Cuban a Chinese boxing icon

Filipino boxing fans will remember Cuban Raul Fernandez Liranza as the man who guided Onyok Velasco to a silver medal in the 48kg lightflyweight division at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He was also the Philippine boxing team coach at the 2000 Sydney Games.

From Manila, Fernandez (Liranza is his mother’s maiden name) returned to coach in Cuba until 2007. He resurfaced in China in 2018 and became a legendary national guru of the sport, now making Zhengzhou his second home. While Fernandez calls himself the “Havana Old Man,” he’s known in China as Coach Lao.

The Philippines’ loss was China’s gain. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Fernandez delivered three golds and two silvers for China boxing. He’s involved not only at the elite level but also in the grassroots program, assisting in identifying youth prospects and conducting coaching clinics. “I am happy to contribute my modest efforts to the friendship and cooperation between Cuba and China,” he said, quoted in BaiduWiki. “I sincerely wish my beloved China and Henan, Zhengzhou constant improvement.”

Fernandez’ success in China has brought in offers from other countries to coach but he’s committed to China for the 2028 LA Olympics. Now 73, Fernandez is looking to add to his roster of seven Olympic champions, three Olympic silver medalists and one Olympic bronze finisher.

At the recent Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Fernandez was visible in the corner of Chinese fighters. China wound up with one gold, three silvers and two bronzes. Han Xuezhen was the only male medalist, pocketing a 90kg silver. The others were Wu Yu claiming the 51kg gold, Yeng Chengyu the 60kg silver, Bao Ziyi the 75kg silver, Zhao Xuan the 54kg bronze and Li Shu the 65kg bronze.

The Philippines finished with a single silver through Carlo Paalam who outpointed China’s Zhang Jiamao, 3-2, in the 55kg quarterfinals. Chengyu faced Filipino Nesthy Petecio in the women’s 60kg class and won via a 5-0 shutout. They were the only two bouts featuring China against the Philippines.

Aside from Fernandez, there were other foreign boxing coaches in Nagoya. Santiago Nieva of Argentina was with India, Cuban Norveis Sanchez with Bhutan and Englishman Kevin Smith with the Philippines. Smith was ABAP consultant before taking the job as Australian national boxing coach and is now back with the Philippines. Iran hired Cuban Juan Fontanills to coach its boxing team in 2024 but didn’t extend his contract for the Asian Games. Fontanills was previously with Thailand and Mexico.