HAVANA — Cuba’s top boxer, heavyweight Olympic champion Felix Savon, won his 15th title at the Caribbean island’s Giraldo Cordova Cardin boxing tournament, the last chance for local boxers to earn a place for Sydney.

Despite the presence of boxers from 10 other nations, Cubans won all 12 of the titles at the annual, six-day competition which wound up over the weekend in the eastern province of Las Tunas, news reports said on Monday.

As expected Savon outpointed another local, Odlanier Solis, 4-3 in the 91 kg category.

Having impressed selectors in the Cardin competition, both men are virtually guaranteed places in Cuba’s soon-to-be-named 12-man team for the Sydney Olympic Games.

The biggest surprise of the tournament was the elimination of highly rated Juan Hernandez Sierra by little-known local Damian Austin, who went on to win the 71 kg category.

The other winners were as follows:

48 kg — Maikro Romero
52 kg — Manuel Mantilla
54 kg — Guillermo Rigondeaux
57 kg — Enrique Carrion
60 kg — Mario Kindelan
63.5 kg — Diogenes Luna
67 kg — Roberto Guerra
75 kg — Jorge Gutierrez
81 kg — Isael Alvarez
+ 91 kg — Pedro Carrion
One of the world’s strongest boxing nations, Cuba won 23 Olympic gold medals in the sport between Munich in 1972 and Atlanta in 1996. The Communist-run island boycotted the Games in Los Angeles in 1984 and Seoul in 1988.

Reuters

Source: SOCOG