Story By: Juan Mayes, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

This is the Cuban boxer who fought at the London Olympics and has deserted his national team while they train in Berlin for the upcoming World Championships.

The Cuban national boxing team are currently in the German capital Berlin training for the upcoming 2019 World Boxing Championship to be held in Russia.

Cuban super heavyweight boxer Jose Angel Larduet Gomez, 29, reportedly deserted the training facilities where the national team were based.

The exact details of his desertion are unclear but the Cuban Boxing Federation made the news of Larduet’s desertion public and released a statement reading: “Selected to defend the division of over 91 kilogrammes, Larduet turned his back on that commitment and left the number of athletes at seven in a national team which condemned his attitude and is resolved to fight without mercy to retain the crowns obtained in the last event.”

Larduet was considered as one of the best boxers from the Caribbean nation island. He won a gold medal at the Pan American Boxing Championship held in Honduras in 2017.

The super heavyweight also won gold at the Central American and the Caribbean Games in 2018. The 29-year-old reached the quarter-finals at the 2012 Olympics Games in London before losing to Italian Clemente Russo.

The World Boxing Championship will be held in Ekaterinburg located in central Russia from 7th September to 21st of September.

It will include 450 boxers representing 87 countries.

Cuban athletes often defect from their country when travelling abroad, with 16 football players having defected for the United States since 2018.

The boxer’s current whereabouts are unknown.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.