Germans welcome Cuban star

Former amateur world champion Erislandy Lara has signed with a German promoter, a year after he and another boxer deserted the Cuban team at the Pan American Games.

Arena Box Promotion said on Thursday the 2005 welterweight champion had arrived in Hamburg after fleeing Cuba on a speedboat to Mexico, where he received papers to enter Germany.

"I'm very happy to be in Germany; it's a great feeling," said Lara, who arrived on Wednesday.

Lara and Guillermo Rigondeaux, a double Olympic champion, disappeared from the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July.

Arena claimed they signed contracts and the German Embassy reported both had applied for visas.

The two boxers insisted they had not tried to defect. Both, however, were banned from competing for Cuba again and neither was named to the country's Olympic team for Beijing.

Lara is the fourth top Cuban boxer to sign with Arena, joining heavyweight contender Odlanier Solis, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Yan Barthelemy. Rigondeaux is still in Cuba.

Lara is slated to make his professional debut in Istanbul on July 4.

"Lara is a jewel," Arena boss Ahmet Oner said. "I'm sure he can make a fast adjustment."