The talented youth boxers from the Dominican Republic are preparing at full speed for the American Youth Continental Championships, which will be held in the country's capital city, Santo Domingo from February 21 to 27.
At least 100 boxers from 15 nations entered the championships which will be a great opportunity for the athletes to prepare for the AIBA Youth World Championships. America's top nations Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Bahamas, Virgin Islands and Guatemala will be represented at the Championships.
When Felix Manuel Diaz of the Dominican Republic surprised everyone by becoming an Olympic Champion in Beijing, he made good progress for the Dominican boxing life. Besides Diaz, nine other powerful Dominican youth boxers have been selected to this large event and the coaches expecting more gold medals from this strong team and fans believe that most of these talented youth boxers have a good chance of making it to the next Olympic Games in London.
Juan Gabriel Medina, 18-years-old, (48KG) won the International Youth Cup of Cinturón de Oro in Ecuador in December. American Junior Championships' silver medalist 17-year-old Juan Yonelvi Medina (54kg) also claimed the gold medal in his weight category in this event. Earlier in the year, Medina acquired first place at the La Romana Cup in October where he defeated his teammate AIBA President's Cup silver medalist Luis Miguel Diaz in the final. He will also be a contender at the AIBA World Youth Championships.
American junior champion and national youth champion 17-year-old Dagoberto Aguero (51kg) went up a category from 46kg and claimed a silver medal at the 2009 La Romana Cup. He is said to be one of the biggest Dominican hopes for the future. Raul Sanchez (64kg), who is the same age and holds the same titles as Aguero, claimed a bronze medal in the 2009 La Romana Cup, which was his first tournament among elite boxers.
Manuel De Jesus (+91kg), another national youth champion, also won his categoy in the La Romana Cup after beating national men's champion Cristian Joel Cabrera in the final when his opponent abandoned the contest in the last round.
The Dominican Republic's team also includes American Junior Championships bronze medalist Luis Salazar (57kg), Luis Ramirez (60kg), national youth champion Abraham Liriano (69kg) and Jonathan Jimenez (75kg). The coaching staff comprises the Cuban Armando Hernandez as head coach, Jesus Eduardo Diaz Pujols and Johnny Winston Mendez as his assistants.
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