Yordenis Ugás congratulates Cuban boxing coach who won five Olympic medals for China in Paris.

Raúl Fernández led the Chinese to win three golds and two silvers. "I remember when they unjustly removed him from the team in 2007. I supported him throughout that tough process," said Ugás.

Yordenis Ugás y Raúl Fernández © Yordenis Ugás / Instagram y captura de video de YouTube de Alfredo Torres
Yordenis Ugás and Raúl FernándezPhoto © Yordenis Ugás / Instagram and video capture from YouTube by Alfredo Torres

The boxer Yordenis Ugás congratulated the Cuban coach Raúl Fernández Liranza, who is in charge of the women's boxing team from China that attended the Paris Olympics, where his girls won five medals.

Ugás stated that in his opinion, Raúl was always the best Cuban coach that amateur boxing had.

"I remember when he was unfairly removed from the team in 2007. I don't know if he remembers, but I supported him throughout that tough process and even went to his house to offer my support," he recounted on his Facebook wall.

The renowned coach, who retired in Cuba in 2018, is on an official mission in China and led his athletes to win three gold medals and two silver medals at the Paris event.

Yordenis revealed a "story of rebellion" he had with him in Cuba in 2009, when the Playa Girón tournament in Guantánamo took place, and Ugás wanted Raúl to be part of his team.

Facebook Capture / Yordenis Ugás

"In the team, you had your personal trainer and they placed an assistant at a large board for the corner with your trainer. My trainer was the late Mena and Piter put Garbey with him; and I took it upon myself to erase Garbey and put Raúl instead. And yes, he worked with me and Mena for the five fights," he detailed.

"I won my fifth consecutive Playa Girón. My fourth fight against Iglesia. And I was the best fighter of the tournament. And then months later, I won the Alba and asked to retire. Tremendous. Much respect for Raúl, a man and a great coach," he emphasized.

Fernández Liranza was responsible for the training of numerous boxers for many years, alongside the remembered professor Alcides Sagarra.

After retiring, he was hired in China and assigned to the province of Henan, which was among the lowest in the national rankings. Eleven months later, that team achieved first place in the China National Boxing Championship, an unprecedented event.

At that moment, he stated that the victory was "the result of the Cuban school, with which I worked for 37 years and to which I owe all my results."

Raúl Fernández also provided advice in the Philippines, where he trained the Onyo brothers and Roel Velasco, an Olympic and World medalist, respectively.

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