PARIS-. The boxer Cuban Julio Cesar La Cruz was eliminated this Sunday in the round of 16 of the Olympic Games of Paris-2024 and missed the opportunity to achieve a record of three consecutive Olympic golds in this sport.
La Cruz, 34, was hoping to reach the level of two Cuban legends, Teófilo Stevenson and Félix Savón, and the Hungarian László Papp, who will remain the only boxers to have won three gold medals.
In his debut at Paris-2024, ‘La Sombra’ La Cruz was defeated by another Cuban-born boxer, Loren Berto Alfonso, who competes under the Azerbaijani flag.
The fight, part of the round of 16 in the 92-kilogram category, started with a first round in which La Cruz clearly dominated, but the reigning champion slowed down the pace and allowed Alfonso to win in the second round.
The third and final round was extremely even and, after the final bell rang, both boxers raised their arms, claiming victory.
Alfonso, a bronze medallist in Tokyo 2020, was declared the winner by three of the five judges, prompting La Cruz to put his hands to his face in disbelief before congratulating the winner in the ring.
‘La Sombra’ is the captain and great emblem in recent years of the Cuban boxing team, winner of the Tokyo-2020 tournament and the one that has given the island the most Olympic successes.
Arlén López, another of the five members of the so-called ‘Flagship’ in Paris, also has the opportunity to win a third consecutive gold medal at these Games.
Source: AFP