Heavyweight Julio César La Cruz won Cuba’s third gold medal in boxing at the Tokyo Olympics, putting on a defensive masterclass in his final 5:0 victory over Russian Muslim Gadzhimagomedov.
Gadzhimagomedov pressed forward throughout the bout, but La Cruz showed off his spectacular footwork and elusiveness while peppering his bigger Russian opponent with counter shots. La Cruz won the fight 30-27 on three judges’ scorecards and 29-28 on the other two, completing a four-fight run through the Kokugikan Arena during which he won 5:0 twice and 4:1 twice.
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La Cruz and teammates Roniel Iglesias and Arlen Lopez have all won their second career gold medals in Tokyo after moving up to a higher weight class. La Cruz was the light heavyweight gold medalist in Rio de Janeiro, and Lopez succeeded him to claim gold in that class in Tokyo.
La Cruz won the eighth heavyweight gold medal for the vaunted Cuban team, but the first since Odlanier Solis claimed the glamour division’s title in 2004. La Cruz joins Solis and legendary three-time Olympic heavyweight champs Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon.
David Nyika of New Zealand and Abner Teixeira of Brazil won heavyweight bronze.
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