Most of the time, reaching the finals in a major sporting event is a hard-won achievement for any athlete or team. Cuba's Domadores have, however, been cruising thus far during the 6th World Series of Boxing, although they have devoted a great deal of effort to training.
When the bell rings and the fight begins, the young men coached by Rolando Acebal become authentic "dominators" of their rivals, who have been subjected to thrashings and highly skilled boxing technique, while the Cubans have escaped most blows.
If there is any doubt, one need only consult the Cuban team's record during the current World Series. With a total of 50 bouts through the semi-finals, only on three occasions have they lost - on February 27, facing the Ottomans as visitors in Ukraine, in an event marked by controversial referee decisions, to the detriment of one of the three Cubans defeated (Yosvani Veitía).
Moreover, and as irrefutable proof of the quality Cuban boxing has achieved, in the last meet, the Domadores decided to give several major figures a rest, with a look toward the upcoming Olympics in Río de Janeiro, a strategy which produced excellent results. With nine alternate boxers entering the ring, all came away with victories.
Outstanding among this group of replacements was light welter-weight Luis Oliva, who defeated Fazliddin Gaibnazarov, runner up in the Doha 2015 World Championships. In this fight, the young boxer from Matanzas responded to the confidence shown him by the coaching staff, and had an excellent performance, landing effective blows.
Cuba was placed in Group A, along with the Ottomans, China's Dragons, and Turkey's Conquerors. They are leading this division with 16 points, as was expected.
In the quarter finals, the Domadores subjected the Guerreros of Mexico to a sweep (10-0). Next up were the Tigers from Uzbekistan, the big surprise of the Series, eliminating Azerbaijan's Baku Fire, and later the Russian team in the quarter finals.
But the Cubans were not overwhelmed, and continued at the same pace (10-0), even though the team included two world runner-ups, a bronze medalist, and a world youth champion, along with several others who have qualified for the Río Games.
Now the team faces arduous days of training, waiting for the winner of the match-up between Britain's Lionhearts, and the current Series champions,
Kazajsthan's Astana Arlans, set to take place in London, May 26-27.
Experts and fans expect Astana Arlans to come out on top, given their outstanding record, to take the leading role against Cuba in a remake of last year's Series finale.
If this wish comes true, the Dominadores will have a great opportunity for a come-back to avenge what happened in 2015, to show that they are the absolute champs of boxing on a world level. Let the fights begin.
