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Roniel Iglesias

Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo

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Name: Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo.

Nickname: Pirolo.

Date of birth:  August 14, 1988.

Place of birth: Pinar del Río, Cuba.

Nationality: Cuban.

Sport: Boxing.

Place of training: Cerro Pelado.

Titles: World Youth Champion, World Champion, Olympic Champion.

Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo. Cuban boxer in the 64 kilogram division. World youth champion in 2006, world champion in Milan, 2009, bronze medalist of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and champion of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Glory of Cuban sport.

Biographical Synthesis

He was born on August 14, 1988 in Pinar del Río. Since he was a child, he was interested in practicing sports. He started training karate-do but soon changed to boxing. He was selected for the EIDE at the age of 11 and participated in three National School Games, of which he won two, and other sporting events that formed him as an athlete.



Carrera deportiva

En enero de 2005 obtuvo la medalla de oro con solo 16 años, en la división de 51 kg, del Campeonato Nacional de Boxeo Playa Giróncelebrado en Pinar del Río. En ese primer torneo de la categoría de mayores venció al monarca olímpico Yuriorkis Gamboa, quien tuvo que abandonar por una lesión. También derrotó a Yoandry Salinas y en la final dispuso en un combate de muchos intercambios de Kadel Luis Martínez 27-15. Por esa actuación fue elegido el púgil más combativo del certamen. Cuatro meses después ganó el Torneo Internacional Girardo Córdova Cardín venciendo nuevamente en la final a Kadel Luis.

Ese mismo año hizo su debut internacional en el Campeonato Panamericano de Boxeo en la ciudad de Río de Janeíro, de donde regresó con la presea de bronce, al ceder en semifinales ante el localHelder Gonzaga.

Cockerel Pesos

In 2006, cockerel weights (54 kg) were used as a transit to other higher divisions. In the Girón Beach in Granma, they lost in the semifinals to Idel Torriente and had to settle for third place. At the time, double Olympic monarch Guillermo Rigondeaux was the main figure in that division. In a few months, he was forced to climb six kilograms in order to reach 60 kg, as he would be the Cuban representative at the World Youth Championship in Agadir, Morocco, where he gave a good demonstration by winning the gold medal, facing Azamat Smagulov of Kazakhstan in the final. For the results obtained in 2006, the best Cuban youth athlete was selected.

In the following season, Iglesias was unable to climb to the top of the podium in national tournaments, losing in the final of the Girón Beach of Sancti Spíritus with Yordenis Ugás 8-21. That year he lost twice more to Ugas in his lightweight season. He was unable to beat the 2005 world champion Mianyang in a challenger match (4-9) or in the final of Córdova Cardín in Villa Clara (5-16).

 

Light - welter

He then continued to gain weight and in 2008 he joined the 64 kg (lightweight-welter) division, where he fought in the Girón Beach Tournament held in Holguín and won the competition by defeating the spirit and incumbent defender Richard Poll by 12-9, becoming from that moment on the best man on the national team in that division.

He became the first man in the light welter division in Cuba. As a boxer he stood out for the technical, combative and correct handling of the right jab in spite of being left-handed, working well the three classic hits: straight, swines and hooks. Due to the results obtained, he was selected in his division to participate in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and won a place in the pre-Olympic tournament in Port of Spain, defeating the American Javier Molina.

In the traditional tour of the Cuban boxing team in Europe, he won the gold medal in the Klishko Cup in Ukraine, beating host Dennis Lazarev 11-6. He won silver at the Strandzha Cup in Bulgaria, where he lost to local Boris Georgiev 8-26. Before the 2008 Olympics, he also won the IV Cuban Sports Olympiad against Richard Poll, and the Independence Cup in Santo Domingo against Dominican Félix Manuel Díaz.

