In Cuba, women are (finally) allowed to box in competition

The Cubans enter the ring. Now, in Cuba, women are allowed to box. According to AFP extension And The group, the announcement was made on Monday 5 December by the voice of Ariel Sainz, vice president of the Cuban Sports Institute (Inder). During a press conference, he said: “Today we make public the authorization of women’s boxing in our country. » Historical news for Cuba, nicknamed the island of boxing.

Cuba, the island of boxing

With 80 world titles and 41 Olympic titles, Cuba is the world powerhouse of boxing. Currently there is also a Cuban, Tony Cruz, who can boast of being the reigning Olympic champion, to which he combines that of three-time world champion. Despite this love of gloves, the practice was, until now, off limits to women. A reluctance steeped in machismo and specific to boxing, because Cuba was already represented in the women’s categories of all other sports, including wrestling and weightlifting since 2006. But sporting authorities deemed boxing too dangerous for women, who were then allowed to kick bags and enter a ring as long as it remained an amateur practice.

Women are finally allowed to box in competition

The decision to allow female boxers to compete marks a turning point for Cuban women, but also for boxing in general. Ariel Sainz so praised “an important step in development” of Cuban boxing as well as in “Female emancipation”. But if female boxers are anything like their male counterparts, it is also the landscape of world boxing that will be transformed by their entry into competition. The answer shouldn’t be long in coming. The first Cuban women’s boxing team will be presented at the Central American Games in San Salvador, in May 2023.

Cover image: Unsplash / Arisa Chattasa