Orlando Martínez Romero

Glory of Cuban sports. Left-handed boxer, nicknamed the Southpaw of Juanelo, champion of the Munich 1972 Olympic Games, Three-time champion of the International Tournament "Giraldo Córdova Cardín". He passed away in 2021, at the age of 75.

He was born on September 2, 1946 in the Juanelo neighborhood in Havana, known as Orlandito or the "Southpaw of Juanelo," as his followers identified him, he began boxing in 1963, under the direction of Rolando Urrutia at the Luyanó Moderno Gymnasium. He came to pugilism with a certain physical limitation due to an injury suffered to his left collarbone as a result of a fall.

This circumstance perhaps to a certain extent contributed to making him a true master of counterattacking, that is, landing blows after the opponent's attack. The movements in all directions of the ring, based on supersonic speed and constant striking with the straight right hand, resembled a shadow impossible to eliminate.

He turned out to be the first of the victorious pugilists, when in the final fight of the 54 kg Division, he defeated Mexican Alfonso Zamora by a 5-0 decision. The other two were Emilio Correa in the 67 kg division and Teófilo Stevenson in the over 81 kg division. Orlandito was not invincible and during an extensive career he was defeated on 15 occasions, but only once did he lose by KO in nearly 200 fights.

That defeat occurred in the first round and the feat was accomplished in 1968 by also left-handed Havana native Luis Mariano Cesé.

He won his first national title in 1964 by defeating veteran eastern fighter Rafael Carbonell in the 51 kg Division. Due to illness he was away from active sport for a couple of years and returned in 1967 to regain his title condition in the flyweight division, decisively defeating Matanzas native Diosdado Ramos.

The celebration in Havana (1968) of the first Giraldo Córdova Cardín International Boxing Tournament allowed him that same year to get revenge on the harsh setback against Luis Mariano Cesé and he earned the right to represent Cuba at the Olympic Games in Mexico City.

In Aztec territory things did not go as expected and on his debut on October 14, he lost a 4-1 decision to Hungarian Tibor Badari. In 1969 he moved into the 54 kg division and was crowned national champion again at the Playa Girón National Boxing Championship with a victory over Ramón Ramírez. Once again among the flyweights he repeated consecutive victories in the editions of the Giraldo Córdova Cardín in 1971 and 1972. Incidentally, the first of these victories was a close 3-2 verdict against Santiago native Douglas Rodríguez, a fiery young fighter who forced him to use all the arts and tricks he knew.

Despite winning the Córdova Cardín title (1972) as a flyweight division fighter—he defeated Matanzas native Ambrosio Céspedes in the final—the national preselection coaching staff decided to include Douglas at that weight and moved Orlandito to 54 kg with an eye toward the Munich Olympic version.

Competitive Results
Mexico City 1968
Lost decision 4-1 to Tibor Badari (HUN)

Munich 1972
Won decision 4-1 against Wing Maung (BIR)

Won decision 3-2 against Michael Dowling (IRL)

Won decision 5-0 against Ferry Moniaga (IND)

Won decision 3-2 against George Turpin (GBR)

Won decision 5-0 against Alfonso Zamora (MEX)

Montreal 1976
Won decision 5-0 against Jovito Reginfo (VEN)

Lost decision 3-2 to Chul Soon Hwang (COR)

His four consecutive victories by judicial decisions: 4-1 against Wing Maung (BIR); 3-2 against Michael Dowling (IRL); 5-0 against Ferry Moniaga (IND); 3-2 against George Turpin (GBR), took him directly to the bantamweight final.

Meanwhile, Orlandito Martínez continued in amateur boxing and attended a third Olympic meeting in Montreal 1976, where he was eliminated by the same Soon Hwang.

After retiring from active sport in 1978, he began working with young talents and is a prestigious technician in the art of giving and not taking, highly sought after at home and abroad.

Death
He passed away on September 22, 2021, at the age of 75, after suffering from Alzheimer's disease.