Gilberto Jesús Mendoza, president of the World Boxing Association (WBA), officially welcomed the delegations participating in the Future WBA Champions training camp, during a dinner held in the city of Medellín

The activity was attended by more than 100 athletes from the 9 delegations in attendance, only waiting for Uzbekistan to join on 5 February.

“I always dreamed with boxing being only one. Gathering all these national teams in Medellin makes me very proud. I want you to have the best preparation and to be able to go to the Olympic Games on your best condition. My dream is to have an Olympic champion that becomes a world champion after. I want you to bring me that medal”, said President Mendoza.

The delegates from each country shared words of gratitude to the WBA for supporting the Olympic dream. Rafael Iznaga , technical director of Colombia, said:

“We want to give recognition to the World Boxing Association for this investment of resources, something nobody has ever done. It is the only organization that has been interested in bringing this many teams together. On behalf of Colombia, we welcome everyone”.

The local authorities also joined this celebration of sport through Diana Zuleta Toro, director of INDER Medellín, who said:

“I am very proud to have such a big event in my city. Medellin welcomes you hoping that these types of events will be repeated in many ways. We want you to enjoy the city and to have events like this frequently”.

The Future WBA Champions will continue until February 11 and the fights will take place on Friday 7, Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 of this month.