Alcides Sagarra Carón

Cuban boxing trainer, considered among the best in the world. Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences and trainer of multiple Olympic and world champions, creator of the renowned Cuban School of Boxing.

Sagarra was born on August 18, 1936, in the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba. He spent his childhood between studies and work to help support his family. At age 14, he began his inclination toward boxing. Although his time in the ring was brief, between 1951 and 1954, Sagarra became provincial champion in the 57-kilogram division and out of 57 fights, he lost only 10. But he decided to dedicate himself to training both amateur and professional boxers, alongside experienced trainers Antolín Sánchez Gobín and Carlos Kelly. At age 26, he began his educational work at the Agua Dulce gymnasium in Havana, which he combined with work as a mechanic in a workshop of the Ministry of Health and Social Assistance. Later, with the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, he was assigned to work with boxers from the country's capital who were preparing to participate in the National Boxing Championship.

In 1963 he joined as head trainer of the Cuban boxing team, at a time when the Island began to receive advisory support from several countries, such as the Soviet Union, German Democratic Republic, and Bulgaria, among others. The help from Soviet trainers Andrei Chervonenko, Evgueny Ogurenkov, and Vasili Romanov, and German trainer Kart Rosentil proved very beneficial, as they taught important fundamentals about planning and directing boxer preparation.

The famous Cuban School of Boxing was established in the Cuban sports system thanks to the creation of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER), founded on February 23, 1961, with a popular and mass character, which eradicated professional boxing. Due to the work of Alcides Sagarra and the rest of the technical team, amateur boxing began its takeoff in the largest of the Antilles.

Cuban boxing's breakthrough occurred at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games, where the first medals were obtained after the Revolution's triumph. At the Aztec capital event, the Cuban delegation won two silver medals, which were earned by Rolando Garbey, in the 71-kilogram division, and Enrique Regüeiferos, in 63.5. For Sagarra, who presented 10 boxers, although only Rafael Carbonel (51), Fermín Espinosa (54), and Roberto Caminero "Chocolatito" Pérez (60) were repeating from the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, it was a resounding success.

But the strategy of boxing on the Island, under the supervision of the Cuban trainer, began its scientific presentation to the world as an undoubted result starting in 1971 with the Panamerican Sports Games held in Cali, Colombia. At the Colombian continental event, Rafael Carbonel (51), Enrique Regüeiferos (63.5), Emilio Correa (67), and Rolando Garbey (71) were crowned champions. But also, Douglas Rodríguez (71), Manuel Torres (57), and Teófilo Stevenson (over 81) won bronze medals.

At the Olympic Games, the rise to stellar heights came in Munich, Germany in 1972, with three gold medals. The fruits of Sagarra's working method were beginning to show on the international stage. In the German capital, Orlando Martínez (54) was crowned after defeating Mexican Alfonso Zamora 3-2; Emilio Correa (67), who defeated Hungarian Janos Kadji 5-0, and Teófilo Stevenson (over 81), who triumphed over Romanian Ion Alexe by no-show, after the spectacular knockout of the so-called "White American Hope" Duane Bobbick in the semifinals.

At that time, Professor Alcides Sagarra, as head of the Cuban National Coaching Team, led important conceptual and practical transformations of national boxing, basing them on principles for sports selection, planning of collective training by weight divisions, performance indicators to be used by technical-tactical evaluators, division heads, as well as an authentic pedagogical direction for preparation and competition. It was not an isolated phenomenon with a search for talents or formation of laboratory athletes, but rather the harmonious work that encompassed the entire teaching system of the country, including the Schools of Sports Initiation (EIDE) and the Higher School of Athletic Improvement (ESPA).

As a result came the triumphs of the boxers of the Great Antille in every significant event they participated in: Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cups, Panamerican and Central American Games. Under his pedagogical direction, excellent boxers developed over almost four decades. Besides those previously mentioned, Jorge Hernández, Ángel Herrera, Juan Bautista Hernández, Andrés Aldama, and José Gómez achieved Olympic glory, all of them between 1976 and 1980, as Cuba was absent from the Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988 Olympic events for justified reasons. During those years, Adolfo Horta, Ángel Espinosa, Carlos García, Pablo Romero, Bernardo Comas, Julio Quintana, Pedro Orlando Reyes, and Juan Torres Odelín stood out, among many others that would make the list endless. The majority achieved world glory.

In the 1990s, Cuba dominated the Olympic stage in Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996, where Rogelio Marcelo, Ángel Herrera, Juan Carlos Lemus, Maikro Romero, Héctor Vinent, Ariel Hernández, and another historic boxer, Félix Savón, winner of three Olympic crowns, stood out.

Alcides Sagarra has taught continuous improvement courses for trainers since 1966 uninterruptedly throughout his career and offered lectures as technical assistance in various countries. He has been invited as boxing professor to events held for this purpose during World Championships and Olympic Games since 1980, continuously.

In 2001, Sagarra ceased to be the main trainer of the Cuban boxing team, a position taken by Sarvelio Fuentes, a licensed professional who had been his assistant for a long time. However, he serves as head of the Chair of the Cuban School of Boxing, and is also responsible for the scientific-technical commission of the National Boxing Federation of his country. On the international level, he is secretary of the Scientific Commission of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and president of the Technical and Rules Commission of the Central American and Caribbean Amateur Boxing Confederation (CONCECABA).

In the academic field, he holds a degree in Physical Culture, graduated from the Manuel Fajardo Higher Institute of Physical Culture in 1982. He obtained the degree of Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences in 1992, Associate Professor at the aforementioned Institute, Associate Professor at the University of Computer Science of Cuba. On the 50th anniversary of AIBA, he was proclaimed the best trainer of that institution. Also, according to a survey by the nonagenarian Cuban magazine Bohemia, he was awarded the title of best amateur boxing trainer of the entire 20th century.