On his X profile, the head of State noted that since the Cuban fighters joined professional boxing in 2022, it is the first time they fight in Cuba.

“Congratulations to ours, especially to Arlen (López) and Julio (César La Cruz) who won a world belt,” Díaz-Canel wrote on X.

On Tuesday, in a packed Ciudad Deportiva (Sports City), two-time Olympic champions Arlen López (80 kilograms) and Julio César La Cruz (92) fought for the IBA title in their respective weights against José Luis Tejeda, from the Domincan Republic, and Madiyar Saydrakhimov, from Uzbekistan, respectively.

López won by technical knockout in the third round after leaving his opponent bleeding profusely, and La Cruz displayed his usual mastery of hitting without receiving and easily overpowering.

Erislandy Alvarez, the Olympic champion in Paris 2024 in the 63.5-kg division, and two-time Olympic champion Roniel Iglesias (67) were too much for Colombia’s José Ignacio Muñoz and Armenia’s Gurgen Mamoyan, whom they defeated in six-round fights, although in case of the latter, the vote was divided.

In the other six-round fights, Saidel Horta (57) beat Ruslan Belousov, from Russia, unanimously, as did Lázaro Alvarez (63.5) against Mujibillo Tursonov, from Uzbekistan.

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