Central-American Boxing: Another shot to reach dreamed result

Alcides Sagarra, perhaps the most successful trainer of all times in the history of Cuban sports, pointed out clearly that it was his dream. And he trained his boxers with that purpose. However, Cuban boxing teams have never swept any tournament not even with him leading the boxers.

Cuba was close. The Cuban boxing team won 11 of the 12 gold medals in the Central-American Games held in Ponce 1993, and the Pan-American Games La Habana 1991. In the most recent Pan-American Games —with only 10 divisions—, Cuba won in 8 of them, since we did not compete in the +91 Kg category.

It is very hard to reach such goal now. First of all, boxers must qualify now. Years ago, they got their tickets automatically. The qualifying process implies the selection of the boxer that will represent the country with lots of months in advance before the competition, which is not always good.

Cuba will have another dreamed shot in Veracruz. This scenario is favorable to achieve the goal because the competitive level is not high. Nonetheless, the fact of Mexico hosting the competition once again is a handicap.

Besides any possible referee “inaccuracy”, Mexican boxers have always shown potential, and they will be our main opponents once again. Indeed, boxers from Venezuela and Colombia may well become tough rivals to beat.

The chosen ones seem to be solid. However, there are some with few experiences like 49 Kg Santiago Amador, 75 Kg Arlen Lopez, and heavyweight Yoandri Toirac. Lopez boasted maturity with his paramount triumph in the WBS (World Boxing Series) and Toirac will not compete against renowned opponents.

History has proven time after time that rookies stand out some times. Perhaps Veracruz is that place where the dream comes true.

Cubasi Translation Staff