Cuba looks to kids to recover faded boxing glory

HAVANA (AP) — Lazaro Perez jabs rhythmically at his rival in a steamy Havana gym, dancing, feinting and punctuating each blow with a grunt.

After the final bell, he thrusts a weary arm skyward in triumph, and a proud smile spreads across a face still years from feeling a razor's scrape. Perez has just become Havana's first under-75-pound (34-kilogram) boxing champion in a new age category for 9- and 10-year-olds.

Boxing-mad Cuba is putting its athletes in the ring earlier than ever. The idea is that those who start young will have a critical edge in the sport's motions and techniques when they start competing more seriously down the road.

It's part of a top-to-bottom …