Cuban Boxers Look to Improve Beijing Performance in London

Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, Jun 7. – The 42nd Annual Giraldo Cordova Cardin International Boxing Tournament has concluded, and results confirm the statements Rolando Acebal Montes provided to this reporter as well as to Jorge Matos, a journalist for the weekly newspaper Sierra Maestra.

After concluding basic training in this city, as part of the national team's training for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Acebal Montes, the head coach for the Cuban boxing team, offered his assessments.

In May, he predicted that most of qualified boxers for London 2012 would get gold medals in the recently concluded tournament, and he was proven correct.

Julio Cesar La Cruz (81-kg), world champion in Baku-2011, runner-up world champion Yasnier Toledo (60-kg), and Roniel Iglesias, world champion in Milan-2009, took the gold.

In addition, other Olympic qualified boxers such as Yosbany Veitia (49-kg), Robeisis Ramirez (52-kg), cruiserweight Jose Angel Larduet and heavyweight Erislandy Savon, also triumphed in the finals in their respective divisions.

In Beijing-2008, Cuban boxers won four silvers and the same number of bronzes, but for the first time they returned without titles, which influenced the judges' decision against the light-welterweight Roniel Iglesias, in the semifinals, and against middleweight Emilio Correa in the finals, Aceval Montes said.

In London-2012, according to Acebal, they can add a new chapter to the story because "the Olympics are the greatest sports event where the best athletes participate and all of them go for the title. We are ready to win, but we know it will be difficult." (Prensa Latina)