With a strong right jab to the face of her opponent, Elianni Garcia Polledo on Saturday won the first official women’s boxing match in sports-crazed Cuba.
“It is a historic result for Cuban boxing,” said one of the judges over the loudspeaker when an-nouncing the “unanimous” decision for Garcia, from Havana province, over Reynabell Grant, from Guantanamo. Both are 27.
Dressed in red and shorter, Garcia tirelessly landed powerful blows with both hands that hit her opponent’s face, shoulders and abdomen several times.
That is, until the decisive blow, in the third round, left Grant down for the count and ultimately decided the fight.
It was the beginning of the first official women’s boxing program, something that many women and authorities of this sport expected in Cuba, an island that boasts 80 world boxing titles and 41 Olympic gold medals in boxing, including the legendary Teofilo Stevenson.—APP
