The double Olympic champion Julio César La Cruz, better known as La Sombra, lost his fight on Sunday against the Cuban-Azerbaijani Loren Berto Alfonso Domínguez, thus truncating his path toward the third boxing title he aimed to conquer in Paris 2024.
Loren Berto, who competes in Paris under the flag of Azerbaijan, a country with which he won the Olympic bronze in Tokyo 2020 in the light heavyweight category (75-81 kilograms), eliminated his compatriot by judges' decision (3-2).
"Attention Cuba: La Cruz lost and says goodbye to Paris 2024. A lamentable defeat for two-time Olympic champion Julio César La Cruz against Loren Berto Alfonso, a Cuban nationalized Azerbaijani. Cuba loses one of its clearest title options in boxing. There are still 4 other boxers remaining in competition," indicated on its social networks the official website Cubadebate.
At just 29 years old, the Cuban boxer who became an Azerbaijani citizen eliminated La Sombra, a fighter who sees dictator Fidel Castro as an idol and shouted "Homeland and Life, no! Homeland or Death, We Will Overcome!" after defeating his compatriot Enmanuel Reyes Pla, who was competing for Spain at Tokyo 2020.
The three years of age difference in his favor and the seven centimeters in height, combined with the boxing technique of the Cuban school and the training regimen followed with his new selection, gave Loren Berto an advantage that La Cruz could not counteract.
The flag bearer of the Cuban delegation in Paris displayed a poor performance in the ring, showing little initiative and retreating too much. Three judges scored the Cuban-Azerbaijani fighter winning 29-28, while two rated the Cuban's performance as superior (29-28 and 30-27).
This Saturday, Erislandy Álvarez's victory over the boxer from Papua New Guinea, John Ume, marked Cuba's first triumph in boxing at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
On the contrary, the debut of the flag bearer of the Cuban team marked the first defeat in this discipline in which Cuba has four athletes on its national team.
Two other Cubans, the Azerbaijani Loren Berto Alfonso Domínguez and the Spaniard Enmanuel Reyes Pla, are also in the race for medals.
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