By Carlos Irusta
FRANCISCO VALCARCEL, World Boxing Organization's president for a decade, is a good fried of Argentinean boxing.
“Perhaps I love tango and the argentine boxing tradition, and Buenos Aires, but I feel like an Argentinean”, he uses to say. National boxing has a lot of things in common with the WBO, especially with the world champions. Omar Narváez (fly) and Jorge Rodrigo Barrios (super feather) are current WBO champions.
THE FIRST world WBO champion from Argentina was Néstor Hipólito Giovannini, in cruiserweight, 1963. Carlos Salazar (fly), Juan Domingo Córdoba (junior fly), Victor Godoi (super fly), Pablo Chacón (feather), Omar Narváez (fly), Héctor Velazco (middle) and Rodrigo Barrios (super feather) followed in the list.
JORGE MOLINA, president of WBO Latino, announced that Valcárcel will visit Buenos Aires in the first March week.
“The idea, as he did last year, is to give boxing articles to gyms and clubs in poor conditions”, says Molina. “We will make a brief amateur tournament in Caseros, Buenos Aires province (10 minutes from de D.C.), where local Major Hugo Curto is a real boxing fan. Of course, with the cooperation of the Argentine Boxing Federation”.
FRANCISCO VALCARCEL received a letter a couple of years ago from former world champion Carlos Salazar, asking him for help for his gym. “So, I tought to cooperate with other gyms, too. Argentina has a tremendous tradition in sports, specially boxing, and the WBO tries to cooperate always”. During his days in Buenos Aires, Valcárcel is planning to give Omar Narvaez a special ring for his 7 world title defenses. Narvaez obtained the crown by defeating Adonis Rivas on July 13, 2002, reopening the Luna Park stadium. “For the WBO was a special night because the Luna Park stadium is for Buenos Aires like the Madison to New York; I met Tito Lectoure in Vegas thanks to you, Carlos, and was a real pleasure for me. I admired him”.
WHILE OTHER boxers are waiting for WBO chances, like light heavy Hugo Hernán Garay, or middle Mariano Carrera, among others, Valcárcel will meet local promoters Osvaldo Rivero or Mario Margossian or Mario Arano during his days in Argentina. The man who never lost his smile, knows uses his political role to perfection. And he plays is with elegance. He never forgets anything. A political man day and night, 24 hours a day.
