Ángel Espinosa Capó (2 October 1966 – 12 April 2017) was a Cuban

amateur boxer An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

who dominated the 1980s at junior middleweight and middleweight and captured the 1986 World Amateur Boxing Championships. He never won an Olympic medal due to Cuba's boycott of the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

(as well as the 1985

Boxing World Cup The Boxing World Cup is an international boxing event organized by the International Boxing Association (IBA), featuring boxers competing in different weight divisions. It was held from 1979 to 1998 as an individual competition and from 2002 to 2 ...

boycott.) A hard-hitting Cuban with a southpaw stance one of the most feared in his era was known to have about 300 amateur fights.

Career

In 1983 the hard-hitting southpaw won the junior world championships at junior welterweight by knocking out

Meldrick Taylor Meldrick Taylor (born October 19, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2002. He held world championships in two weight class (boxing), weight classes, including the International Boxing Federation, IBF junior ...

in round 2. Cuba boycotted the 1984 Olympic Games. He became 1986 world champion at junior middleweight. Espinosa then added the Panamerican title 1987 at middleweight. On two occasions when Cuban government boycotted the Boxing World Cup in 1985, and the Summer Olympics in 1988, gold winner in the middleweight class was East German

Henry Maske Henry Maske (, ; born 6 January 1964) is a German former professional boxer and one of Germany's most popular sports figures. He held the IBF light heavyweight title from 1993 until 1996. Amateur career Maske was born in Treuen ...

, whom Espinosa defeated three times unanimously in 1987–88. At the 1989 world championships he defeated Sven Ottke but lost to local hero Andrey Kurnyavka. At Espinosa's first Olympics in Barcelona 1992 he competed at light-heavy and lost to Wojciech Bartnik . Angel trained amateurs in a boxing gym in Hialeah, Fl named "Hialeah School of Boxing" before his passing. Angel was found dead at a gym in Miami. Cause of death is still undetermined.

References

Record
2009-10-25) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Espinosa, Angel 1966 births 2017 deaths Middleweight boxers Southpaw boxers Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba Boxers at the 1987 Pan American Games Boxers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for Cuba Cuban male boxers Defecting sportspeople from Cuba AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Pan American Games gold medalists in boxing Competitors at the 1986 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Cuba Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in boxing Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Sportspeople from Holguín 20th-century Cuban sportsmen