Julio César La Cruz

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Julio César La Cruz
Cruz vs Borges 2016 Rio 7cr.jpg
Cruz at the 2016 Olympics
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)[1]
NationalityCuban
Born (1989-08-11) 11 August 1989 (age 32)
Camagüey, Cuba
StanceOrthodox[2]
Boxing record[3]
Total fights277
Wins255
Wins by KO30
Losses22
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  Cuba
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 2 0 0
World Championships 5 0 1
Pan American Games 3 0 0
Central American & Caribbean Games 2 0 0
Total 12 0 1
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Light heavyweight
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Heavyweight
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2011 Baku Light heavyweight
Gold medal – first place 2013 Almaty Light heavyweight
Gold medal – first place 2015 Doha Light heavyweight
Gold medal – first place 2017 Hamburg Light heavyweight
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Yekaterinburg Light heavyweight
Gold medal – first place 2021 Belgrade Heavyweight
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2011 Guadalajara Light heavyweight
Gold medal – first place 2015 Toronto Light heavyweight
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima Light heavyweight
Central American and Caribbean Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Veracruz Light heavyweight
Gold medal – first place 2018 Barranquilla Light heavyweight

Julio César La Cruz Peraza (born 11 August 1989)[2] is a Cuban amateur boxer who won a gold medal at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. He is also a five-time amateur world champion, having won gold medals at the 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2021 AIBA World Boxing Championships.

Career[]

At the 2011 World Championships, he captained the Cuban national team,[4] where he beat number 1 seeded Egor Mekhontsev from Russia on points (21–15) in semi-final, and defeated Adilbek Niyazymbetov from Kazakhstan after 3 rounds by 17–13 finishing score in final, being the 4th World amateur boxing champion boxer from Camagüey.[5]

He grasped the gold medal at 2011 Pan American Games in which Cuba national team topped the medal table with 8 golds and 1 silver.[6] He beat Carlos Gongora of Ecuador in the semi-finals and Yamaguchi Falcão Florentino of Brazil in the final on points (22–12).[7]

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was upset by Falcão Florentino in the quarterfinals in a rematch from the 2011 Pan American Games.[8]

At the 2013 World Championships in Almaty, he beat Serge Michel, Oleksandr Ganzulia, Abdelhafid Benchabla and Joe Ward, before again beating Niyazymbetov in the final.

On 4 January 2014, Julio Cesar la Cruz was hospitalized after being shot outside of a recreation center in his hometown of Camagüey.[9]

In 2015, he again won the gold at the AIBA World Boxing Championships held in Doha.

He won the gold medal at the men's light heavyweight event at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[10]

La Cruz sports a 21–3 record in the World Series of Boxing.[11]

In the 2020 Summer Olympics, he gained attention for expressing his support for the Cuban government by declaring after his quarterfinal win over a Cuban-born Spanish opponent, "Patria y vida, no. ¡Patria o muerte, venceremos!".[12] After returning to Cuba, La Cruz received a fish and two bottles of soft drink as rewards for his competition in the Olympics.[13]

In 2021, he again won the gold at the men's heavyweight held in Tokyo.[14]

References[]

  1. ^ "BoxRec: Julio Cesar La Cruz". BoxRec. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Boxing la CRUZ Julio - Tokyo 2020 Olympics". Olympics.com. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Boxing record for Julio César La Cruz". BoxRec.
  4. ^ "No rest bite for Cuban squad". AIBA. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  5. ^ Florencio Rodriguez, Luis (17 October 2011). "Boxers of Camagüey to Ratify their Worth in Pan-American Games". cadenagramonte.cu. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  6. ^ "Cuba's Panamerican supremacy". AIBA. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  7. ^ "Cuba win a total of eight gold medals in Guadalajara". AIBA. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  8. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Julio César La Cruz". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  9. ^ Elisinio Castillo (4 January 2014). "Cuban Amateur Star, WSB Fighter is Shot in Camaguey". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  10. ^ "Julio Cesar la Cruz". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  11. ^ http://www.worldseriesboxing.com/boxers/la-cruz-julio-cesar/
  12. ^ https://www.telemundo20.com/deportes/juegos-olimpicos-tokio-2020/videos-juegos-olimpicos-tokio-2020/patria-o-vida-no-mensaje-polemico-del-boxeador-cubano-tras-ganar-su-pelea-en-tokyo-2020/2135570/
  13. ^ "Julio César La Cruz y lo que vale un "Patria o Muerte"". ADN Cuba (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Tokyo Olympics: Julio Cesar la Cruz wins heavyweight final for Cuba's third boxing gold". bbc.com.

External links[]

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