Keno Marley goes to the Boxing World Cup thinking about the Olympics – 04/25/2023 – Sport

The Boxing World Cup is part of a process for Brazilian Keno Marley, 22. It is the first step in trying to end a cycle, closing the door that brought him joy, satisfaction and the greatest sadness of his life. The ultimate goal is the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“We usually say that there is a difference between the Olympic Games and the Olympics. The Olympics is the whole cycle. The World Cup is part of that cycle and my doing well at the World Cup means a thermometer for Paris”, he explains.

With the other members of the Brazilian team, he traveled last Thursday (20). The competition will take place between April 30th and May 14th in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Keno will fight in the up to 81 kg category.

Keno’s last Olympic year left its marks. He came close to taking the podium and lost in the quarterfinals in a contested decision. Then he won silver at the Worlds in Belgrade, Serbia. He also began a period in which, he confesses, he went into depression.

His brother Jeremias was murdered outside a nightclub in Salvador. Months later, a cousin killed himself.

“The year 2021 was very complicated. I had two very drastic losses. It was catastrophic especially the death of my brother, the person who put me in the sport. He was the one who called me before the fights. I have to take that as motivation now”, complete.

It’s the only time Keno misses the easy smile that’s almost always on display. The accent is Bahian, despite living in São Paulo for nine years, where he moved at 13 because of boxing. Despite so much time, he knows little of the city. When he’s not training for the permanent Brazilian national team, he’s studying or planning trips to be with his family in Bahia.

Graduated in Physical Education, the boxer is in the second year of law school.

“I’ve always been very young in everything and I left home very young. When I said ‘I’m going to box,’ I received a hug from my family. The biggest difficulty is still the distance I keep from them.”

When he says he intends to improve his result at the Worlds, that can only mean one thing: a gold medal. The idea is to evolve in all the results obtained in the previous Olympic cycle, including the Games.

Everything can become simpler in the key draw, the way to the medal. This should happen this Saturday (29).

“Boxing is a very competitive sport and every country has at least one high-level athlete with a well-built physique. But in the draw, sometimes you fall into a relatively easy bracket. because they are teams made up of stronger athletes. We have to prepare for everyone”, he explains.

On the horizon is always what happened nearly two years ago at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. Keno reached the quarterfinals of the Olympics knowing that victory against Britain’s Benjamin Whittaker would at least guarantee him a bronze medal.

The Brazilian lost in a contested decision. He has already reviewed the fight “dozens of times” and considers it to have been close, but of questionable result.

“I could have done something more to have made my victory more explicit. The British was experienced. There was very little left. Boxing is a subjective sport. Five referees will judge according to some criteria. We have to convince them”, analyzes .

Minutes after the match, he said he considered the result fair because he had made “minimal” mistakes in the ring.

The Brazilian gold medalist at the Games, Hebert Conceição, decided to follow the path of professionalism in the hope of winning a world title and in search of millionaire purses that are not present in Olympic boxing.

It’s a trajectory that doesn’t cross Keno Marley’s mind. He still has a score to settle at the Olympics.

“These are different sports. Most athletes, when they become professional, have already done their work in Olympic boxing. I don’t think about my career for fame and money. The rhythm of the fight is different, the rules and format of competitions too”, he points out. .

Boxing fights are three rounds. In the professional can reach 12.

“The intensity of the struggle [olímpica] it is far superior. Those who fight 12 need to dose, cadence more. In the professional, there are months of preparation between one fight and another. Last year I had 23 fights.”