RAUL Fernandez Liranza, the Cuban coach credited for the silver medal finish of Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, will be back next month after finishing all his commitments with the Cuban boxing team.
Liranza, who is expected to arrive on August 9, will reinforce the national coaching staff in preparing the Filipino boxers in their quest for the overall title in the event in the Southeast Asian Games set Nov. 27 to Dec. 5 in Bacolod City.
“We have been expecting him since late June but two prior commitments with the Cuban government as well as the flight schedule prevented him from coming in earlier,” Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) president Manny T. Lopez said.
Lopez said that Liranza is ending his stint with the Cuban national team participating in an international tournament of Carabobo Festival in Caracas, Venezuela.
Prior to this, Liranza was also tapped by his government to head the Cuban delegation to the World Cup held in Russia.
According to Lopez, Liranza, being a very efficient national coach and credited for 2 out of 6 gold medals of Cuba in the Athens Olympics, had a hard time getting permission from the Cuban government to take a leave to train and coach the Philippine boxing team.
