• Submitted by: admin
• Sports
• 03 / 23 / 2007

Glenn McCrory, who won the IBF world cruiserweight title in 1989, travelled to Cuba to invite the national team to acclimatise at his gym in Newcastle.

He hopes Cuba, which won six gold medals at the Athens Olympics in 2004, will train its athletes in the region.

Mr McCrory, from Annfield Plain, runs a boxing academy at Newbiggin Hall.

He said: "The Cubans are the best team bar none in amateur boxing and have been since the late 60s.

'Boost tourism'

"They pretty much win everything in amateur boxing and it would be great to have them in the North East.

"We have various training camps around the country for the Olympics, so the teams that are competing will be looking to come to here to acclimatise, to spend about four weeks in this country prior to the games starting."

An Olympic training camp in the North East would boost tourism and ensure the region does not miss out on the London-based Olympics, he added.

Mr McCrory's trip to Cuba is featured on the BBC's Inside Out programme on Friday night.

Source: BBC