«I’m sure it could be a great year… with goals like winning my first world crown,» the world number one told JIT.

Refusing to lament setbacks that he prefers to look back on in search of improvement, Cuban fighter Saidel Horta has set his sights on a superior four-year term, which this year would leave him with a sceptre that would surpass the subtitle he won at the world championships in Tashkent 2023.

Strengthened by his Christian faith and the values forged in the bosom of his family, the Cienfuegos native, also Pan American number two, has maturely taken on board the impact of his initial setback at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and since then he has been multiplying his efforts to grow.

With that conviction, he defeated Russian Ruslan Belousov in the Night of Champions hosted on 27 August at the Havana Sports City coliseum and met expectations in the final of the National Series, held in December in Camagüey.

This Sunday JIT asked him for a brief exchange and the youngster, who will turn 23 in March, once again showed the kindness that characterises his dealings with the media.

How did you handle the adverse Olympic debut?

I stayed focused, convinced that I still have a great career ahead of me, since I’m still young, and I decided to keep giving my all, sure that this was not the end.

What could you have missed in the controversial fight with Kyrgyzstan’s Munarbek Seitbek?

I think that inexperience played a dirty trick on me after achieving superiority in the first round, but I understood that the only positive thing about that result would be to use it as a learning experience, so that the logic that in sport sometimes we win and sometimes we lose would leave me with a favourable balance.

Let’s talk about the final of the National Series and the following rounds.

It was an event in which I felt very good, something important to say goodbye to the year with my family, with peace of mind, enjoying the closing of a 2024 that left me good things as an athlete and in my life in general.

And January came to an end with another Night of Champions in the Ciudad Deportiva…

That’s right, and it’s an additional motivation because it’s another chance to fight in front of our public, and I want to show my best version of myself to give them the victory.

What are the priorities in your preparation?

Elements that contribute to the increase of power punches and strength in general, as well as settling more in the ring, trying not to «jump» too much, because it’s not the same to fight three, six, eight or 10 rounds. There are different ways of managing stamina levels, punching power and other aspects.

Which implies more effort…

It’s difficult, but it’s part of the task, another goal that we take on, with the loads that allow us to respond to the characteristics of the different circuits, mastering specific aspects to use them according to the type of fight we are facing.

So you are optimistic for this new campaign?

Grateful to God, ready to give everything, both in the gym and between the ropes, and eager to compete, sure that it can be a great year, with the rod high, with goals such as achieving my first world crown, in May in Kazakhstan.