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Friday, August 25
Team looking for twelve-gold Games
Associated Press
HAVANA -- With heavyweight Felix Savon going for a third
gold medal, Cuba's Olympic boxing coach aims for a sweep at the
Sydney Games.
"We are going to clean up," Alcides Sagarra said Wednesday.
"What we want is the national hymn (played) 12 times, our flag
raised 12 times.
"All of our enemies are working to knock over the hegemony of
the Cuban school of boxing. ... We are not going to let them."
In 1996 at the Olympics in Atlanta, Cuba won four gold medals
and two silver medals.
Also going to Sydney is Maikro Romero, 112-pound champion at the
1996 Games. This time he will box at 106 pounds.
Sagarra was flanked by Jose Barrientos, president of the Cuban
Boxing Federation, at a news conference to announce the 12-member
team.
The Cuban boxers will travel to Sydney two weeks before the
games, which open Sept. 15.
Savon won Olympic gold medals in the 201-pound class at
Barcelona in 1992 and at Atlanta. Teofilo Stevenson was Olympic
heavyweight champion for Cuba at Munich in 1972, Montreal in 1976
and Moscow in 1980.
Savon also won world championships in 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1995.
"Felix Savon is in good physical shape," said Sagarra, adding
that he is not pressuring Savon about a third gold medal. "Felix
has beaten all the boxers there."
Also on the team are Manuel Mantilla, 112; Guillermo Rigondeaux,
119; Enrique Carrion, 125; Mario Kindelan, 132; Diogenes Luna, l39;
Roberto Guerra, 147; Juan Hernandez, 156; Jorge Gutierrez, 165;
Israel Alvarez, 178; and Alexis Rubalcaba, super heavyweight.
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