Arnaldo Mesa Bonell

He is a former boxer from Holguín, a silver medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and winner of three bronze medals at world championships, Reno 1986, Moscow 1989, and Sydney 1991.

He was born in Frank País, Holguín and began his boxing career in 1979 when he was barely a teenager, moving through the different levels of the Cuban high-performance boxing pyramid. He achieved a silver medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games - the first boxer from Holguín to do so - and three bronze medals at the World Championships in Reno, Moscow, and Sydney.

In 1987 he achieved an important victory by winning the title at the international "Giraldo Córdova Cardín" tournament, defeating Guantanamo's Jesús Sollet in the 57-kilogram division.

The following year he won the title again in the tournament held in Las Tunas, now defeating Spiritus's Eddy Suárez, a rival he would defeat again in 1989 in the edition held in Pinar del Río. He won another title in 1990 in Bayamo, Granma, but the following year he lost in the final against Eddy Suárez.

During the XI Pan American Games Havana 1991, Cuba, he defeated Kenneth Friday from the United States in the final, a title he successfully defended at the next event in Mar del Plata, Argentina, by defeating Puerto Rican Alexander Trujillo.

In 1992 he reclaimed the title in the 57-kilogram division when he defeated Santiago's Joel Casamayor, and won it again in the 1996 edition, this time against Algerian Metgihoud Noureddine.

In the national championships at Playa Girón, he won the title four times (1988, 1989, 1990, and 1992) always in the 57-kilogram division.

On the international stage, at just 19 years old he competed at the world championship held in Reno, United States. There he won his initial bout against Puerto Rican José Rodríguez by RSC in the first round. In the quarterfinals, he defeated Romanian [[Marcelica Tudoriu] by 4-1. In the semifinals, he defeated Irishman John Lovey by 5-0, only to lose 3-2 to Korean Sung Kil Moon in the semifinals, eliminating him from the final round.

At the next world championship in Moscow in 1989, he made his debut with a victory over Japanese Yutaka Hayashida by RSCH in the first round. In his second fight he defeated East German Joerg Heidenreich by 26 to 13. In the quarterfinals, he triumphed over Frenchman Djamel Lifa by RSCH in the third round, only to be defeated in the semifinals 14 points to 12 by Soviet Airat Khamatov.

The third world championship for the Holguín boxer was Sydney, Australia in 1991, where he made his debut with a victory over Soviet Andrey Chebotarev by 20 points to 8. In the quarterfinals, he defeated Finn Reijo Vuorinen by RSC in the third round. In the semifinals, he defeated German Andreas Tews by 17 points to 13 and was defeated in the semifinals by Korean Duk Kyu Park by 16 points to 15.

In 1996 he became the first boxer from Holguín to win a medal at the Olympic Games, silver at the 1996 Atlanta Games. There he made his debut with a victory over Swede John Larbi by 19 points to 5. In the quarterfinals, he defeated American Zahir Harem by RSC in the first round. In the semifinals, he triumphed over Frenchman Rachid Bouaita by 15 points to 8. In the semifinal, he defeated Russian Raimkul Malakhbekov by judges' decision, with the bout tied at 14 points. In the final, he lost to Hungarian István Kovács by 14 points to 7.

In 2001 he retired from active boxing. Later in 2009 he completed and passed a certification course to become a sports instructor, specifically in boxing. Until his death, he worked at the Henry García Hall in the city of Holguín, teaching boxing to students in the school category.

Mesa died at age 46 at the Vladimir Ilich Lenin hospital in the city of Holguín, about 743 kilometers east of Havana, where he was admitted as a result of a cerebrovascular accident.