| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Cuba | ||
| Men’s Boxing | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 2000 Sydney | Lightweight |
| Gold | 2004 Athens | Lightweight |
| World Amateur Championships | ||
| Gold | 1999 Houston | Lightweight |
| Gold | 2001 Belfast | Lightweight |
| Gold | 2003 Bangkok | Lightweight |
| Pan American Games | ||
| Gold | 1999 Winnipeg | Lightweight |
| Gold | 2003 Santo Domingo | Lightweight |
| Central American and Caribbean Games | ||
| Gold | 1993 Ponce | Lightweight |
| Gold | 1998 Maracaibo | Lightweight |
Mario César Kindelán Mesa (born August 10, 1971 in Holguín) is a former two time Olympic Gold Medalist amateur boxer from Cuba, who competed in the lightweight category. He is the cousin of baseball player Orestes Kindelán.
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His most successful period came in a winning streak starting with the 1999 Pan American Games title, and covered every major event he entered including the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, three world championships (1999, 2001, 2003), and the 2003 Pan American Games. His most recent victory was at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, defeating Amir Khan in the final, and retaining his gold medal from four years earlier.
Kindelán was named among the top ten athletes in Cuba for 1999, as well as being selected 'Best Boxer in Cuba' in the same year.
In 1999, he was named as one of the top ten athletes in Cuba, and was named Boxer of the Year.
Kindelan's results in the games, were as follows:
In May 2005, aged 34, he came out of retirement and travelled to Bolton, England for a third fight with Amir Khan. He had beaten Khan twice already the previous year – in the Pre-Olympic tournament and the Olympic Lightweight final – however Khan had become a popular attraction in the UK and a third fight was arranged to set up his professional debut. Khan beat Kindelan on points 19-13.
Having retired, he is generally considered as one of the greatest amateur boxers ever seen, leading to the comment during his final fight by the boxing commentator that he was "a professional in a vest".
Typical for athletes from Cuba, where professional sport is prohibited, his reward is pride in representing his people on the Olympic stage. He said, of being offered $1 million to compete professionally, "I thanked them, but money cannot buy what I have."
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