The Cuban jinx is over, courtesy of a U.S. boxer who wasn't even alive when it started.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. became the first American boxer in 20 years to beat a Cuban in the Olympics with a victory Wednesday night over Lorenzo Aragon in a 125-pound bout.It wasn't easy - Mayweather had to hold on at the end to win by only one point - but the win before a noisy crowd at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum put a cap on a big two days that saw six Americans make the Olympic semifinals.
Mayweather gave the U.S. Olympians their first win over a Cuban since Leon Spinks stopped Sixto Soria in the 1976 Games. Cubans won six straight matchups, including the first two in these games.
Mayweather, 19, said he drew inspiration from a telephone conversation he had with his father, Floyd Sr., who is serving time in a Michigan prison for drug sales.
"My dad would be very happy for his son," Mayweather said. "If it wasn't for my dad, I wouldn't even be here. Thank God for giving me a dad like him."
Six of the seven U.S. boxers in the quarterfinals won, guaranteeing themselves bronze medals at the worst and giving the U.S. team twice as many medals as its boxers won four years ago in Barcelona.
Three of them - Terrance Cauthen, Nate Jones and Rhoshii Wells - fight today in semifinal matches, with Wells drawing Cuban world champion Ariel Hernandez in another U.S.-Cuba matchup at 165 pounds.
Cuba, which won seven gold medals in Barcelona and had been expected to dominate the competition, has seven boxers in the semifinals.
Among the U.S. winners Wednesday were gold medal favorite Antonio Tarver and David Reid, but it was Mayweather's victory that may have meant the most for U.S. boxers who in the past have seemed intimidated by their Cuban rivals.
"I hope it motivates my teammates," Mayweather said. "You've got to dig down for the gold medal."
Mayweather's win followed a strong performance by Tarver, the world 178-pound champion, who stopped Enrique Flores of Puerto Rico at 1:54 of the third round.
"I'm two away from my dream," said Tarver.