Panama, the factory of boxing champions that stopped and is full of needs | Other Sports | sports

In the streets it is said that boxing in Panama is not a sport. It `s a religion. Several generations have grown up knowing that Roberto ‘Manos de Piedra’ Durán, one of the best boxers in the world, was born in the country 70 years ago.

And it is possible that any young person knows or has a relative who enjoyed and even cried with Durán’s victories and defeats.

But that golden age has not been repeated, the decade of the 70s of the last century in which Panama twice had four world champions at the same time.

The factory of champions stopped and is full of needs. The Pedro ‘Rockero’ Alcázar gym, named after the former World Boxing Organization (WBO) Super Flyweight champion, is in the populous Curundú neighborhood of the capital.

It is still the epicenter of boxing in the country. In that gym, with the heat and high humidity typical of Panamanian territory, the dreams of more than 50 boxers, including amateurs and professionals, are cooked.

They want to enter the exclusive club of idols who were short-lived or long-lived, but highly revered.

The club of ‘Panama Al Brown’ (1922-1942), Enrique ‘Maravilla’ Pinder, whose heyday was between 1966 and 1973, Ernesto ‘Ñato’ Marcel from 1966 to 1974, Alfonso ‘Peppermint’ Frazer, who stood out from 1965 and retired in 1981; and Roberto Durán, whose validity was from 1968 to 2001.

The dream factory, which is no longer easy to make come true, barely has the basic conditions.

Between the strident music, the strong smell of sweat, and the brutal blows to the bags and the gauntlets, coach Rigoberto Garibaldi floats, more interested in getting one of his enthusiastic fighters afloat.

“Here it is quite difficult. These boys are low-income and do not have financial help, mainly among the fans”, summarized the former boxer.

The rustic floor gym has reasonable equipment to exercise the muscles, but suffers from the consequences of the passage of time and the lack of good maintenance in its structure.

“We have implements and a good facility, but when it rains you can’t go out. We have to wait up to two hours for the tide to go out outside the gym,” he explained.

Even so, it is the home of figures, such as former bantamweight champion Anselmo ‘Chemito’ Moreno, the last Panamanian fighter to dominate the technique of “pai, pai y no está”, typical style of attack and withdrawal that characterized the former champion World Boxing Council (WBC) light flyweight Hilario ‘Buchía’ Zapata (1977-1993).

The coach believes that the practice of boxing requires better facilities and more centrally located academies to accommodate more applicants.

The Jesús ‘Máster’ Gómez gym, also in the Panamanian capital, is in poor condition. Of the two wings it has, only one is enabled. But it is shared with Olympic wrestling practitioners.

“Our biggest problem is that we don’t have our own ring,” the president of the Olympic Boxing Federation of Panama (Fedebop), Tomás Cianca, told Efe when analyzing current amateur boxing.

In the case of Olympic boxing, where the biggest figure is Atheyna Bylon, it is estimated that an initial investment of $800,000 would be ideal for the purchase of new equipment ($500,000) and the organization of tournaments ($300,000).

According to Fedebop calculations, there are about 300 amateur boxers in Panama who are struggling to one day make it to the professional branch.

And the title dream seems closer for Jaime ‘Little’James Arboleda. He is 27 years old, has won 18 fights, 14 on the fast track, and lost twice.

Against all odds, without the necessary resources, Panama awaits the return of the glory days to enjoy and cry again with the figures of a sport defined by flat noses and cauliflower ears. (D)