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Julio César La Cruz

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Julio César La Cruz
Cruz at the 2016 Olympics
Born
Julio César De La Cruz Peraza

(1989-08-11) 11 August 1989 (age 35)
Camagüey, Cuba
Other names
  • La Sombra
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11+12 in)
Reach78 in (198 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights3
Wins3
Wins by KO2

Julio César De La Cruz Peraza (born 11 August 1989)[1] is a Cuban professional boxer. As an amateur he won gold medals at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics, and the 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2021 AIBA World Boxing Championships. As a professional, he has qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Amateur career

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At the 2011 World Championships, he captained the Cuban national team,[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] He beat Carlos Gongora of Ecuador in the semi-finals and Yamaguchi Falcão Florentino of Brazil in the final on points (22–12).[5]

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was upset by Falcão Florentino in the quarterfinals in a rematch from the 2011 Pan American Games.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8] La Cruz sports a 21–3 record in the World Series of Boxing.[9] 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!",[10] citing the national motto of Cuba which was created by Fidel Castro. In 2021, he again won the gold at the men's heavyweight held in Tokyo.[11]

Professional boxing record

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3 fights 3 wins 0 losses
By knockout 2 0
By decision 1 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
3 Win 3–0 Austine Nnamdi UD 10 16 Dec 2023 Palais du Peuple, Conakry, Guinea
2 Win 2–0 Juan Rodolfo Juarez TKO 4 (6) 28 Aug 2022 Club Social y Deportivo El Porvenir, Quilmes, Argentina
1 Win 1–0 Deivis Casseres KO 2 (6), 1:40 20 May 2022 Palenque de la FNSM, Aguascalientes, Mexico

References

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  1. ^ "Boxing la CRUZ Julio". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  2. ^ "No rest bite for Cuban squad". AIBA. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  3. ^ Florencio Rodriguez, Luis (17 October 2011). "Boxers of Camagüey to Ratify their Worth in Pan-American Games". cadenagramonte.cu. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  4. ^ "Cuba's Panamerican supremacy". AIBA. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  5. ^ "Cuba win a total of eight gold medals in Guadalajara". AIBA. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Elisinio Castillo (4 January 2014). "Cuban Amateur Star, WSB Fighter is Shot in Camaguey". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  8. ^ "Julio Cesar la Cruz". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  9. ^ "World Series of Boxing". Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  10. ^ ""Patria y vida, no": Mensaje polémico de boxeador cubano tras ganar su pelea en Tokyo 2020".
  11. ^ "Tokyo Olympics: Julio Cesar la Cruz wins heavyweight final for Cuba's third boxing gold". BBC Sport.
[edit]
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flag bearer for  Cuba
Paris 2024
with
Idalys Ortiz
Succeeded by
Incumbent