In the pre-Olympic predictions, Iglesias was considered one of the favorites to win medals even though he debuted in the Olympic Games. in the semifinals, he was entangled by the provocative boxing of the experienced Thai Manus Boonjumnong, champion of the Olympic Games of Athens 2004, and the judges voted against him 5-10, remaining as bronze medalist. That year he won the Ostrava Grand Prix in the Czech Republic.

At the 2009 Girón Beach, in Guantánamo, he lost first place to Yordenis Ugás, who, by strategy of the National Boxing Commission, had won the Ostrava Grand Prix in the Czech Republic.

At the 2009 Girón Beach in Guantánamo, he lost first place to Yordenis Ugás, who, by strategy of the National Boxing Commission, had climbed from 60 to 64 kilograms. He took part in a match against boxers from France and Italy in those countries and achieved four successes with one setback. On the same European tour that year, he won the Strandzha Cup in Sofia and the Bocskai Memorial in Budapest, although he went without prizes at the Ahmet Comert Tournament in Istanbul. These results made him prepare and before the World Championship in Milan he won the Pan American Championship in Mexico and the Battle of Carabobo Tournament in Venezuela.

At the World Championship in Milan he was crowned champion. The draw favored him to look good in the first round, facing for the gold medal, the American Frankie Gomez, whom he defeated 8-2. In 2009, the Cuban Boxing Federation chose him as the best Cuban fighter.

2012

On August 11, 2012, he won the gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games, providing the Cuban delegation's fourth gold medal, defeating Ukrainian Denys Berinchyk, 22-15, and took revenge for the defeat suffered by the fighter at the Baku World Cup.

  1. For his results he was decorated on November 19, 2012 with the Barbados Martyrs Medal at the Coliseum of the Sports City.

On December 10, 2012, he was selected in the annual survey conducted jointly by the Circle of Sports Chroniclers of the Union of Journalists of Cuba and the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation among the most outstanding athletes of the year. On December 23 of the same year, he reached his fifth crown by defeating with a wide advantage (22-7) the Santiago Arinoide Despaigne in the 69 kg division, in the LI National Beach Girón Boxing Tournament, held in Sancti Spíritus.

2013

On February 23, 2013 he won the gold medal in the XXX International Boxing Cup National Independence in the Dominican Republic by defeating 12-23, in the category of (69 kg) to the North American Rashidi Ellis.

On April 15, he obtained his first victory in the 69 kg category in the beginning of the qualifying segment of the National Team Boxing Tournament, which takes place at the Antonio Nores Sports Center, in the city of Cardenas, Matanzas.

On April 16, he defeated the yumurino Dunier Suarez by a decision of 17-7, contributing to his team maintaining the undefeated and finally with 253 units sealed with a farewell of 51-25 (7-3) over Isla de la Juventética provided the leadership of a team where Olympic champion Roniel Iglesias obtained supremacy in the (69 kg).

On June 9, in the semifinal of the Giraldo Córdova Cardín International Boxing Tournament, based in the Sala Polivalente Kid Chocolate in La Habanaf was defeated by the welterweight Arisnoide Despaigne who gave the big surprise to rise to victory by tight 29-28, passing Roniel to occupy second place in the contest.

In September 2013, after updating the International Boxing Association's ranking, he was the leader in the world ranking of the 64 kg division which he defended then, now fighting in the 69 kg, with a total of 1 300 units.

In December of this year he participates in the Girón Beach Boxing Tournament where he overcame Arisnoidys Despaigne from Santiago in the final, obtaining the scepter in the contest.

2014

On February 28, after his return to the National Team, he participated in the IV World Series of Boxing with the Cuban Domadores Team, in a contest that took place in the Ciudad Deportiva in Havana, where he defeated (3-0) Yauheni Ramashkevich of Azerbaijan Baku Fires, achieving that his team was comfortably consolidated at the top of Group B.

On March 4, in the same scenario, he knocked out Gabriel Maestre, contributing with the climax of the program in which Domadores de Cuba swept USA Knockouts 5-0 in the quarterfinals of the IV World Boxing Series.

