Cuban fugitive knocks out two-time Olympic boxing champion La Cruz.

Two-time Cuban Olympic champion Julio Cesar La Cruz missed out on a record-breaking three consecutive Olympic boxing golds when he lost to Cuban dissident Loren Alfonso.

Villepinte, France – Cuban boxer Julio Cesar La Cruz has left the an opportunity to It arrives he register to Three consecutive Olympic golds In sports, when it is Sunday give up At the premiere partition decision in view of Lauren Alfonsoa Copy That now Representing Azerbaijan.

“Sombra” La Cruz won the first round of the heavyweight bout, but lost the final two rounds on three of the five judges’ scorecards, resulting in a 3-2 decision in favor of Alfonso, the fugitive Cuban who had won a bronze medal in Tokyo at light heavyweight. The boxers embraced afterward.

La Cruz was looking to join Hungary’s Laszlo Papp and Cuban compatriots Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon as three-time gold medalists in Olympic boxing history, but his bid ended on his first day.

La Cruz’s current light heavyweight partner, Arlen Lopez, has a chance to win his third straight Olympic gold medal.

La Cruz entered professional boxing after his win in Tokyo, winning three bouts while still in the Olympic version of the sport. He turns 35 next month.

Cuba has long been a driving force in Olympic boxing, ranking behind the United States in total medals and gold medals, but after winning four golds in Tokyo, only five boxers qualified for Paris.

No women qualified for Cuba, which lifted its domestic ban on women’s sports at the end of 2022.