Alleged Olympic Medalist Boxer Seen Selling Beans in Cuba: Is It Alfredo Duvergel?

A recently surfaced video on social media has stirred up emotions among Cuban sports fans. The low-resolution footage shows a man selling beans on a sidewalk in the Special Municipality of Isla de la Juventud, and many claim that it is former boxer Alfredo Duvergel. The video quality does not allow for a positive identification of the vendor's face, and the audio has been muted to protect the identity of the person who recorded the clip. These images were later shared by Cuban activist Roly Dámaso, who asserts that the man in the video is indeed the legendary "Pulpo del boxeo cubano" from Isla de la Juventud.

The sight of a famed Cuban boxer resorting to selling beans to make ends meet highlights a recurring issue across Cuba: the neglect and difficult circumstances faced by many high-performance athletes, even those who remained loyal to the regime.

The Illusion of Loyalty to the Regime

Alfredo Duvergel, renowned as the 1996 Olympic silver medalist in Atlanta and 1997 world champion in Budapest, was a public advocate for the government for many years. In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, he reached the finals in the 71-kilogram category, where a heart-wrenching loss to American David Reid kept him from the gold. Upon his return to Cuba, Fidel Castro awarded him a symbolic gold medal, declaring, “He died on the front lines; heroes like Duvergel die this way.”

After securing the world title in Budapest in 1997, Duvergel's career took an unexpected turn. He was sanctioned and subsequently faded from the spotlight. An attempted comeback in 2000 proved unsuccessful.

Now, decades later, Duvergel's name resurfaces not for a new athletic achievement but due to an image that exposes the cracks in the system that once celebrated him. Whether or not he is indeed the man in the video, the association of his name with street vending in Cuba speaks volumes about the fate many athletes face after their time in the limelight.