Cuba, a traditional powerhouse in amateur boxing, will not send any fighters to the upcoming world championships in Chicago in the wake of two defections at the recent Pan American Games in Brazil.
The country's acrimonious history with the host nation is playing a big role in the decision.
Guillermo Rigondeaux is show with his son Guillermo Jr. talking to reporters in Havana on Aug. 8 after being deported to his native country from Brazil.
(Javier Galeano/Associated Press)
"We will not expose anew a Cuban boxing team to the abuses and provocations that in this case will be present in Chicago, American territory, the perfect location for marketers and traffickers to act freely and with the total complicity of U.S. authorities," the Cuban Boxing Federation said Wednesday.
Cuba boycotted the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Guillermo Rigondeaux, a two-time Olympic bantamweight champion and 2001 world champion, and Erislandy Lara, the 2005 world champion, went missing from the Pan Am Games in July, but were eventually arrested and deported.
Officials at the German Embassy in Brazil say the pair sought visas there.
Even without Rigondeaux and Lara, Cuba won eight boxing medals, five of them gold.
Cuban President Fidel Castro lashed out at the fighters on Aug. 7 in a written statement, saying they would never represent their country again and comparing them to soldiers who abandon duty.
The Cuban boxing federation accuses pro boxing promoters who attend tournaments of luring fighters into defecting, and criticized the International Amateur Boxing Association for failing to stop the promoters.
As with baseball, Cuba has not allowed its best boxers to pursue professional careers.
Beginning in the 1990s, Cuban amateur boxers began more frequently to find their way to Miami and other parts of the U.S. to turn pro.
Yan Barthelemy, Yuriolski Gamboa and Odlanier Solis all abandoned the Cuban team in Venezuela last year.
At the 2005 world boxing championships in China, Cuba won five gold, two silver and two bronze medals in 12 weight classes. Since 1974, Cuban boxers have accounted for 60 gold medals at the worlds, more than any other country.
They have been particularly dominant in the classes above 78 kilograms, the heavyweight and super heavyweight divisions. Cubans have won 15 of 24 gold medals in the two heaviest weight categories at the world championships since 1974.
This year's world championships start Oct. 21 in Chicago.
With files from the Associated Press
