Team Guatemala arrived in Spain with three boxers. 17-years-old Hugo Amador Mendez Rodriguez has already qualified for the 1/8 finals in 57kg at the IBA Youth World Boxing Championships. He won his first fight by walkover, and in the second, he had to meet with Kruzito Kovacs from Hungary. He won 5-0 and in the next bout, he will fight against Kirill Globenko from Poland.  

‘It was my first international fight. It was a little tough, I didn’t know what to expect and made a couple of mistakes, but it was a pretty easy win. I had some rest with the first fight because of the walkover, and now I am starting to feel better and better. Preparations went well, we had a good camp. I had a couple of obstacles, though; as my wisdom teeth were taken out, I had to take a little time off. After that it was all good,’ Mendez said.  

He watched the “Rocky” movie with his father, and that caused his interest in boxing. 

‘I am ADHD, and I couldn’t stop moving around, so this sport helped me a lot,’ he explained.

Team Guatemala came to the Youth World Championships with IBA’s support. 

‘Ì came to represent my team in Spain, it’s fantastic to be here. Thank you to IBA for helping my nation come over here to compete in this World Championships. I expect a lot of tough competition. I want to go against the best of the best and test myself,’ Mendez claimed.  

‘I want to become a world champion when I grow up. This is all I have ever thought about doing, and this is all I want,’ the boxer added. 

Share on Facebook

Tweet