Mr. Roberto Ibanez – “The level of the Thailand Open is like a World Championships which competition is useful for our new Mauritian team members”

Mr. Roberto Ibanez is leading the Mauritian team as head coach since 2015 and he is working hard for the success of the African country. Mauritius is one of the strongest African nations in boxing in spite of the low number of population of the tourist island.
Mauritius had qualified boxers for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and they had gold medallist also in the last edition of the AFBC African Confederation Boxing Championships in Congo. The Cuban coach and his team are enjoying their participation in the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament and we asked him about his opinion, their plans and Mauritius’ boxing life.
“We are attending with five elite men boxers in the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament in Bangkok. The venue is exciting, we amazed about the level of the organization here in Thailand.
The referees & judges are working superbly in this competition, I am really satisfied with their job in the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament. The accommodation, the transportation and the food are wonderful in Bangkok. The organizational level is like a World Championships here in Thailand.
All Africa Games winner Richarno Colin and Rio 2016 Olympian Merven Clair are our most experienced boxers who competed in the Commonwealth Games but I gave them some relaxation after that. They are preparing now hard and we are also looking for young talents in Mauritius.
We decided to come here with some new boxers but among our team members Jean Jordy Vadamootoo was AFBC African Champion in 2017, since then he had to move up two weight classes. I think his height could be enough for the light welterweight (64kg) and he opened his campaign here with a success.
We have got strategic plans in Mauritius for the upcoming two years and our main focus is on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. We will be hosting the Indian Ocean Islands Games in July 2019 which is our region’s main multisport event which holds every four years.
We will have All Africa Games in Zambia in 2019, AFBC African Confederation Boxing Championships and also AIBA World Boxing Championships next year. Qualifications for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are our key point of view in our strategy and we are hoping that some of our best boxers will be qualified.
Mauritius’ geographical location is our main disadvantage therefore we had to spend a lot of money for travelling to the events from our small island. We have got national events in Mauritius but the international level is totally different as our homeland competitions.
The facilities are excellent in Mauritius in comparison to other African countries, I have got experiences in this area. Our boxing hall is under renovation and I hope we can see great bouts there in the near future. Hosting an AFBC African Confederation Boxing Championships would be also excellent in Mauritius where we have got all of the potentials to made it happen,” said Mr. Roberto Ibanez in the Huamark Indoor Stadium.

Don’t forget you can keep up with all of the action, news, results and photos by following ASBC on Facebook and Instagram.
ASBC website: www.asbcnews.org
ASBC Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ASBC.Boxing/
ASBC Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/asbc_official/