Pedro Orlando Reyes Ponce

Cuban boxer with a degree in History, which is quite an exception since almost all of them graduate in Physical Education.

In addition to being an excellent pugilist, Reyes demonstrated intellectual aptitude by obtaining a degree in History.

He was born almost with the Cuban Revolution, in La Habana, another curious thing because the capital of the Island produced very few outstanding boxers until the mid-1990s of the past century.

However, with gloves on, this man did not fit what was expected of a competitor from the capital, much less for someone outstanding in his studies.

On six occasions he became national champion in Playa Girón tournaments, during the editions of 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1988, in a division traditionally strong in the largest of the Antilles, the 51-kilogram division.

Despite reigning at home in 1982, just one year later he joined the main Caribbean squad for international competitions, and so great was his determination that he had his best season.

In April he began his performance with the Cuba team when he defeated Michael Collins by RSC in the second round in what was then the traditional bilateral matchup with the United States, and then he was crowned in the World Cup in Rome, between October 17-22.

There he strung together victories against Hungarian Janos Varadi 5-0, Bulgarian Petar Lesov 5-0, and in the final against South Korean Yong Mo Huh 4-1.

Previously, from August 14-29, he participated in the Pan American Games in Caracas, where he defeated Dominican Laureano Ramírez in the final, and he also triumphed in the Central American and Caribbean championship held in La Habana, winning gold over Dominican Pedro Sánchez.

The 1984 campaign was marked by the boycott of socialist countries to the Los Ángeles Olympic Games, something that affected Reyes doubly, since he also could not attend the Seúl-1988 event, precisely the years when he was the best in his division.

During that period he defeated Steve McCrory 5-0 in the bilateral matchup with the United States in February and later was crowned in La Habana during the Friendship Games, parallel to those in Los Ángeles.

His victories were convincing against Yuri Vilishchuk (USSR) by RSC in the third round, Ivan Filchev (Bulgaria) in the semifinals 5-0, and by no-show in the final against Zbigniew Raubo (Poland).

The following year he achieved top placements at home, but in the international arena he only competed in the sixth edition of the
Spartakiads of Friendly Armies, in Poland, where he defeated Valentin Dymitrov (Bulgaria) by unanimous decision.

1986 saw him return victorious from the Central American and Caribbean Games held in Santiago de los Caballeros, where he defeated Eduardo López (Panamá) with a decisive knockout in the semifinals, and Dominican Ramírez 4-1 in the fight for gold.

However, the best of that year, and of his career, was his performance in September during the World Championship in Reno, United States.

There he left in his wake Soviet Beybut Eszhanov and Italian Andrea Manía 5-0, Hungarian Janos Varadi 4-1, and Venezuelan David Grimán 5-0 for the title.

Nevertheless, months later he could not win the Playa Girón and they brought Adalberto Regalado to the Pan American Games of Indianápolis-1987, but after the Pinar del Río boxer triumphed there, he lost in the World Cup in Belgrado in his first outing.

Meanwhile, Reyes was crowned in the Central American tournament in Costa Rica by defeating Andy Agosto (Puerto Rico) in the final, and in this type of competition he triumphed again 12 months later, when Cuba brought its main team to Guatemala.

He also defeated Arthur Jonson on points in the match with the Americans, held in Atlantic City in April, the only high-caliber bilateral matches for Cuban boxing in that season, as attendance at Seúl-1988 was cancelled.

Another culminating point in his career awaited him in 1989, after winning the gold medal in the VII Spartakiad of Friendly Armies with a smile by unanimous vote over Kim Jon Cho (South Korea).

The Moscow-1989 World Championship arrived and everything looked good for the boxer from the capital. First he defeated Lionell Odom (United States) 17-11, then Nicolae Aliuta (Romania) 33-14, Vedat Tutuk (Turkey) 23-3, and Krzysztof Wróblewski (Poland) 14-1 in the semifinals.

Yuri Arbachakov (Soviet Union) was his rival in the dispute for the maximum belt, and many favored the Cuban, although his opponent competed at home.

The European started ahead on the scorecards, but little by little the Caribbean fighter imposed his aggressive boxing and caused his opponent to retire.

Surprisingly the main referee consulted the presidium table and then came the unthinkable: victory went to the local athlete because when the fight was stopped he was ahead 18-17, the first and only time this ruling was applied.

Thanks to decisions like those, the then Soviet Union took first place by points, dethroning the largest of the Antilles for the first time in this type of competition, and Reyes, notably affected emotionally, decided to hang up his gloves.

From then on he devoted himself to his studies until earning his degree, and currently he enjoys the successes of his son Rudy, a member of the Cuba baseball team and the Industriales selection.