It will be the first event of its kind in the history of boxing in Cuba in more than 60 years, with prizes of 120,000 and 100,000 dollars for the winner and loser, respectively, of these two stellar 10-round fights. These clashes will feature two-time Olympic champions Arlen Lopez (80 kilograms) and Julio Cesar La Cruz (92), against Dominican Jose Luis Tejeda and Uzbekistan’s Madiyar Saydrakhimov, respectively.
On the other hand, Erislandy Alvarez, brand-new Paris 2024 summer gold medalist in the 63.5 kilograms, and the also double champion under the five rings Roniel Iglesias (67) will face Colombian Jose Ignacio Muñoz and Armenian Gurgen Mamoyan, in that order.
The other fights, also six rounds like the two previous ones, will be between Saidel Horta (57) and Russian Ruslan Belousov and Lázaro Alvarez (63.5) and Uzbekistan’s Mujibillo Tursonov.
In the morning there will be a master class with children and a public weigh-in of the protagonists of the Champions Night, and in the afternoon there will be a press conference by the head of the IBA, the Russian Umar Kremlev.
The celebrations for World Boxing Day began the day before with a meeting of the IBA Executive Committee and the Forum of American Federations. The event was created in honor of the celebration in Havana of the first World Amateur Boxing Championship, which celebrates its 50th anniversary these days.
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