Saidel Horta wins continental boxing title in Puebla, Cuba's only gold and a ticket to Lima 2027

Foto: Photo: Ricardo López Hevia / Granma (file)

October 26, 2026

Cuban boxer Saidel Horta became the 60 kg continental champion on Saturday, October 24, at the Continental Boxing Championships in Puebla, Mexico. In the final at the Miguel Hidalgo coliseum he faced Ezequiel Medina of the Dominican Republic in a bout stopped 22 seconds into the first round after both fighters were cut. With the scorecards in his favor, all five judges gave Horta the win, Granma reported.

It was Cuba's only title of the tournament. Horta, from Cienfuegos, a world championship silver medalist in Tashkent in 2023 and a Paris 2024 Olympian, finished the event 4-0. Yusnier Sorsano (70 kg) and Nelson Williams (90 kg) took silver, and Luis Enrique Vinent (65 kg) and Dayira Mesa (70 kg) won bronze, according to Cubadebate.

All five medalists secured places at the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima.

Fuente: Granma; Cubadebate; TV Santiago (ICRT)

Saidel Iván Horta Rodríguez del Rey

Sports, Boxing

Saidel Iván Horta Rodríguez del Rey was born on March 28, 2002, in Cienfuegos, Cuba. A product of the Cuban boxing school, he broke through internationally in 2023, taking featherweight (57 kg) silver at the World Championships in Tashkent and another silver at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.He boxed for Cuba at the Paris 2024 Olympics at 57 kg.