Documented path
Born in Jovellanos, Matanzas, Cuba, Balado moved with his family to Havana as an infant. He decided to dedicate himself to boxing at age 14, training at Rolando Rey's Gymnasium and the Provincial Academy in Cacahual. A commissioner spotted his build and recruited him into the Cuban boxing pipeline. He won the World Junior Championship in 1987 at age 18 and rapidly ascended to become the dominant super heavyweight in amateur boxing, winning three consecutive world titles and the 1992 Olympic gold.
Born February 15, 1969, in Jovellanos, Matanzas, Cuba, to a working-class family that relocated to Havana before his first birthday.
Deceased; killed in a car-train collision on July 2, 1994, at age 25 in Havana.
Where the conditions came from
Each is placed on a −1 to 3 scale from documented evidence, and the three are never added together. A combined total would rank Roberto Balado against other people. Held apart, they explain why this path ran differently from another one—which is the only comparison this project supports.
The marble itself
+2Tailwind
What capability, drive, or early skill is documented in the person rather than their surroundings?
World Junior Boxing champion at 18, won three World Amateur Championships and Olympic gold at 23. Exceptional speed and agility for a super-heavyweight. Significant early achievement in elite amateur boxing.
Where it was dropped
0Neither way
What money, family standing, network, or permission was already in place before the work began?
Born in Jovellanos, Matanzas, Cuba. Family moved to Havana as infant. No documented family boxing connections. Working-class background in El Palenque neighborhood of Havana.
The shape of the track
+2Tailwind
What place, timing, institution, or peer group made the next step available?
Cuban amateur boxing pipeline, one of the world's most elite national team development systems. Started at Rolando Rey's Gymnasium at 14, recruited into Provincial Academy at Cacahual. Coach Raúl Fernández and mentor Alcides Sagarra. State-sponsored training from age 14.
A −1 is a documented headwind, not a missing value; a 0 means the sources record nothing notable either way. Annotation confidence: Medium. These are analyst readings of what the sources record, not measurements of merit, talent, or effort. The twenty-two scored dimensions remain available inside the deeper research detail.
What moved through the conditions
This records repeated behaviour or recovery described by sources; it is not a grit or merit score.
This is an unchosen opening or condition in the record, not an estimate of how much luck caused the outcome.
Strongest documented signals: Elite institution pipeline, Frontier geography, Dedicated mentor / coach.
Describes the starting position, not what the person later made of it.
Strongest observed levers: Domain proximity, Started serious reps before 20, Prior reps.
Measures what was present, not whether it was inherited, earned, self-built, external, or mixed.
The timeline below shows the sequence of work and transitions around the selected early milestone. It is evidence of a path, not proof that every step was necessary.
Dominant figure at the top of a field. The tier summarizes documented career recognition through the data cutoff—not Roberto Balado's worth or future potential.
Question four · where did the leverage come from?
Each non-zero lever gets a best-supported origin, evidence signals, and confidence. Unresolved is the honest default when the biography cannot distinguish self-built, advantage-enabled, earned, external, or mixed.
One or more documented starting advantages plausibly enabled this lever.
One or more documented starting advantages plausibly enabled this lever.
One or more documented starting advantages plausibly enabled this lever.
One or more documented starting advantages plausibly enabled this lever.
One or more documented starting advantages plausibly enabled this lever.
One or more documented starting advantages plausibly enabled this lever.
One or more documented starting advantages plausibly enabled this lever.
One or more documented starting advantages plausibly enabled this lever.
A structural wave is external to the person, even when their position improved access to it.
This is a bounded inference from the current annotations—not a claim about private effort, merit, or the percentage of Roberto Balado's outcome attributable to any origin.
Structural luck, Encounter luck, Event luck, Outcome variance can change every arrow in the path. This successful-only dataset cannot observe the near-identical paths that did not break through, so luck stays visible and unscored.
Multiplying capacity documented later in the path. Measures what was present, not whether it was inherited, earned, self-built, external, or mixed.
Access or conditions documented near the beginning of the path. Zero means "no clear evidence in reviewed sources," not "advantage was absent."
Balado grew up in a working-class Cuban family in the El Palenque neighborhood of La Lisa, Havana. His family moved from Jovellanos to Havana before his first birthday. There is no evidence of wealth or notable family connections in boxing; his advantage came from Cuba's state-sponsored athletic system rather than family resources.
Not documented.
Balado's trajectory was entirely shaped by the Cuban amateur boxing pipeline, one of the world's most elite national team development systems. He had access to world-class coaching and facilities from age 14, and the Cuban system provided structured competition from national school games through international championships. His natural physical attributes were noted by commissioners who recruited him, but he was considered undersized for a super heavyweight, overcoming this through speed and technique. He died in a car-train collision at age 25 in 1994.
advantage confidence: High · source count: 3 · audit: partial_source_verification · status: subagent_researched_beta