The president of the World Boxing Association (WBA), Gilberto Jesus Mendoza, was in Venezuela last week, where he met with several local authorities with the intention of finalizing a project that will contribute to the growth of boxing in this country.
The pioneering body has always had the globalization of the sport as one of its priorities and Venezuela has always been the cradle of great champions, so the development in this country is great news for world boxing.
As a first step, it was announced that next July 10 a WBA Drugs KO will take place, which will feature the defense of the WBA super featherweight world champion, Venezuelan Roger Gutierrez, who will face Dominican Hector Garcia at the mythical Poliedro de Caracas.
The event was presented at a press conference in which Mendoza and Gutierrez were accompanied by Lieutenant Commander Tatiana Ramirez, president of the Corporación Caracas Productiva.
“It is a dream come true to defend my title in my country, in my land, with my people. I want to thank the authorities of Caracas for this effort, and God willing, I hope to give everyone who comes to see us that day a great joy, defending my world title for the second time,” said Gutierrez at a press conference.
In addition to this event, Mendoza has been having meetings with different personalities such as the mayor of Caracas, Carmen Meléndez, with whom the WBA president had a fruitful meeting.
“We are here not only to support the realization of a boxing program, but to accompany and promote the systematic development of boxing with an ambitious program that we have designed in the WBA and which has been very well received by the Government of this country. We are pleased to know that the world program Drugs KO, which was born in Aragua, will have the full support of the State, expanding the scope of this program of ours that we have projected in several countries around the world,” said Mendoza.
For her part, Meléndez was also very satisfied with the efforts and offered all the support of the government of the capital city.
“We are very happy to have this event here, with our world champion, who we are sure is going to show what a great athlete he is. Now we have this great alliance with the WBA to give young people an opportunity to grow with the values of sport and to fight for their dreams. I am very grateful to the WBA for this initiative and as long as I am mayor of this city, you have my full support,” said Mayor Meléndez.
“We are thrilled with this alliance with the WBA, through which we will not only support the next title defense of our champion Roger Gutierrez, but also the overall plan that the WBA has presented to promote the sport and our youth. Our Mayor Carmen Meléndez and President Nicolás Maduro are willing to support this plan,” added Ramírez.
The WBA is very pleased with the reception and hopes that this project will be a great boost for a country full of talent that needs work to reach the highest level.
