The Atheyna Bylon Gym, located on Panama City’s Cinta Costera, is getting ready to echo once again with the sounds of gloves hitting mitts, the cheers of proud families, and the ambitions of a new generation of boxers. This weekend, the Panamanian capital will play host to another edition of WBA Future, the World Boxing Association’s grassroots development program aimed at shining a spotlight on amateur talent and providing valuable in-ring experience to young athletes.

Boys, girls, and teenagers from across the country will lace up and step through the ropes to test themselves in matchups determined just hours before the opening bell. It’s boxing at its purest—raw, real, and full of heart.

Panama has emerged as one of the most active hosts of the WBA Future program, with several successful events throughout 2023 and a strong start to 2024. More than just a boxing showcase, the initiative instills core values like discipline, respect, and perseverance in the sport’s youngest practitioners.

WBA Future has become a cornerstone in the development of boxing across Latin America, with recent editions also staged in Venezuela, Colombia, and Argentina. The mission remains the same everywhere: to build tomorrow’s champions from the ground up.

This weekend, all eyes turn to Panama—where the true prize is growth, learning, and the dream of one day making it big under the bright lights.