The World Boxing Association (WBA) will sanction two regional titles on Saturday, May 30th, in the Dominican Republic. The company Shuan Boxing is organizing an event with the best talents of the Caribbean country, which will be broadcasted by ESPN KnockOut. This will be the first event in which the Safety Protocol created by the WBA Medical Committee will be used as a guideline.
The event will be held behind closed doors and all measures will be taken to safeguard the health of the participants. Local authorities have approved the program, and it is worth mentioning that the WBA protocol will always be applied considering local regulations and adapting it to the requirements of each country.
The main event will be the WBA-Fedelatin title fight between the charismatic Norbelto “Meneíto” Jiménez, former world champion challenger, and Eliézer “Campeoncito” Aquino. On the other hand, Juan Carlos Cordones and José Luis Salazar will fight for the WBA-Fedecaribe Super Lightweight belt.
“The WBA is focused on getting the activity back on track and for that reason we are supporting several promoters around the world. However, the most important thing is that boxing returns in a safe way. That is why we created the most complete health protocol to serve as a guideline for those who have the possibility of doing boxing. Most importantly, the well-being of the athlete is paramount, and that is where all our efforts are focused on”, said Gilberto Jesús Mendoza, president of the WBA.
Meanwhile, Bélgica Peña, from Shuan Boxing, talked about her team’s motivation: “Everything came up after watching an interview of Gilberto Jesús Mendoza with ESPN KnockOut where we saw that we had the opportunity to develop it in our country. Before getting the permissions, we put the boxers to work in isolation, we organized a careful health protocol which we shared with the WBA and they strengthened it in order to ensure the safety of the boxers and everyone involved”.
These measures are very specific and thorough. The athletes and their teams who will be fighting on Saturday night are already in preventive isolation separately. They will wait until Wednesday to undergo the serological test to determine if they are free of Covid-19. Only after testing negative they will be able to go to the concentration hotel.
On Thursday, the gym will be completely disinfected, using previously authorized products and following the recommendations of the relevant institutions. The weigh-in ceremony on the 28th will have all the necessary precautions, including the use of an acrylic guard to separate the fighters when they go face to face, while all the staff will carry implements such as a mask, an antibacterial gel and everything included in the security kit previously sent by the WBA.
The day of the fight, only essential personnel will be allowed into the ring, meaning only the fighters and referees, while the technical personnel will have the necessary distances between them to be around the ring. The announcer will do his job in a platform far from the ring; and the round girls will also be in a remote area, not in the ring.
Athletes will be transported separately in individual cars. Since there will be no public, there will be plenty of space in the venue, so no one will share dressing rooms, every team will have their own spaces. Except for the fighters, everybody in the place will use masks and all the necessary gear to maintain safety. The WBA is happy that the sport is back, and boxers can fight for their belts. The major challenge will be to keep all the necessary precautions to make a perfect event, and all the confidence is in the hands of Shuan Boxing for its implementation.
