Boxing: Britain Hires Amir Khan's Olympic Rival
The Amateur Boxing Association has hired Mario Kindelán - who beat Amir Khan to gold at Athens 2004 - to coach Britain's boxers for London 2012.
Mario Kindelán, the man who beat Amir Khan for the Olympic gold medal in the lightweight final in Athens in 2004, will move to Liverpool to help coach Britain's fighters for the 2012 Games. He is one of two Cubans, the other as yet unnamed, signed up by the Amateur Boxing Association for the next three years.
"Cuba's influence stretches around the globe," said Paul King, the ABA's chief executive. "They have been recognised as the leading light in amateur boxing for decades. There are 178 countries affiliated to AIBA and 56 have Cuban coaches."
Kindelán has a sister in Carlisle and hopes to extend his contract beyond 2010 and up to the Olympics. He was one of the best lightweights in amateur history, also winning gold in Sydney 2000 and claiming three consecutive world championships, but officially he never earned a penny because of Cuba's refusal to allow its boxers to turn professional.
It is unclear how the ABA is funding the appointments because it is being denied more than £4.6m by UK Sport because the government agency is in dispute with it over its 2012 plans. But the ABA did sign a £200,000 deal with the Royal Navy last week to develop youth boxing.
Kindelán, 35, is to arrive in January. He will work with the top young fighters and head a recruitment drive which King hopes will see another 25,000 take up the sport before the London Games. There are currently 12,000 registered amateur boxers in England.
Two other Cubans, Alberto Perez and Alberto Gonzalez, who between them have coached three Olympic champions, were brought over this year by Glen McCrory, the former IBF cruiserweight champion, to work in his Newcastle gym.
Scott Harrison has returned to Scotland having been bailed after five weeks in a Spanish prison. The WBO featherweight champion arrived from Málaga, where he was arrested on October 6 after allegedly attempting to steal a car and assaulting two people, one a police officer. A date for a subsequent hearing has not yet been set.
Oscar De La Hoya, 33, and Floyd Mayweather, 29, will meet in May in Las Vegas or Los Angeles for a light-middleweight fight which may attract a pay-per-view audience in excess of 2m and become one of the richest ever. Both will receive career-best purses - De La Hoya more than £13.1m and Mayweather £5.3m-plus.
"Cuba's influence stretches around the globe," said Paul King, the ABA's chief executive. "They have been recognised as the leading light in amateur boxing for decades. There are 178 countries affiliated to AIBA and 56 have Cuban coaches."
Kindelán has a sister in Carlisle and hopes to extend his contract beyond 2010 and up to the Olympics. He was one of the best lightweights in amateur history, also winning gold in Sydney 2000 and claiming three consecutive world championships, but officially he never earned a penny because of Cuba's refusal to allow its boxers to turn professional.
It is unclear how the ABA is funding the appointments because it is being denied more than £4.6m by UK Sport because the government agency is in dispute with it over its 2012 plans. But the ABA did sign a £200,000 deal with the Royal Navy last week to develop youth boxing.
Kindelán, 35, is to arrive in January. He will work with the top young fighters and head a recruitment drive which King hopes will see another 25,000 take up the sport before the London Games. There are currently 12,000 registered amateur boxers in England.
Two other Cubans, Alberto Perez and Alberto Gonzalez, who between them have coached three Olympic champions, were brought over this year by Glen McCrory, the former IBF cruiserweight champion, to work in his Newcastle gym.
Scott Harrison has returned to Scotland having been bailed after five weeks in a Spanish prison. The WBO featherweight champion arrived from Málaga, where he was arrested on October 6 after allegedly attempting to steal a car and assaulting two people, one a police officer. A date for a subsequent hearing has not yet been set.
Oscar De La Hoya, 33, and Floyd Mayweather, 29, will meet in May in Las Vegas or Los Angeles for a light-middleweight fight which may attract a pay-per-view audience in excess of 2m and become one of the richest ever. Both will receive career-best purses - De La Hoya more than £13.1m and Mayweather £5.3m-plus.
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