On September 10 he was beaten 3-0 by Madiyar Ashkeyev in the exhibition boxing duel against Astana Arlans Kazakhstan, held in the city of Astana under the name of Choque de Titanes, as part of an event that promotes the V World Series of Boxing.

It participates in the Mohammed VI Cup of boxing, with stage in the city of Marrakech, Morocco, where in its debut on October 13 defeated the Egyptian Moahmoud Hamdi Abdelmaouj 3-0. On October 14 in a more demanding fight defeated the Moroccan Rabil Mohamed by 2-1 failure. On 16 October, in the semi-finals, he beat Hungarian Daniel Zambo by technical knockout in the first round.

He won the gold medal at the XXII Central American and Caribbean Games, held in November this year in Veracruz, Mexico, when he defeated Bahamian Carl Heild 3-0 in the final.

2015

On January 24, 2015 in the V World Series of Boxing, he won 3-0 against Sofiane Tabi, of the Algerian Desert Falcons, in the African city of Blida. Cuba's tamers got the sweep.

On February 20 at the Sports City Coliseum, Havana defeated Haizel Ekow Tabiri-Essuman of the Lion Hearts of Great Britain 3-0.

On March 7, in the Moroccan city of Casablanca, he suffered his first 3-0 setback against Mohammed Rabii of the Atlas Lions of Morocco. On March 21 at the Palace of Sports in Moscow, he is defeated by the Russian Radzhab Butaev, in a fight where he took advantage of his physical strength and set the pace before giving in the last episode. His team Domadores de Cuba maintained the undefeated in Group A.

On April 10 at the Sports City Coliseum in Havana, he beat Hector Andres Reyes of the Mexican Warriors 3-0. His team with 36 unattainable points for the remaining members of Group A went to the semifinals.

On May 22, in the same scenario, he won again 3-0 against Héctor Reyes de Guerreros de México.

On June 21 in the final line-up he was beaten 3-0 by his opponent Insanbek Shymbergenov of the Kazakhstan Lobos of Astana in the Kazakh capital. His team Domadores of Cuba could not retain the title in the V World Series, losing the opportunity to win in successive editions.

On July 25, he won a silver medal after suffering a controversial 2-1 loss to Venezuelan Gabriel Maestre at the XVII Pan American Games in Toronto 2015, held this year in Canada.

2016

On January 30, 2016, in his debut in the VI World Series of Boxing, which took place in Istanbul, he defeated 3-0 Serhat Guler of the Conquistadores of Turkey, to whom his team Domadores of Cuba gave a 5-0 sweep. On February 29 he is defeated 1-2 in his second outing in this VI World Series by Serhii Bohachuk, of the Otomans of Ukraine in the Palace of Sports in the city of Kharkiv.

On March 14 in the Pre-Olympic Boxing Tournament that takes place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, defeated the Dominican Juan Ramon Solano, an opponent of good level in this continent, advancing to the quarterfinals. On March 19, he defeated Venezuelan Gabriel Maestre in the midst of a marked rivalry, winning the unanimous decision of the judges and qualifying for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016.

On April 1 at the Coliseum of Havana's Sports City, he defeated Wenbin Cong of China's Dragons by knockout in the qualifying segment of the VI World Boxing Series.

On April 22 at the same venue he won 3-0 against Malvin Cabrera of the Mexican Warriors who were swept away by the Domadores in the semifinals.

On May 6, again at the Sports City Coliseum in the semifinals, he defeated Makhmud Gaipov of the Tigers of Uzbekistan 3-0, where his team also gave a sweep to the visitors.

On June 4 in the final fight of this VI Series that took place in Taskent, capital of Uzbekistan defeated Ekow Essuman of the British Lion Hearts, by technical night in the second round. His team were crowned champions of the tournament by beating their opponents 9-1.

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