Robisi Ramirez He fully understands the adage that tough battles are for the best warriors. For the Cuban, who trained on the island and developed professionally in the United States, he is about to find his first goal on the mountain: a world title

His challenge is this Saturday against the former champion Isaac the puppy (ESPN+, 7:10 pm ET) The perfect excuse for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight belt, the perfect excuse to confirm the message he posted on his social media long ago: “I’ve been a fighter all my life” .

It was a message of encouragement to him and at the same time an account of his life. “(The phrase refers to) starting in amateur boxing in Cuba under a regime that imposes what you have to do, everything I went through, and I know how to move forward, despite the problems with the leaders, I gave them two Olympics. Without medals they believed in me, I They thought they were going to beat them,” he recalled.

Their differences were the first hurdle in thinking differently. When he decided to leave the island and fight on the big stages of professional boxing, he lost his first fight (against American Adan Gonzalez on August 10, 2019).

“The important thing is that it didn’t affect my confidence as a boxer, Top Rank believed in me, we knew we could go there, we kept working, we decided to come to Las Vegas to do a camp with (Ismail) Salas. We decided to come with the family” , Cuba explains, then received a warning that he had to change his ways, his methods and his commitment. He did it in and out of the ring.

“I fought against a capitalist country that was very different from what we were used to in Cuba, and it is no secret that this country is very difficult. It was just me, my family and my wife. It helped me focus, focus on what I want, move forward and get to where I am,” she admits.

Robeisy took charge of his goals and moved his training base from Florida to Nevada, focused on his goal and won 11 fights to claim the right to a world title. “This will be the first of many things we want to achieve,” he warns. “By winning the first title I want to make two defenses and unite. I don’t have any problem in my section, I can stay for two years. The best I can do is to retain the title and seek unity”, he predicted.

Far from the land of his birth, 29-year-old Ramirez understands that he will be a benchmark in the environment that made him a fighter for life. “I know no one will be able to see the fight, but I know there are a lot of movements in Cuba, it’s a country where they want to follow the sport. They told me that now they are talking about it. The World Classic and my World Championship fight, that somehow they can see it despite the difficulties that exist. I believe,” he says.

Robizzi is one of 11 Cubans to win two gold medals at the Olympic Games. He knows there are many, but he can be different: “There are many Cuban athletes in history, from Félix Chavón and Defilo Stevenson to the Greco-Roman wrestler Mijan López who is still active despite his political connotations. My name will always be there, I don’t exclude myself, but I know there are many double Olympic champions, but some have achieved it at the age of 22 and some have entered professional boxing and become world champions. So I guess my story begins now.”