• Submitted by: manso
• Sports
• 01 / 28 / 2011

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THE Pan American Games are the goal and the Olympics the dream of the Argentine boxers training in Cuba this month.

"Training in Cuba is a lesson in boxing and also a lesson in life," said Brian Carlos Castaño, 69kg champion in the ODESUR Games.

"We get polished here, we're in the ring everyday against the Cubans, allowing us to gain experience and perfect what we  learn with Professor Sarbelio," Castaño added.

The 20-year-old South American champion dreams of mounting the podium in the 2012 London Olympics, but knows that the road there leads through the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, while he also hopes for positive results in the World competition this year.

The best Argentine boxers, who are training with Cuban coach Sarbelio Fuentes, will complete a month-long preparation session in Havana alongside Cubans, as well as fighters from Australia, Hungary and Peru.

Argentine Fabian Escalada, the team's coach, affirmed that training in Cuba is helping his boxers improve immensely, "since this is where the best amateur boxing in the world is."

Here the Argentine boxers are "quiet, concentrating on the training which is intense," he adds, "The interchange between the two cultures is very positive, as well. [The training] provides experience in a short period of time and helps us polish a few aspects."

Juan Carrasco, bronze medal winner in the ODESUR games at only 18 years of age, is looking for "strength, agility, experience in the daily sparring with the Cubans."

Carrasco's first goal is to classify for the Gudalajara Pan American Games scheduled for next October. After that, he dreams of the London 2012 Olympics.

"I come from a modest family. We're six brothers, if it weren't for boxing who knows where I'd be, on the street in danger of getting caught up in drugs, alcohol and other negative things," he explained.

Carrasco added, "Professor Sarbelio is like a father to us, I want to train with him until London."

For Brian Damian Chaves, training in Havana is "having an important fight every day, something that builds confidence along with technical and physical benefits, but above all it prepares us for major events."

The 18-year-old featherweight wants to continue the family tradition begun by his father Abel and continued by his brother Diego in professional boxing. "Here the training is very rigorous; it's very important for me physically because I am fast,

I move around the ring a lot because I don't have many punches, just a good left hook."

Alberto Palmetta, 64kg champion in the Ecuador Pan Americans this past year, hopes to "take full advantage of this opportunity we were given to measure up against such different boxers. I think I will be able to classify for Guadalajara, it's up to me, it depends on the work I do," the 20-year-old said.

Junior Zárate is the 49kg second place champion on the continent and wants to maintain his momentum into the Pan American Games to shake off some poor performances in previous years.

"With the professor I'm acquiring the experience and the confidence I lacked. As for the rest, I have speed, strength, I've beaten a Cuban before, my goal is London, an Olympic medal is the great dream of every athlete," Zarate indicated.

José Sosa, professional boxing champion, is working now on his country's prospects. "I love sharing my experience with the young ones, it is continuity. I learn a lot with Sarbelio, as well, which allows me to keep up in the world of boxing to which I have dedicated all of my life."

The 41-year-old boxer commented that he sees his country's young fighters as "very motivated. They improve in the ring here; it's very beneficial for the future."

The Argentine coaches and the Cuban, Sarbelio Fuentes, hope to see positive results in the Guadalajara Pan American classificatory tournaments, the sites of which have yet to be established.

Escalada is more optimistic, seeing opportunities for six or seven of the nine boxers, while Fuentes and Sosa are more careful, hoping for "the best possible outcome."

Fuentes believes that the team's stay in Havana "has elevated the technical, tactical level of the Argentines," and that the presence of rivals from other countries is advantageous since "experience and international competition, they very much lack."

The experienced coach praised the commitment of his students, "They are very concerned; they train with intensity in the ring where they always give their all, though they still need many hours of training and practice."

By. Anne-Marie Garcia.

 Source: www.granma.cu/ingles/sports-i/27enero-Argentina.html