#56: ‘In the Red Corner’ by John Duncan

‘In the Red Corner – A Journey into Cuban Boxing’ is John Duncan’s account of a madcap voyage to Cuba, to lure some of their superstar amateur boxers with professional contracts.

I love a good “so I just decided to book my flights and go” kind of story, and this is one of the best I’ve read. Equally because of the architecture and the pull of seeing Castro’s socialist state before his death, as well as the boxing, I’ve always wanted to just up sticks and get myself over to Cuba. I cannot put into words how jealous I am of John Duncan and the opportunities that arose for him to make this trip possible, and at the time it happened.

Just imagine travelling to Cuba and getting to watch, what was still then, an amazing crop of amateur boxing talent. Getting to see them train and compete at home and internationally. Mind-blowing!

Duncan initially travelled to Havana to try to convince the Cuban authorities, who had banned professional boxing in 1961, to allow the legendary Félix Savón to fight Mike Tyson. This may seem the ultimate in European arrogance, but it’s almost a minimal part of the story, as Duncan begins to retell coming into contact with the equally legendary Teófilo Stevenson, and the legacies left by the likes of Kid Chocolate, Kid Gavilán and Adolfo Horta.

There are fascinating insights in this book about how State-supported boxers lived fairly luxuriant lives by Castro-era standards, but still had to await handouts and live under fear of everything being taken away if they fell out of favour or acted out of turn while representing their country. It’s also hard to imagine what it must be like to travel to international tournaments where the sporting world is waiting to laud you, only to be told where you’re allowed to go and when, and exactly what you’re allowed to say.