MIAMI (December 19, 2023) – Veteran boxing trainer Orland Cuellar received the Coach’s Championship Belt from the National Boxing Association (NBA), in collaboration with the World Boxing Association (WBA), at last week’s WBA Convention in Orlando, Florida.
During his 40-plus years as a trainer, the Miami-based Cuellar has worked with world champions such as Glen Johnson, Antonio Tarver, Juan Carlos Gomez, Jean Pascal, Rances Barthelemy, Nicholas Walters, Orlanier Solis, Erislandy Lara, and Ricardo Cordoba.
“I was asked to go to the WBA Convention and when I got there Damon (Gonzales, NBA President) told me not to go too far because he had a surprise for me,” Cuellar said. “The surprise was this trainer’s strap. I think it’s great and this is a first for me. To receive this strap means you trained a champion.
“I speak for trainers who oftentimes go unnoticed in the moment for all the work they did behind the scenes for the fighter who became champion. This is a great way for trainers to be recognized and glorified. Thank you, Damon, and, of course, thanks to Gilberto Mendoza President of the WBA).”
Cuellar was inducted into the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame in 2021, selected as the 2004 Trainer of the Year by Boxing Scene, and nominated twice as Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) in 2004 and 2010.