'El Cepillo' once lived under the iron rule of the Cuban amateur boxing program, but he made a risky escape on the eve of the 1996 Olympics to face life in a new country while leaving his family behind. A stellar professional career has followed, but he never forgot where he came from.

Everyone has heard the stories about Casamayor's gift for winning an Olympic Gold medal in 1992 - a bicycle. He sold the bicycle to buy a pig to feed his family, and it cemented his decision to leave his homeland for an uncertain future in the United States.

So up the ranks he went, and by 1999, Casamayor already achieved one of his boxing dreams by winning a world super featherweight title, which he defended six times. Then came the big fights, the real goal of most fighters, no matter what cultural background. They're the fights where the whole world is watching, the arenas are packed, the lights are hot, and the money's the best it's ever been.

Yet in three out of those four fights, against Acelino Freitas, Diego Corrales, and Jose Luis Castillo, Casamayor didn't have his hand raised. The expression on his face rarely changed though, and even when he lost or drew (most recently against Kid Diamond in June of 2005), he convinced plenty of people that he won. In other words, that 35-3-1 record could easily be 39-0.

Casamayor refuses to dwell on the past though, and since his draw with Kid Diamond, he has focused on solidifying his place at the top and he has been in fine form, knocking out Antonio Ramirez, stopping Lamont Pearson, and on October 7, 2006, he decisioned Corrales in their rubber match to win the WBC lightweight title and The Ring magazine belt.

For Casamayor, who defended his crown for the first time last November with a decision over Jose Armando Santa Cruz, this entire trip is about greatness. You can't be a Cuban fighter and just be good - you either make it to the mountaintop as an immortal, or you fall short, dropping into the obscure world of those who may have briefly won a title or who just didn't have it, condemned to the record books as a footnote. There is no middle ground.

But Joel Casamayor is a special fighter, and special fighters do special things.

That was never more evident than in his March 22, 2008 battle against unbeaten slugger Michael Katsidis. Written off by some pundits, Casamayor put Katsidis on the canvas twice in the first round and rose from the mat once himself in round six before roaring back to drop and stop Katsidis in the 10th round of one of the best fights of 2008.

On Saturday, September 13th, Casamayor – The Ring lightweight champion – will put his belt on the line against fellow superstar Juan Manuel Marquez in what should be another unforgettable chapter in the career story of ‘El Cepillo’.