Beginning with a win in the 1999 Pan-American Games, lightweight Mario Kindelán embarked on an extraordinary amateur career that took him all the way to Olympic Gold. Born in Holguín, Cuba in 1971, Kindelán was named Cuba's Boxer of the Year in 1999 after he won the gold in both the Pan-American Games and the World Amateur Championship. This was Kindelán's first appearance on the world stage after previously making a name for himself by winning the gold in the 1993 Central American and 1998 Caribbean Games. Because Cuba's communist government eschews professional sports and prohibits its citizens from competing for money, Kindelán remained an amateur. While this denied him the chance of earning a hefty purse as a prize fighter, he was the perfect man to represent Cuba at the 2000 Olympic Games. Employing his trademark combo, step aside, reset and repeat form, Kindelán kept his opponents off balance and he easily took home the Gold in the lightweight category. Kindelán continued his tear through the amateur ranks, claiming the World Champion title in 2001 and 2003. At the Athens Olympics in 2004 Kindelán repeated his previous performance by beating Britain's Amir Kahn for the Gold. With over 300 amateur wins to his credit, Kindelán retired in 2005 after losing to Amir Kahn in their third and last meeting. Renowned as one of the greatest amateur lightweights in the history of the sport, Kindelán defeated many boxers who went on to become professional champs including Miguel Cotto, Felix Trinidad, Andreas Kotelnik and Olympic Champs Somluck Kamsing and Felix Diaz.

     Goldin Auctions is honored to offer Mario Kindelán's Gold Medal from the 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games. The medal's obverse features Nike, the Greek goddess of victory with the Panathenaic Stadium behind her. "28th Olympiad 2004" is engraved in Greek around the rim. The reverse features the Olympic flame, logo for the 2004 Games and the opening lines of Pindar's Eighth Olympic Ode in Greek. The medal measures 2 1/4" in diameter and like all Olympic gold medals issued after 1912 is cast from gilt silver. The medal is suspended from the original multi-colored Athens 2004 ribbon and is housed in a special fabric-covered zippered case. The medal is In NM-MT condition and the ribbon shows some age from storage. The 2004 medals are one of the most attractive of all recent Olympics and that this one was awarded to one of the greatest boxers in the history of the Games makes it all the more desirable. Signed Letter of Authenticity from former major league pitcher Liván Hernández who obtained it directly from Mario Kindelán himself.

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