Manuel Sobral

Manny Sobral

Manuel "Manny" Sobral (born September 12, 1968 in Galicia, Spain) is a former boxer, competing in the welterweight (– 69 kg) division. A resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, he represented Canada at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, where he was eliminated in the first round by Finland's Joni Nyman on points (1:4). He goes to Burnaby North Secondary School.

The Junior Boxing Days, 1984

The year was 1984, and it would be four years before Sobral would be part of the Canadian Olympic Boxing team of 1988.

Two key events that would demonstrate his potential in 1984 were the 1984 Junior Golden Gloves and the 1984 Canadian junior national boxing championships.

The Junior Golden Gloves:

• The event took place on April 28, 1984 at the Boxing BC Training Centre

in Burnaby, BC. Manny would be one of 13 contested , and win the champions in the lightweight division. Another boxer of note in that tournament was bantamweight boxer Tony Duffy. Duffy would win the Jr. Golden Boy Award and Sobral would be the Golden Boy runner-up.

Ring officials of that tournament would include, the Olympic referee Bert Lowes, Fred Fuller, Ron Whalley, Sid Knopp, Rudy Bianco, Al Young, Bob Newbrook, Earl Vance, Jim Gallagher, Vic Murdoch, Larry Krangle, Jack Mellor and Brian Zelley. Serving as the glover was former AAU light-heavyweight champion Lindy Lindmoser.

The Canadian Junior Nationals Boxing Championships: In the 1984 tournament, Sobral would win a bronze, but beyond that year, Sobral would improve on a yearly basis to make the 1988 Olympic boxing team four years later.

External links

• Manny Sobral Biography and Olympic Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com
• Canadian Olympic Committee
• Boxing record for Manuel Sobral from BoxRec (registration required)