Orland Cuellar, a grizzled veteran of the boxing training world, nabbed himself the Coach’s Championship Belt – a shiny trinket from the National Boxing Association, shaking hands with the World Boxing Association at the WBA Convention in sunny Orlando.
For over four decades, this Miami maestro has been the puppet master behind boxing legends like Glen Johnson, Antonio Tarver, and a parade of others who’ve danced under the bright lights.
Cuellar spills the beans on his unexpected award at the convention. “I moseyed on over to the WBA shindig, and there’s Damon Gonzales, the big cheese of the NBA, keeping me on a short leash with a tease about a surprise. Lo and behold, it’s this shiny strap for trainers. It’s my first rodeo with something like this, and it’s a nod to the unsung heroes, the trainers, who toil in the shadows. Hats off to Damon and a salute to Gilberto Mendoza of the WBA for this tip of the hat.”
In 2021, Cuellar found his way into the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame. Not just a one-trick pony, he bagged the 2004 Trainer of the Year title from Boxing Scene and caught the eye of the Boxing Writers Association of America in 2004 and 2010, making the shortlist for Trainer of the Year.