The Lost Jewels of Cuban Boxing: Ángel Herrera Vera

In the first part of our series on Cuba’s forgotten legends, we looked at one of amateur boxing’s most formidable fighters in middleweight terror Ángel Espinosa. This time we’ll be shifting our attention to Ángel Herrera Vera, Cuba’s first two-weight Olympic champion. If Espinosa’s career was defined by what-if’s, Herrera’s was the opposite - a fighter whose work ethic and dedication saw him become one of the most successful amateurs of his generation. From stepping into a gym for the first time at 16 to capturing Olympic gold just three years later, Herrera is perhaps best known for his late-career rivalry with future pound-for-pound great Pernell Whitaker, who he fought five times between 1982 and 1984. But before we get to that, let’s start from the beginning - with the story of a teenager who only wanted a girlfriend.

One summer’s afternoon in 1973, a 16 year-old Herrera and his best friend Celso were walking home from school and discussing the one thing that matters more than anything else to teenage boys - girls. The pair decided that as their brothers, who were amateur boxers, both had girlfriends, they should join a local gym and take up the sport themselves. So, still dressed in their school uniforms, the two boys went to the Gymnasio de Paseo in Guantánamo, ran by the experienced José María Chibás. But whilst Celso was disinterested, Ángel immediately fell in love with boxing. He began spending more and more time at the gym, training every day, and quickly turned to competing on the amateur circuit.

Just over two years later, Herrera was making his national championship debut at featherweight, having taken a respectable bronze in the youth edition a few months earlier. The 18 year-old Cuban was a virtual unknown heading into the tournament, overlooked in a field that included experienced veterans such as Mariano Alvarez, Genovevo Griñán, Alberto Brea and Ángel Torres, but he quickly announced himself with a surprise win over Torres en route to the final. Whilst Herrera came up short against Griñán, his performances caught the eye of the national team who invited him to train at the elite Orbeín Quesada boxing centre, where selection for the upcoming Olympics would be decided.

Now with the unlikely prospect of making the Olympic squad in his sights, Herrera saw his chance and took it with both hands. He strengthened his case with victory at the Giraldo Córdova Cardín tournament in May, beating future Olympic bronze-medallist José Aguilar in the semi-finals, before joining the Cuban pre-selection squad for a camp in Desierto de los Leones, Mexico. Although he was still an outside bet to make the Olympic team, Herrera impressed head coach Alcides Sagarra in training with his commitment and attitude standing out. On the final day of camp, the Cuban got the better of Genovevo Griñán in a bout which would ultimately serve as an Olympic qualifier, and was chosen as Cuba’s representative at featherweight a week later. Against the odds, the 18 year-old from Guantánamo was on his way to Montreal.

If there were any concerns that the Olympics might prove too much, too soon for Herrera, he quickly put them to bed with a first round knockout of India’s Walker Rai in his opening bout. A comfortable win over Venezuela’s Angel Pachecho saw Herrera advance to the quarter-finals where he faced Davey Armstrong - the reigning Pan-American champion and one of the pre-tournament favourites, who sported an impressive record of 174 wins and just 20 losses. In a closely contested fight, Armstrong boxed from the outside and used smart lateral movement to keep Herrera from setting his feet and getting off power punches, only for the Cuban’s superior fitness and pressure to tell in the second half as Armstrong faltered. Herrera’s late surge was enough to see him get the nod by a razor-thin 3:2 split-decision, with the judges favouring his aggressive approach over the American’s slicker boxing. Whilst the result drew some controversy, Herrera claimed the biggest scalp of his career so far and advanced to the medal rounds.

Herrera battled past Mexico’s Juan Paredes in the semi’s - winning by unanimous decision in a fight that was much more competitive than the scoreline would suggest - to book a place in the Olympic final, where he met the highly-regarded Richard Nowakowski of East Germany. Nowakowski, who would go on to become one of his country’s most decorated amateurs, got the better of the early proceedings as he kept a frustrated Herrera behind the end of his jab, with the Cuban down on the cards at the end of the first round. In the corner, Sagarra instructed his man to turn the contest into a fight rather than box with the more experienced Nowakowski, and Herrera happily obliged. Despite being stung by a right hand, Herrera stuck to the task and flattened the German with a huge southpaw left towards the end of the second round, with the referee immediately calling the fight off. 19 year-old Ángel Herrera, who no one had even heard of a few months prior, was crowned Olympic champion in Montreal.

And he was only just getting started.

