- guardian.co.uk, Friday 22 September 2000 02.03 BST
The newspaper stuck by the authenticity of its picture, although there remained a general disbelief that the handshake actually took place. The dark distrust between the two countries is gradually softening, although in a sporting context the Olympic boxing tournament, which the US and Cuba are set to dominate, might be seen as the last remnant of the old Cold War battle of wills.
And the bout everyone is waiting to see is at heavyweight between Cuba's Felix Savon, five times the world champion and twice Olympic gold medal winner, and Michael Bennett, the reigning world champion.
Bennett is the first and only US amateur heavyweight to arrive at the the Olympics as the reigning world champion, a title he took in the most bizarre of circumstances.
During the world championships in Houston last year, the Cubans claimed they were victims of a whole string of dubious decisions, and when the four times world champion Juan Hernandez lost his welterweight final, they staged a walk out, claiming corruption in high places.
The Amateur International Boxing Association over-turned that result, but there was no turning back for the Cubans with Savon forfeiting the final against Bennett. Hence the frisson surrounding next week's quarter-final between the two men, although the obvious disappointiment is that it cannot be the final. One of the two boxers will not even get a medal.
The Olympic boxing, together with the judo, weightlifting, and fencing, is taking place in the Sydney Conference Centre here at Darling Harbour. It is the most prosaic of the Olympic sites, albeit in the most beautiful of surroundings. The conference centre consists of a number of huge sheds, the type that adorn countless industrial "parks" on the outskirts of British towns.
Some effort had been made to bring a semblance of intimacy to the atmosphere of the boxing arena, although Australia's no smoking laws, as stringent as any in the world, prevent the sort of ambiance usually associated with boxing. Both Bennett and Savon fought yesterday, Bennett an easy points winner over Poland's Wojciech Bartnik, and Savon, now aged 33, stopping Nigeria's Rasmus Ojemaye in the second round.
There has been one major change since the Atlanta Olympics, with four two-minute rounds replacing the old three three-minute rounds. Unchanged is the computerised scoring system whereby each judge has two buttons, red and blue, with which they record direct hits.
In order to prevent any jiggery-pokery, three of the five judges must press a button within a second of each other for the boxer to get a point. Some of the judges look as if they would have trouble finding a light switch, never mind distinguishing red from blue.
Generally a cluster of punches matters more than a haymaker, unless the latter delivers a knock down, while a solid jab may be more effective than a sneaky left hook to the body that the judges might not see. The computer's decision is final, subjectively speaking, that is.
Only three boxers, the Hungary's Laszlo Papp, and the Jamaican-born Teofilo Stevenson of Cuba, have ever won three Olympic gold medals, Stevenson in the same division, super-heavyweight (over 91kg) and Papp, twice at light-middleweight (71kg) and once at middleweight (75kg).
Savon won his heavyweight (91kg) golds in Barcelona and Atlanta, having dominated the amateur division since 1986. In the Atlanta final Canada's David Defiagbon spent the entire fight protecting his head and trying to stay on his feet, Savon winning 20-2 on points.
Bennett will not be so obliging. The 29-year-old American only began boxing two years ago having taken up the sport during a seven-year jail stretch for the armed robbery of a toy store ("Teddy bear for your daughter, sir?"). He was released in 1998, and became world champion, albeit by default, the next year, although his most protracted fight was with the Australian immigration authorities who were not keen to let him into the country, these days having no truck with ex-cons. They finally relented this May.
Since 1972 the Cubans have won 23 Olympic titles and 41 medals, and prior to Sydney their coach, Alcides Sagarra, claimed they would win 12 titles here. Bennett, displaying a grace not always associated with Chicago fighters, said of Savon: "He is a boxing legend, and it will be nice to face him in battle because he is a great warrior."
Come next Tuesday, Bennett may be altogether less refined. It promises to be the fight of the Sydney Olympics.
