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Cuban boxer Guillermo Rigondeaux, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, has defected to the United States and plans to turn professional.

Farah Colina said Tuesday her husband had no choice but to flee Cuba if he wanted to box again.

"I'm surprised on one level because he left home at the end of January saying he was going to Santiago," Colina said, referring to the eastern city that is Cuba's second largest. "But, on another level, I think he was obligated to do this."

Luis de Cubas, an agent for Arena Box Promotions in the United States, confirmed that Rigondeaux was in Miami and interested in fighting. The 28-year-old boxer won bantamweight gold medals at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics.

Colina said her husband called a neighbor Saturday to say he made it to Miami. The family does not have a phone.

Rigondeaux hoped to try for a third Olympic title at last summer's Beijing Games. But in July 2007 he and 2005 welterweight world champion Erislandy Lara disappeared during the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. Both were accused of overstaying their visas, arrested and sent back to the island.

Rigondeaux is the latest world class boxer to leave Cuba. Earlier defections include Lara and Odlanier Solis, the 2004 Olympic heavyweight champion.

News Courtesy: Associated Press, Google
Image Courtesy: Daylife.com