Upon returning to Cuba, Herrera received a hero’s welcome and was granted an audience with Fidel Castro in what he would later describe as the proudest moment of his career. The newly-minted Olympic champion followed up his success in Montreal with victory at the national championships the next year - beating old foe Genovevo Griñán along the way - as well as triumphing at Córdova Cardín and the Central American & Caribbean championships. On the 12th of November 1977, Herrera participated in the first ever USA-Cuba duals in Houston where he comfortably outpointed American bantamweight champion Rocky Lockridge, who would go on to become a two-weight world champion in the professional ranks.

In 1978, Herrera turned his attention to the AIBA World Championships in Belgrade where he sought to cement himself as the best featherweight in the world. The Cuban opened his account with a third-round stoppage of the overmatched Hiroshi Ganube, before a walkover saw him move on to the semi’s where he outclassed Poland’s Roman Gotfryd by lopsided decision. Herrera squared off against Yugoslavia’s Bratislav Ristic - who boasted an outstanding amateur record of 501 wins and just 27 losses - in the final, and in a bout that he would later recall as one of the toughest of his career, Herrera’s work-rate saw him take a 4:1 majority decision on the cards to clinch World Championship gold at 57kg. The Guantánamo native closed out the year by competing at the 1978 US-Cuba duals in New York, where he dropped a contentious 3:2 split-decision to Bernard Taylor in a fight that most had him winning.

Things began to go south in 1979 however, as Herrera struggled to make the featherweight limit. Despite winning a third national title, he was bested by future World Championship silver-medallist Jesús Sollet at Córdova Cardín and suffered an early exit at the Pan-American Games, crashing out to Bernard Taylor in controversial circumstances. Despite leading on the cards heading into the third round, a clash of heads saw Herrera pick up a cut which forced the referee to halt the contest, only to rule that the wound was caused by a punch. Taylor was declared the winner by stoppage, whilst Herrera headed back to Cuba empty handed. A loss to reigning bantamweight world champion Adolfo Horta at the national championships the following year prompted a move to 60kg, with Herrera looking to rediscover his best form ahead of selection for the upcoming Olympic Games in Moscow.

Herrera made his lightweight debut shortly after at the USA-Cuba duals, meeting old adversary Davey Armstrong in a rematch of their Olympic quarter-final. What promised to be an intriguing matchup was quickly cut short after an accidental head-clash opened up a cut over Armstrong’s eye, forcing his corner to pull him from the fight at the end of the first round to avoid any serious injury. A few months later, Herrera triumphed at Córdova Cardín with a second round stoppage of Raúl Despaigne to secure his spot on the Olympic squad, in a bid to become amateur boxing’s first two-weight gold medallist.

The 60kg field was relatively weak in comparison to previous years, parially due to the U.S. boycott of the games, and Herrera enjoyed a comfortable start to his Olympic campaign with routine victories over Italian Carlo Russolino, Yugoslavian national champion Geza Tumbas and Galsandorj Batbileg of Mongolia. The Cuban decisioned Poland’s Kazimierz Adach in the semi’s to reach a second Olympic final, where he faced home favourite Viktor Demyanenko - the reigning European champion who had already beaten Herrera earlier that year. In a scrappy affair devoid of any real quality, Herrera made a breakthrough in the third round after scoring with a left hand that caused a cut on Demyanenko’s right eye. The ringside doctor determined that he was unable to continue, sealing lightweight gold for Herrera and confirming his status as one of Cuba’s all-time greats.

Herrera’s celebrations were short lived however, as he suffered a deep cut on his eyebrow during a loss to future light-welterweight world champion Carlos García at the 1981 national championships; the injury sidelined Herrera for several months and remained a persistent issue throughout the rest of his career, eventually prompting his retirement a few years later. The Cuban returned in November, competing at the World Cup in Montreal, and topped the podium after beating the USSR’s Viktor Rybakov - a three-time European champion with a record of 203 wins and 16 losses - in the final.

Having failed to win a domestic title the previous year, Herrera got back to winning ways in 1982 with victory at the national championships before beating future professional world champion Vinny Pazienza at the US-Cuba duals. The Guantánamo native had mixed results during Cuba’s tour of Europe, losing to Anatoliy Petrov and Siegfried Mehnert at the Strandja tournament and Chemistry Cup respectively, but triumphed at Córdova Cardín to confirm his place on the national team for the World Championships in Munich. Herrera got off to a strong start in his pursuit of a second World Championship title, decisioning Japan’s Jukito Arai before stopping Kasemi Barrake and Lopti Belkhir inside the distance. Romania’s Viorel Ioana proved a more capable opponent in the semi’s, but Herrera earned a hard-fought majority decision to progress to the final. Waiting for him was an 18 year-old American named Pernell Whitaker, in what would be the first instalment of a rivalry that would define Herrera’s career.

