Pan American Games 2023: From Cuba to Canada - Discover the training regimes of elite boxers
Boxing training regimes differ the world over, but there are certain non-negotiables like hard work and dedication. Olympics.com spoke to trainers and athletes from Cuba, Guyana, and Canada to find out what makes an elite boxer.
Boxing
There are many different training methods boxing coaches can employ to optimise their athletes for competition.
Cubans see the sport like a dance and their boxers are famous for their fluid defence, meaning elite cardio is vital, while Europeans typically favour a more rigid, power game, and could place a higher emphasis on strength work.
But whichever country they are from, all elite boxers require extraordinary levels of fitness, power, agility, and mental strength. It is the “sweet science”, after all.
The Pan American Games 2023 in Santiago, Chile, is blessed with the world’s top boxing nations, and we spoke to coaches and athletes alike to find out what their training regimes look like.
Cuba is the second most successful nation in boxing Olympic history with 41 gold medals.
Their training methods produce athletes with silky smooth footwork, lightening hand speed, and excellent rhythm.
“In the Caribbean dancing is very important, and in Cuba coaches have been able to combine the leg movement, which is the most important thing, with dancing. And that’s where the Cuban boxing style is born, it looks like they are dancing in the ring. It is linking the rhythmic movements of Cuban dance, Cuban salsa, Cuban timba, with boxing,” Cuba boxing coach Julio Mena told Olympics.com.
But the flair of Cuban boxing that comes from dancing is just what the crowd sees.
The real bedrock of the nation’s boxing success lies within something perhaps less glamorous, but even more pivotal.
“Discipline is the most important thing. An athlete who is not disciplined is never going to be an Olympic champion, or a world champion,” Mena continued.
“The typical training day for Cuban athletes starts early at 06:30 a.m. They wake up in the training centre, eat breakfast, and an hour later their physical training begins. Lunch is served at noon, and three hours later the second session begins, which is where we emphasise the technical-tactical part of the boxer.
“More or less 50 to 60% of the training should be done inside a ring because it is a dynamic sport, then running, strength exercises, and specific strength training are all complementary.”
It’s easy to see why the Guyana team decided to tap into that Cuban knowledge-set with a training camp on the Caribbean island before the 2023 Pan American Games.
“Training there, you're getting gloves in your face all the time - they’re always sparring! They have a really nice style that everybody wants to adopt,” 63.5 kg boxer Joel Williamson told Olympics.com.
Perhaps learning from their counterparts’ example, the Guyana team also rises early to train.
“We get up at five a.m. for the morning session, do some stretches for 10 minutes, then get on the treadmill to do some running. Then we do some skipping and then we can do some abs and normally exercise free-handed.
“In the afternoon session we train on the pad, the bags, speed balls, and also do ring work.”
Joel Williamson of Guyanas, in red, in action against Alexy De La Cruz of Dominican Republic during the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games at Nunoa´s Olympic Training Center on October 22 in Santiago, Chile.
Further up the Americas in Canada, there is a large emphasis on building mental resilience, in addition to physical fitness.
“We have a mental preparation and performance coach that helps us with that side. Our goal is to build the boxers’ confidence through appropriate challenges,” Canada Boxing coach Vincent Auclair told Olympics.com.
“This means that they always have to learn, but they also need to achieve the goals we set out for them on their journey towards the Olympics.”
Canadian welterweight Charlie Cavanagh is a product of that successful programme, having won the youth world title in 2018 before taking home silver from the 2022 World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.
Having suffered from anxiety in the past, she has several techniques she employs to maintain good mental health even before going to training.
“On a normal training day outside of a competition, I get up at 6:30 because I’m a morning person!” Cavanagh told Olympics.com.
“The first thing I do is drink a lot of water, read, and write in my gratitude journal - all things to help my mental health and start the day well.
“Breakfast is at around eight o’clock, and our first training session of the day is usually at 9:30 a.m. and it’s typically a boxing session - so pads, bag work, or technical sparring - for about 90 minutes.
“We then go home for lunch, and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday our second session of the day is strength and conditioning, while on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday that second session will be more cardio based like running or sprints.
“Then it’s dinner and healthy recovery snacks after a tough day at training, and then I’ll be in bed for 10 or 10:30, ready to do it all again!”