Richard "Richar" Abril (born 10 August 1982 in Cuba) is a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n professional boxer.

Professional career

Most Cuban boxers have

defected In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

to go professional over the past few years amid considerable fanfare for outstanding amateur careers. However, this wasn’t the case for Abril, a very good former amateur in his own right, having fought over 200 bouts. Unlike his countrymen who can’t return to the island, he is still able to return regularly to Cuba and spend time with friends and family. Several years ago, Abril won a lottery system, allowing him to freely come and go to and from Cuba. At the age of 23, Abril made his professional debut against Carlos Pena. On October 22, 2011, Abril defeated Miguel Acosta by twelfth-round unanimous decision for the interim WBA Lightweight title. After a proposed bout with Cuban superstar

Yuriorkis Gamboa Yuriorkis Gamboa Toledano (born 23 December 1981) is a Cuban professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight title ( Regular version) from 2009 to 2011, and the International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight ti ...

fell through,

Brandon Rios Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name * Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales * Brandon, ...

agreed to face off with Abril on April 14, 2012 in Las Vegas for the vacant WBA lightweight title. Rios weighed in 137lbs - or two pounds overweight - thus the title was only at stake for Abril. In a controversial split-decision, Rios maintained his winning streak despite most fans and analysts believing Abril comprehensively won the fight. Due to Brandon's weight, Abril remained interim champion.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Abril, Richar 1982 births Living people Lightweight boxers World Boxing Association champions Cuban male boxers