“I hope to accomplish that goal there, which is paramount to me, but it is also crucial for the Cuban delegation and boxing,” the athlete remarked about the possibility of turning into the fourth three-time Olympic champion.

Over 100 years of boxing under the five rings have passed by, by that time only Hungary’s Lazlo Papp (1948, 1952 and 1956), Cuba’s Teofilo Stevenson (1972, 1976 and 1980) and Felix Savon (1992, 1996 and 2000) have won three crowns in such competitions.

“What remains is to burn a little fat and lose a little weight to be faster and more alert in the ring. We are going step by step, we are meeting our goals to reach the final one,” he explained.

In that sense, the captain of the Cuban crew was in good shape on Friday when he defeated Soheb Bouafia in a match between the Cuban and French teams.

“It was a good fight. Bouafia has a Cuban trainer who knows how to face us and knows my style. There were noteworthy tactics from both of us, I did what I was told in my corner and we kept moving forward,” the five-time world champion said.

With an enviable record, which includes four gold medals in the Pan American Games, the only one in history with that endorsement, and three in the Central American and Caribbean Games, La Cruz has Paris in his sights.

“We are four months away from looking for that medal and I hope to arrive in optimal shape, both myself and the rest of my teammates. Right now, we are complying with all the training loads and with the critical route to Paris,” he expressed.

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