CAMAGÜEY.- The flagship of Cuban sports is finalizing details to set sail for Argentina in search of tickets for the boxing contest of the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. In the first squad that the experienced Rolando Acebal trains, at least three of the eleven fighters from Camagüey who are part of the enrollment of the National School of the discipline, Holbeín Quesada, from Havana, could be included.

The fiery Yoenlis Hernández (75 kilograms), the talented Dainier Peró (+91 kg) and the very stellar Julio César La Cruz, now in the heavyweights, almost certainly have their places as leading figures. The Olympic holder from Rio de Janeiro in the light heavyweight category confessed this week to his colleague Guillermo Rodríguez, from Radio Rebelde, that at the moment “I weigh exactly 91 kg; in the qualifier in Buenos Aires I'm going to test myself at 88 and we'll see in which division I feel better ”.

For several days at the famous El Guajay farm, members of the Cuban preselection have been sharing training sessions with the Kazakh national team.

In this regard, "La Sombra" thanked "the country's authorities for allowing these boxers to enter, despite the complex epidemiological situation the world is experiencing. It was very positive for the team, because in addition to training we sparred two times with them. I felt good, with a very good physical background as usual for me and with adequate tactical discipline. The coaches saw me win the fight against the Kazakh. We just need to keep training hard to bring the Tokyo gold medal, which is our goal ”.

Hernández and Peró also looked good on both posters and confirmed their candidacy at the head of their weight classes.

The other two fighters from Camagüey who still have a chance to represent Cuba in the Argentine capital are Damián Arce from Sierra de Cubitas and Kevin Brown from Nuevitas. The first lost all his official matches against Yosvani Veitía from Spiritus in the flyweights and the second divided honors with the multi-awarded Roniel Iglesias from Pinar del Río.

The remaining representatives of the Warriors of El Mayor will have to wait for new opportunities in the next Olympic cycle.

The truth is that a lot can still change until May (from 10 to 16) when our boxers arrive in Che's land in search of qualifying in the eight divisions that will comprise the tournament program in the Japanese capital.

However, according to what Acebal expressed to this reporter after concluding the Challengers Match at the end of 2020 at the Rafael Fortún Sports Palace, the most illustrious names of his staff are in good shape and should be chosen.

Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez