CDMX, Mexico-. The Cuban Olympic champion of Tokyo 2020 Andy Cruz in an interview with ESPN He declared that his plan is to compete in professional boxing and he is already preparing for it.
“Thank God I am already taking this great step that many expected,” he said.
“I am here ready to face this great challenge ahead of me and I plan to do great things in professional boxing.” Cruz also declared to the site specialized in sports that he left Cuba legally, contradicting the initial hypotheses about his leaving the island.
At the beginning of November, the boxer traveled from Havana to the Dominican Republic after a period of uncertainty since he was expelled from the Cuban sports structure. What triggered his expulsion was his attempt to leave the country illegally.
As reported on that occasion by the official JIT media, the decision had been made by the National Boxing Commission “as a result of exhaustive analyzes initiated within the disciplinary commission of the national school.”
The note shared by JIT reads: “The measure has been adopted due to the repeated indiscipline committed by him, including his absence from training prior to the Playa Girón 2022 National Boxing Tournament and his non-intervention in that event.”
Cross he added that preparations for his professional debut were going well and that he was looking forward to it.
“I’m starting to take my first steps, I’m already in action, I’m already training,” he said.
Despite this background, the 26-year-old boxer described his relationship with the authorities of his country as “good”.
Cruz won world light-welterweight titles in 2017, 2019 and 2021, as well as Olympic gold.
The Antillean boxer joins the long list of athletes and coaches who left the island this year. CubaNet He recently published a count in this regard and the figure exceeded one hundred.
Among other Cuban athletes who left the nation this year are Olympic bronze medalist in discus Yaime Pérez, Olympic gold medalist in wrestling Ismael Borrero and Tokyo 2020 sprint canoe champion Fernando Jorge.
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