, with only about 1 percent having made the harrowing decision to defect. Many of the greatest Cuban boxing champions since the revolution triumphed on the island resisted the temptation to leave Cuba and, in some cases, defied any suggestion they were tempted in the first place. Most famously, Teofilo Stevenson, rejected multi-million dollar offers to leave his island to fight Muhammad Ali. Stevenson instead asked of the offer, “What is a million dollars compared to the love of 8 million Cubans?”

His successor, Felix Savon, who won his first of three Olympic gold medals in Barcelona in 1992, turned down considerably higher offers — perhaps in the neighborhood of $20-$25 million — from boxing promoters Bob Arum and Don King, to fight Mike Tyson. I’ve interviewed both men at their homes in Havana long after their celebrated fighting careers were over. Both laughed at the idea of abandoning their country for all the riches in the world. However, both were only willing to talk with me provided I pay them a fee under the table which it was well understood they weren’t sharing with the government they claimed to adore. In the last few years, the celebrated Cuban sport machine has seen more defections than at any time since the Castro brothers took power. Several of Cuba’s youthful champions of tomorrow told me off the record that given any opportunity, if there aren’t significant changes, they will seek their fortunes in America.

Nearly 20,000 Cuban boxers are currently employed by the state on the island, the vast majority making less than $20 a month. That being said, these athletes, like other Cubans, pay no rent for their homes, they require no money for medical costs from cradle to grave, and education across the island is free.

The media seldom highlights these facts. It costs nothing to watch any sporting event in the country or to enjoy any cultural event with your family or friends. The low-wages always take center stage when foreign reporters illuminate the plight of Cuban athletes, but these other factors are the context and perspective that many Cuban athletes readily celebrate on the island. They’re proud of a society that values such things. They remember, from countless stories told by their parents and relatives, how bad life was before, especially for Afro-Cubans. Four out of five revolutionaries who arrived in Havana to oust the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Batista were illiterate. Now Cuba boasts one of the highest literacy rates on earth. Moreover, many are afraid what happens in America, living under the American system, if their athletic career fizzles. "

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