Cubans Julio César La Cruz and Erislandy Álvarez secured their seventh and second medals, respectively, at the world boxing championships.
They did so in bronze medal duels at the event, which concludes this Sunday in Liverpool. La Cruz (90 kg) defeated Englishman Damar Thomas 4-1, and Erislandy triumphed 5-0 over Iranian Ali Habibinezhad.
La Cruz reached such podiums when he reigned supreme at 81 kg in Baku 2011. A title he held at Almaty 2013, Doha 2015, and Hamburg 2017.
He finished third at Ekaterinburg 2019, returned to the top at Belgrade 2021. Then at 92 kg, and finished without a medal at Tashkent 2023, also at that weight class.
Erislandy’s reputation, as Olympic champion at Paris 2024 and runner-up at the previous world championships, was built on the effectiveness of his inside shots and tight defense.
His fourth outing will be on Saturday, in the semifinals against Brazilian Yuri Falcao Dos Reis, bronze medalist at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Julio’s match, also in that phase, will take place this Friday after four in the afternoon. As the opposite of Kazakhstan’s Aibek Oralbay, Asian champion in 2022 and 2024, and leader of the Youth Olympic Games in 2018.
This same Friday will feature Alejandro Claro (50 kg), the other Cuban in the competition. Who is expected to face Turkey’s Samet Gumus for a bronze medal that would equal his performance from two years ago.
Translated by Aliani Rojas Fernandez
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