Even then, Sweet Pea’s prodigious talent was obvious; the American’s slick upper-body movement and footwork gave Herrera fits, as he chased his man around the ring to no avail. Whitaker held his own on the inside too, with body-punching that gave glimpses of the same vicious streak we’d later see in the pro’s. Having been outboxed in the opening round, Herrera started to have more success in the second by mixing up his tactics, drawing Whitaker’s leads and swarming off of counters as well as imposing his superior physicality up close. Both men had their moments in a tight final round but it was Herrera who was favoured on the cards, out-hustling Whitaker to eke out a 3:2 split decision in a fight that could have gone either way. In an already remarkable career, Whitaker would stand out as Herrera’s finest win - but it wouldn’t be the last they’d see of each other.

The pair met once again at the US-Cuba duals in November, but this time it was Sweet Pea who came out on top after taking a clear unanimous decision on home soil to get a measure of revenge. Herrera rebounded by winning a fifth national championship in 1983, beating a young Ángel Espinosa en route to the title, before overcoming American Clifford Gray in Havana. In spite of a loss to Ramón Goire at Córdova Cardín, Herrera was selected for the Pan-American Games in August where he looked to win the only major piece of silverware that was missing from his collection. The Cuban was well on track after seeing off Panama’s Leonardo Solís and Argentinian Alberto Cortés, only to run into Whitaker once again in the final; in what was the most one-sided defeat of his career, an ageing Herrera simply had no answers for the American ace who was too fast, too fresh and too strong throughout. Sweet Pea opted to hold his feet and trade in the centre of the ring, beating his man to the punch time and again, and a frustrated Herrera responded by coming forward more aggressively which made him an easy target for Whitaker’s counters. The world champion was forced to settle for silver in Caracas, with Pan-American gold once again eluding his grasp.

In what would prove to be his final year in the sport, Herrera became a six-time national champion in January - beating Ramón Goire in the final - before facing Whitaker for one last showdown at the US-Cuba duals in Reno, Nevada. Determined to erase the memory of his painful defeat at the Pan-American Games, the Cuban veteran adopted a more patient approach this time around with an emphasis on baiting Whitaker to lead and countering. From the opening bell Herrera already looked markedly better than his previous outing, enjoying some success in a cagey first round, and he was rewarded with a knockdown early in the second after catching a squared-up Sweet Pea with a short right hand during an exchange. Whitaker immediately responded by piling on the pressure, pursuing Herrera across the ring in a complete reversal of their first encounter, and both men went toe-to-toe in a tense final round with the contest hanging in the balance. The American’s strong finish ultimately proved the difference as he edged a 3:2 split-decision, but Herrera’s stock went up even in defeat after he produced one of his finest performances to push Whitaker all the way.

Unfortunately, the Cuban boycott of the 1984 Olympics meant that Herrera was denied the chance to pursue a record-equalling third Olympic title in Los Angeles, with Whitaker going on to win gold at lightweight. Closing in on 30, Herrera decided to call time on his storied career - but not before bowing out with victory at the Friendship Games in Havana, where he beat future Olympic bronze medallist Nergüin Enkhbat of Mongolia in his amateur swan song. The Cuban retired with a record of 225 wins and just 18 losses, having become a two-weight Olympic and world champion in just under 10 years.

Whilst he may not have been the most technically gifted fighter of Cuba’s golden generation, Ángel Herrera overcame a late start in the sport to reach the pinnacle of amateur boxing through a combination of diligence and a relentless drive to win. A heavy-handed southpaw with a tireless work-rate, Herrera’s never-say-die attitude saw him pull off some spectacular comebacks against the likes of Nowakowski and Armstrong, and he always produced his best on the biggest stages. Even in defeat, Herrera’s bout against Whitaker in 1983 encapsulated exactly what made him great - battered and bruised against a surging young talent, the Cuban displayed the heart of a champion to make it to the final bell when many of his contemporaries would have long wilted. A vintage performance in their last meeting, where Herrera showcased his underrated versatility and boxing IQ, would only further add to his legend. The man from Guantánamo was a true pioneer, and deserves to be considered amongst the greatest amateur boxers of all time.