Rogério Minotouro was scheduled to face Rich Franklin at UFC 132, next Saturday (6), but A shoulder injury took the Brazilian out of action. However, the injury does not leave the Brazilian athlete at the “dockyard”. This Wednesday (4), the black belt will give a lecture to Clube O'Surfe students, with the theme: “Forming Future Champions”. The idea is to illustrate and show the importance of sport for the development of children and young people, also promoting the social integration of this public.
“I was with my brother (Rodrigo) in Cuba to compete and we noticed that children there start playing sports early, especially boxing. At just 12 years old, they already had a total of 70 fights on their record. So, the idea was to form champions from an early age so that at the age of 17 our athletes would join the Brazilian National Team, with some experience in the ring”, recalled Rogério.
In addition to the Nogueira brothers, the social project had the support of another champion, boxer Kelson Pinto (silver medal at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, 1999) who was a teacher for three years.
According to Rogério Minotouro, the intention of the project is to do good and transform the lives of these children who often end up lost to marginality. “It was noticed by parents that their children’s behavior changed for the better, they improved at school, became more concentrated and even more obedient at home too,” said Minotouro.
“The goal is to train athletes who stand out in boxing and jiu-jitsu, we have already made a runner-up from São Paulo and a runner-up from Brazil. The most important thing is to know that we are doing our part to encourage these children to have a better future, in addition to helping people in the community, and encouraging them by mirroring our professional athletes. And the dedication is greater to do an even more serious job, as the sport is growing and we want to take them to the podiums”, concluded Rogério.
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