As confirmed in the weigh ceremony and press conference for the first leg of the quarter-finals between the Cuba Domadores and the USA Knockouts, everything is ready this Friday at the Coliseum of Havana’s Sports City.
Unfortunately for the northern squad and the show, only four bouts take place and not five, since the Puerto Rican Jantony Ortiz, who would have faced local Gerardo Cervantes in the division of 52 kg, was defeated by the weight that decreed his had a kilo in excess.
Thanks to this, the Domadores will enter the ring with a 1-0 lead and aspirations of the head coach of the Knockouts, Cuban Mariano Gonzalez, who thought winning the match 3-2, had to change due to this setback and now thinks Cubans will win by that score
The rest of his other boxers made the weight and then Venezuelans Luis Martin Arcon (60 kg) and Gabriel Maestre (69), the Brazilian Michel Borges de Souza (81) and Swedish Mohamed Sallah (+91) , will face Lázaro Álvarez , Roniel Iglesias, Emilio Correa and Yoandi Toirac, respectively.
Both Iglesias and Alvarez are clear favorites to win the matches for their outstanding international credentials and the quality of their recent performances, while doubt and uncertainty are present in the fights of Toirac and Correa. The now Heavyweight and Beijing 2008 Olympic silver medalist Emilio Correa, substitutes world champion Julio Cesar La Cruz, and shows great desire to return to stellar positions but will have in Souza a more experienced rival in the division, though with mixed results .
For his part, Havana’s Yoandi Toirac, national champion in the super heavyweight division, must strive and demonstrate his potential to beat Sallah , who also impress with his physical besides been unbeaten in two outings.
In the press conference the representative of the visiting team, Elizabeth Gunn said the prevailing emotion in the team for being in Cuba and shows the importance they give to the match and the competition by the fact that they brought their best fighters. On the Cuban side, the Olympic champion Roniel Iglesias spoke on behalf of his colleagues, and explained that the Domadores see in the USA Knockouts an opponent like any other , which dismissed the possibility that facing boxers representing the United States suppose some extra special or plus, beyond sports. “We aim to give the best and competing in the ring as usual.”
Alberto Puig de La Barca , Director of the Doamdores said in this regard that the associations of the two countries are considering resuming those traditional duels that aroused the interest of all the fans of the sport on both sides of the Strait Florida .
On these duels, and the clash in the quarterfinals, the teacher and “founding father of the Cuban School of Boxing” Alcides Sagarra remembered there were always very strong matches and “competition creates friendship” he added, so he expects the showdown to take place tomorrow and on April 12 in the city of Salem are a true spectacle that will contribute to closer ties between the franchises and inspire the rescue of the historical clashes, very helpful for sports development in both nations.
By Jose Gabriel Martinez
