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The Most Famous

BOXERS from Cuba

This page contains a list of the greatest Cuban Boxers. The pantheon dataset contains 326 Boxers, 21 of which were born in Cuba. This makes Cuba the birth place of the 3rd most number of Boxers behind United States and United Kingdom.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Cuban Boxers of all time. This list of famous Cuban Boxers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Cuban Boxers.

1. Teófilo Stevenson (1952 - 2012)

With an HPI of 57.96, Teófilo Stevenson is the most famous Cuban Boxer. His biography has been translated into 40 different languages on wikipedia.

Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence (Spanish pronunciation: [teˈofilo steˈβenson]; 29 March 1952 – 11 June 2012) was a Cuban engineer and an amateur boxer who competed from 1966 to 1986. Stevenson won the Val Barker Trophy (1972) as well was honored with the Olympic Order (1987) and is one of only three boxers to win three Olympic gold medals – alongside the Hungarian László Papp and the fellow Cuban Félix Savón.

2. Orlando Martínez (1944 - 2021)

With an HPI of 51.91, Orlando Martínez is the 2nd most famous Cuban Boxer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Orlando Martínez (September 2, 1944 – September 22, 2021) was a Cuban bantamweight boxer, who won the gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Three years later he captured the gold at the 1975 Pan American Games. Orlando was awarded a hotly disputed 3–2 split decision over Great Britain's George Turpin in the 1972 Munich Olympics semifinal before coasting to a comfortable points win over future professional world bantamweight champion Alfonso Zamora in the final to win the division's gold medal.

3. José Nápoles (1940 - 2019)

With an HPI of 49.84, José Nápoles is the 3rd most famous Cuban Boxer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

José Ángel Nápoles (April 13, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was a Cuban-born Mexican professional boxer. He was a two-time undisputed welterweight champion, having held the WBA, WBC, and The Ring welterweight titles between 1969 and 1975. He is frequently ranked as one of the greatest fighters of all time in that division and is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. His record of the most wins in unified championship bouts in boxing history, shared with Muhammad Ali, was unbeaten for 40 years. After debuting professionally in Cuba, he fought out of Mexico and became a Mexican citizen.

4. Félix Savón (1967 - )

With an HPI of 47.88, Félix Savón is the 4th most famous Cuban Boxer. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Félix Savón Fabre (born 22 September 1967) is a Cuban former amateur boxer who competed from 1980 to 2000. Considered one of the all-time greatest amateurs, he became three-time Olympic gold medalist, and the World Champion six times in a row, all in the heavyweight division. In 1988, when he was favored by many to win the gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics, Cuban government boycotted the event. Savón is particularly known for having rejected numerous multimillion-dollar offers to defect, leave Cuba permanently to fight Mike Tyson as a professional.

5. Benny Paret (1937 - 1962)

With an HPI of 43.83, Benny Paret is the 5th most famous Cuban Boxer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Bernardo Paret (March 14, 1937 – April 3, 1962), known as Benny Paret or Benny "Kid" Paret, was a Cuban welterweight boxer who won the World Welterweight Championship twice in the early 1960s.Paret's death occurred 10 days after injuries sustained in a March 24, 1962, title defense against Emile Griffith, televised live and seen by millions on ABC's Fight of the Week. Paret had a lifetime record of 35 wins (10 knockouts), 12 losses and 3 draws.

6. Roberto Balado (1969 - 1994)

With an HPI of 38.78, Roberto Balado is the 6th most famous Cuban Boxer. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Roberto Balado Méndez (15 February 1969 – 2 July 1994) was a Cuban amateur boxer, who competed from 1986 to 1994. At the 1992 Summer Olympics he won a Gold medal in the men's super heavyweight (+91 kg). A natural heavyweight, he was Olympic champion (Barcelona 1992), three times world champion (Moscow 1989, Sydney 1991, and Tampere 1993), and five times Cuban national champion. He was also the winner of the Val Barker Trophy for Outstanding Boxer at the 1992 Olympic Games. Balado was at his prime, looking forward to win many forthcoming events, considered by some boxing experts to be the world's second-best fighter after Félix Savón (who competed one weight division below), and being one of the favourites of the 1995 Pan American Games and 1996 Olympics, but died in a car accident. At the time of his death, age 25, he had 250 fights, with a record of 238 victories, and 12 losses.

7. Guillermo Rigondeaux (1980 - )

With an HPI of 38.13, Guillermo Rigondeaux is the 7th most famous Cuban Boxer. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡiˈʎeɾmo riɣonˈdo oɾˈtiθ]; born 30 September 1980) is a Cuban professional boxer. He is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the unified WBA (Super), WBO and Ring magazine super bantamweight titles between 2013 and 2017, and the WBA (Regular) bantamweight title from 2020 to 2021. He has also challenged once for the WBO junior lightweight title in 2017. Possessing one of the greatest amateur records of all time, Rigondeaux won consecutive gold medals in the bantamweight division at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. He is also a seven-time Cuban national champion at bantamweight (2000–2006), finishing his amateur career with a record of nearly 475 fights with 12 losses; the last of these losses occurring in 2003. After Rigondeaux's defection in 2009, he turned professional and remained undefeated for almost nine years. Rigondeaux has been lauded by boxing trainer Freddie Roach as being "probably the greatest talent I've ever seen." He is known for his exceptionally fast hand speed, punching power, counterpunching abilities, athleticism, reflexes, footwork and defensive elusiveness.

8. José Gómez Mustelier (1959 - )

With an HPI of 35.56, José Gómez Mustelier is the 8th most famous Cuban Boxer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

José Gómez Mustelier a.k.a. Jovani Gomez (born January 28, 1959, in Colombia, Cuba) is a retired Cuban boxer, who won the middleweight gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics. In the final he defeated Viktor Savchenko of the USSR on points (4–1). Two years earlier he captured the world title at the second World Championships in Belgrade, followed by the gold medal at the 1979 Pan American Games.

9. Joel Casamayor (1971 - )

With an HPI of 34.51, Joel Casamayor is the 9th most famous Cuban Boxer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Joel Casamayor Johnson (born July 12, 1971) is a Cuban American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2011. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBA super featherweight title from 2000 to 2002; and the WBC, Ring magazine and lineal lightweight titles between 2006 and 2008. As an amateur, Casamayor won a gold medal in the bantamweight division at the 1992 Olympics, after which he defected to the United States on the eve of the 1996 Olympics.

10. Odlanier Solís (1980 - )

With an HPI of 32.98, Odlanier Solís is the 10th most famous Cuban Boxer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Odlanier Solís Fonte (born 5 April 1980) is a Cuban professional boxer. He has challenged once for the WBC heavyweight title in 2011, and is a former top-rated contender in that division. As an amateur heavyweight, Solis was one of the most celebrated and decorated amateur stars of the 2000s, winning a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, and three consecutive golds at the World Championships in 2001, 2003, and 2005. Odlanier Solís beat Luis Ortiz multiple times in the amateurs, never losing to him.

People

Pantheon has 21 people classified as boxers born between 1937 and 1997. Of these 21, 16 (76.19%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living boxers include Félix Savón, Guillermo Rigondeaux, and José Gómez Mustelier. The most famous deceased boxers include Teófilo Stevenson, Orlando Martínez, and José Nápoles. As of April 2022, 8 new boxers have been added to Pantheon including Orlando Martínez, José Nápoles, and Benny Paret.