LIVING HIS DREAM
Cuban refugee, Thai boxer adds another title to his collection.

 By Kourtney McCarty
Photos by Dave Bordson

When Raul Llopis says he’ll fight anyone, anywhere, anytime – he means it. A five-time world champion in four different weight classes (ranging from 128 lbs. to 140 lbs.) and a record of 35-8 with 19 wins by way of knockout, Llopis has had his share of battles in and outside of the ring.

His toughest by far was his escape from Cuba in 1994 when he and five friends (including his kickboxing teacher) boarded a raft to make a treacherous 90-mile journey across the Atlantic. The journey didn’t quite go as planned. The group of refugees ended up in the middle of a storm, got turned around and were lost for several days without food or water.  

“We were scared and we were hungry. There was a young kid with us and he started crying,” said Llopis. “But then, this guy in our group said to us ‘Whatever you believe in, let’s just pray.’ So, I prayed to God. I said, ‘God, if you are true, I need you to save my life.’”

That’s when the U.S. Coast Guard showed up.

The group was taken to Guantanamo Bay where Llopis stayed for one year before being given permission to enter the United States. While in Gitmo, he and a group of about 15 guys continued to train kickboxing under the direction of his coach Manuel “Manolo” Lopez in a makeshift gym without proper equipment. They shared one pair of gloves, one pair of punch mitts (the army lent the equipment to them) and used foam for shin guards. Although admittedly, this was a whole lot more than they had in Cuba.

“In Cuba, we weren’t allowed to train kickboxing. We were constantly being run out of gyms and had to train in different parks. We didn’t have much equipment. We put paper in our mouths to protect our teeth while sparring,” said Llopis. “One guy had a heavy bag in his house, so some days, our trainer would say, ‘We’re training the heavy bag today,’ and all of us would go over there and take turns hitting the bag.”

Even after coming to the United States, this type of makeshift training became a common theme for Llopis. In fact, up until the past year when Llopis rejoined his first trainer, Manuel Lopez, in Miami, Llopis had essentially been training himself.

Yet, in spite of all of this and thanks to his natural athleticism and strong work ethic, Llopis has earned several world titles and fought all over the world continuing to prove that he truly will fight anyone, anywhere at anytime. He just wants to fight.

He fought European-style kickboxing in Spain. K-1 rules in Japan where he fought in the Tokyo Dome beating the Japanese champion in a tough fight to earn a world title and the Grand Prize for fight of the night. He’s fought full Muay Thai in Belarus and Thailand and even savate in France. He went toe-to-toe with Muay Thai legend Kansak Sor-Pleonchit and other top Thai fighters including Pongsan Ek-Yotin and Neungsiam (Samart) "The Rock" Samphusri. Additionally, Llopis has 16 pro boxing fights.

Perhaps it is because of this willingness to try anything that Llopis is such a well-rounded fighter –many of his fights forced him to add various weapons to his arsenal. He is generally the aggressor (spectators will rarely see him back up) and loves nothing more than standing in the middle of the ring to bang with his opponent. While his strength lies in his boxing (his favorite punch is the left hook to the body), Llopis also has an extremely damaging low kick, is quite effective in the clinch (in part thanks to his Judo training – he has a black belt), and has become proficient with his elbows.

On June 16, 2007, Llopis added yet another title to his collection by beating Josh Palmer for the first TBA-SA North American Lightweight title. Though, come fight night, Palmer looked to be anything but a lightweight. In the ring, Palmer towered over Llopis by several inches and outweighed him by at least ten pounds. Llopis also had a broken left thumb, which he had to tape down, since it wouldn’t bend. This, however, didn’t bother him in the slightest.

“If he has two hands and two feet, I’ll fight him,” Llopis said. “Now, if he has three hands, I’ll be a little worried. But, I’d probably fight him anyway.”

And that night, Raul showed just how adaptable a fighter he can be. Raul was able to stay in the inside to stunt Palmer’s long reach and also outworked him in the clinch. Palmer repeatedly tried to bend Llopis backwards in an illegal technique referred to as “breaking your opponent down,” but Llopis relied on his judo training and was able to reverse many of those techniques and generally ended up on top when the two went crashing to the canvas. In the second round, Lllopis floored Palmer with an overhand right. But Palmer showed incredible heart and revealed his ability to take a big punch and continued to come forward for the remainder of the fight. Llopis won a unanimous decision.