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When I was still very young, I first entered the famous training facility for boxers in El Wajay, where the national pre-selection for that sport is located. I have always been a boxing enthusiast, and years later, I felt great getting to know every detail about the boxers who would represent us at the Barcelona '92 Olympics, where, by the way, they swept the competition. In addition to Professor Alcides Sagarra, I was attended to by a distinguished coach, who, today, more than three decades later, happily agrees to share memories with me: Mariano Leyva Sanz.
What are you doing right now?
I live in Miami; I am married to the former fencer Migsey Dusu, and together we have a home with our little Katherine Mariana. Additionally, I have four other children, all living in this great country: Yudith Leyva Escalona, who graduated in therapeutic massage; Janet Leyva Escalona, a nurse; Mariano Leyva Escalona, who works in sales; and Sandy Leyva Rodríguez, an air conditioning technician; all of them have settled down with their families here.
I have been working at The Praxis Institute in Miami since 1999. I am the director of the therapeutic massage program, and I also teach theoretical classes online and supervise the practical sessions in the classrooms.
After Atlanta 96, when I decided to stay in the United States, and after arriving in Miami, I revalidated my degree in Physical Education and Sports at the University of Orlando in 1997. At the end of that year, I enrolled in a therapeutic massage school, from which I graduated in 1999, and then I went directly to The Praxis Institute.
As you have yourself witnessed, thank God, life is going well for us... There's a lot of work, but it comes with rewards, and that little girl of ours is the light of both our lives.
Tell me about your beginnings related to boxing
I entered the Manuel Fajardo Higher Institute of Physical Culture in 1975 and graduated in 1979 with a specialization in boxing. One year later, I was sent to Algeria to replace Professor José Luis Llanos. I should mention that, as a student, I was in charge of the department during the absence of the main professors who were abroad, namely José Luis and Jesús Domínguez, who was doing a postgraduate program in boxing in the USSR.
While in Algeria, where I spent a year, I trained professional boxer Mourad Fergane, who weighed 71 kilos and competed for France.
In 1980, I returned to the island to work at the Academy of Holguín, and in 1982, I left for Nicaragua as a boxing advisor in that country. At the Central American and Caribbean Games that year, held in Cuba, Nicaraguan boxing achieved third place for the first time in history, thanks to the outstanding performance of the flyweight Marlon Amador, who ultimately won a silver medal.
To make a long story short, I returned to my academy in Holguín and was later called to the Finca in the capital. At that time, provincial technicians were summoned to the national team to gain experience. However, in my case, I stayed.
Recently arrived, due to issues with Teófilo Stevenson and his personal trainer appointed by Alcides, Rolando Castro, I began training the great “Pirolo,” who had chosen me over others.
So, for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, which Cuba did not attend for political reasons, were you the coach of Teo?
I can categorically assure you of that. By not attending the U.S. Olympic Games, they "invented" the Friendship Games in the socialist countries that allied with the Soviet Union in their boycott, and Cuba hosted the boxing tournament.
There is no doubt about the strength of that competition, as the European boxers from the socialist camp were very good, but almost no one considered Stevenson the favorite.
I remember that time as if it were today. On one hand, "struggling" to get the Olympic results that were coming into the newsroom against some "bigwigs" who were opposed, and then, after the conclusion of the Los Angeles event, giving extensive coverage to the Friendship Games.
Mariano, I imagine that the final evening at the Coliseum of the Ciudad Deportiva is unforgettable for you.
¡Girl, for what?! “Pirolo” wasn't the favorite, and there he was fighting for his gold medal. He had started by knocking out the well-known democratic German Ulli Kaden in the second round, and then in the final, he surpassed -and in a remarkable way!- the Soviet Valery Abadzhyan.
The plan outlined by Alcides was to keep his distance, to fight from the outside, but Teo ignored that and got into a close fight with a shorter opponent; in other words, he fought in his comfort zone, and just look at how well he did—it got him off the ropes... There are the images!
Two years later, at the World Championship in Reno, Nevada, Stevenson bid farewell with the title after defeating the local Alex García.
What few people know is that Stevenson wasn't supposed to go to that competition; the entire coaching staff was against him except for me. So when he returned with his gold medal, he hung it around my neck... You know what I mean! It's true that from that point on, I was made a permanent fixture at the Finca, but the pressure on me was immense.
Who were you training?
I trained Alfredo “El Pulpo” Duvergel, Lorenzo Aragón, Rogelio Marcelo, Arnaldo Mesa, and Omar Santiesteban, all of whom are champions and Olympic and world medalists, as well as Juan Carlos Gómez, who, after leaving the team, became the professional cruiserweight world champion in Germany.
You know, Julita? I never thought about staying, but no matter what I did, I knew I wouldn't be anyone in the group of coaches. I don't want to speak ill of anyone; what's the point? It's not worth it. Look where I am and look where others are.
I conducted all the scientific work. I spoke with Dr. Luis Raúl Foyaca, a boxing physician for many years, and from that collaboration, several scientific papers emerged on training theory. Among my tasks was assessing the boxers' tests in terms of heart rates, lactate, urea, loads, medical tests, macrocycles of preparation…
That's how I talked to Alcides to support my candidacy for a doctorate, and what do you think he said to me? "Give me whatever you have to give a lecture." Then I asked myself again, "What am I doing here?"
I was sent to Mexico and with the national team, I attended the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. I fulfilled my commitments until the last day, when I made the decision that I celebrate today: to leave my country and begin to grow in another. I knew that if I returned to Cuba, I would be sent back to Holguín.
How did you do in Atlanta?
Nothing, two friends from Miami came to get me. Upon arriving in this city, they interviewed me and asked what had happened, to which I responded: “I am scared for my family, but I am tired; I am tired of a person who has given everything like I have, being worth nothing... I'm tired!”.
Where did you start working?
I trained team Freedom in Miami, where the first Cuban boxers who had decided to change their destiny were: Diosbelys Hurtado, Joel Casamayor, and Ramón Garbey.
Your thoughts on current boxing
These days, there is a lack of quality in amateur boxing. In the past, the USSR, East Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia, and Mongolia did not allow their boxers to sign; now, everyone does, and if they wish, they can compete in the Olympic Games.
In Cuba, some boxers compete as professionals, but under conditions set by the Cuban Federation. It’s a misguided policy! Look, take the MLB players as an example, the Latinos, the Asians, where do they go when they retire? Many return to their countries, invest, and help them grow with businesses that provide jobs for many. Why not do the same in Cuba with boxers?
A great truth that the good-hearted Cubans share!
I bid farewell to the lovely home of a sports couple who have built a solid foundation in the land of opportunities.
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