After the groundbreaking comeback in April, AGON Sports and the WBA are once again bringing top boxing to Varadero – with Olympic champion Erislandy Álvarez in the main event.
On 29 November, AGON Sports returns to the Meliá International Varadero to host only the second professional boxing event in Cuba since 1961. In cooperation with the World Boxing Association (WBA), three top-level title fights are on the program. The headliner of the evening will be Olympic gold medalist and WBA world number ten super lightweight Erislandy Álvarez (5-0, 2 knockouts).
In addition to Álvarez, Lázaro Álvarez (9-0, 5 knockouts), three-time amateur world champion and three-time Olympic bronze medalist, will also return to his home country. The 34-year-old lightweight wants to take the next step towards the world championship belt on Cuban soil. He is currently ranked ninth in the WBA world rankings. Moroccan Moussa Gholam (24-1, 15 knockouts), who lives in Spain, will also step into the ring on the Caribbean island for the second time. Gholam is currently ranked ninth in the WBC and tenth in the WBA.
Boxing history in Cuba
The first event in April was already a milestone: for the first time since the revolution, an officially sanctioned international professional boxing tournament took place on Cuban soil – under the patronage of the WBA and the German Professional Boxing Association (BDB). The evening made boxing history and marked the return of professional boxing to Cuba.
“Cuba is a hotspot for Olympic boxing and deserves to play a leading role in professional boxing,” explained Ingo Volckmann, CEO and promoter of AGON Sports. “After the overwhelming success of our premiere, it was immediately clear to us: we’re coming back!”
WBA President Gilberto Jesús Mendoza is also delighted about the renewed collaboration: “Erislandy Álvarez is the perfect symbol for the future of Cuban boxing. AGON Sports and the WBA are bringing history, passion and professionalism back to the island.”
With this second chapter in Varadero, AGON Sports continues its mission to bring Cuban boxing back to the world stage – and continues to write the new era of professional boxing in Cuba.