Panama is a country where you can breathe boxing in every corner and its stars are recognized worldwide. The difficulties the world faces today have put its boxers in a complicated situation and many of them, including Bryan de Gracia and Jaime Arboleda, have had to reinvent their training methods.
Both World Boxing Association (WBA) world rankers spoke to Mi Diario, a local newspaper with national circulation, about how train at home in the midst of the contingency.
“It is very difficult for a high-performance athlete who is used to training 5 or 6 hours a day to put a stop to it. We will get rusty”, “La Roca” De Gracia highlighted to the journalist Aurelio Ortiz, who wrote the article.
The Featherweight fighter detailed his routine at home: “I had to improvise and adapt to the circumstances. I jump for 40 minutes with all my clothes on, then between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. I hit a sack of water I hung outside my house. After this ends, I must have some rhythm and be ready to fight as soon as possible”.
Meanwhile, Arboleda is also in that situation, but the Super Featherweight contender, who has just beaten Jayson Velez in an elimination fight in Allentown, has the support of his father and brother, which he describes as a great advantage.
“I do jumping rope, then with my brother I do some punching mitts and everything else that goes with it. The only thing I don’t do is punching the bag because I don’t have one”, said the 25-year-old boxer.
Panama has slowed down due to the pandemic, but its fighters are waiting for the moment to go back to the ring. Meanwhile, they are working to be in the best shape possible when the time comes.