MIAMI (AP) " Former heavyweight contender Jorge Luis Gonzalez blazed the trail 18 years ago.
Gonzalez was the first noteworthy member from the Cuban amateur boxing system to defect in search of professional titles. Since Gonzalez abandoned Cuba following his second Pan American Games gold medal, the list of high-profile defectors has become lengthy, with mixed professional results.
Now it is Guillermo Rigondeaux's turn to show whether his amateur accomplishments will parlay into professional success. Rigondeaux, 28, is the latest and perhaps most accomplished Cuban amateur boxer to leave the island.
Rigondeaux, who defected in February along with two other national team members, will make his pro debut Friday night at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. He is scheduled to face Juan Noriega of Danville, Ark. in a four-round super-bantamweight bout.
"I am happy that my debut will be here, where there are many Cubans supporting me," Rigondeaux said. "Now we will see if I am as good as people anticipate of me. I came here to be a world champion."
Rigondeaux, a veteran of more than 300 amateur bouts, was the top bantamweight in the world over a five-year span. He won Olympic gold medals in 2000 and 2004 and world championships in 2001 and 2005.
Before the 2008 Olympics, Rigondeaux was favored to join countrymen Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon as three-time Olympic gold medalists. Rigondeaux instead attempted an ill-fated defection with teammate Erislandy Lara during the 2007 Pan American Games in Brazil.
Both boxers were repatriated to Cuba. Lara, now unbeaten in five professional fights, defected in March 2008.
Banned from the country's amateur system when he returned from Brazil, Rigondeaux successfully left Cuba with Yudel Johnson and Yordanis Despaigne in February.
Johnson, a 2004 Olympic silver medalist, and Despaigne also will make their professional debuts Friday.
"I came to the United States to realize a dream and accomplish great results as a professional fighter," said Despaigne, bronze medalist in the 2001 and 2003 world championships. "Something which motivates me is that (unbeaten super-middleweight) Andre Dirrell, someone I faced as an amateur, has accomplished much. That shows me I can also make it big in professional boxing."
Despaigne's first professional opponent will be Reshawn Scott of Philadelphia. Johnson will face Greg Weathers of Louisville in his inaugural bout.
Rigondeaux and his teammates hope to follow Joel Casamayor, Juan Carlos Gomez, Diobelys Hurtado and Yuriorkis Gamboa as Cuban defectors turned professional world champions.
Casamayor, a 1992 Olympic gold medalist in Barcelona, won professional world titles in two separate weight classes. Gomez and Hurtado, who defected in 1994, also captured belts in the cruiserweight and super-lightweight divisions, respectively.
In only two years since defecting, Gamboa already has a world title. Gamboa, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist, won a super-featherweight belt April 24.
But for all the heights reached by the early defectors and Gamboa, there are Cuban boxers who couldn't replicate their amateur accomplishments as professionals. Even Gonzalez fell short of his goal.
Although he landed a title fight against then-heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe in 1995, Gonzalez failed to capitalize on his opportunity. Bowe stopped Gonzalez in six rounds and Gonzalez quickly descended from the heavyweight rankings.