Sarbelio Fuentes Rodríguez, Glory of Cuban Boxing, Passes Away

April 20, 2025

This Saturday, Cuba said goodbye to one of its greatest sports figures: Sarbelio Fuentes Rodríguez, former boxer, legendary trainer and founder of INDER and the Cuban Boxing School, passed away at the age of 85. His legacy will endure not only in the rings of the world, but in the history of Cuban olympism.

"His successes as a trainer reached a higher dimension due to the modesty that always accompanied him. Many solid reasons make Sarbelio Fuentes Rodríguez a symbol of boxing and Cuban sports. Impacted by his death, we accompany his family and friends in their pain," expressed INDER president Osvaldo Vento Montiller on X.

Born on October 21, 1939 in Santiago de Cuba, Sarbelio grew up in Contramaestre, a land he always considered his home. From childhood he showed aptitude for sports, starting in athletics before finding his true passion: boxing. His first trainer, professor Gilberto Vinagera, guided him in his first steps, but it was his talent and discipline that took him to the top.

In 1957, while still a young professional boxer, he achieved a milestone by winning the Diamond Belt in Washington, with a record of 19 victories (12 by KO) and nine defeats. However, with the triumph of the Revolution, he abandoned professionalism without hesitation to join the amateur sports movement, in which he would become a fundamental pillar.

In 1959, he began working in a Voluntary Sports Council in Contramaestre, and by 1962 he was already part of the technical team that prepared Cuban boxers for the Central American and Caribbean Games in Kingston. His career as a trainer led him to direct Cuba's National Boxing Team, where he left an indelible mark.

Under his command, Cuba reaped countless victories, highlighting five golds, two silvers and one bronze at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

Today, Cuba mourns a giant of boxing, a man who devoted his life to revolutionary sports and who, with humility, built a school of champions.