Cuba lives an important day this Wednesday in the World Boxing Championship which is celebrated in Liverpool, because in the afternoon the stellar Erislandy Álvarez (65 kilograms) and Julio César La Cruz (+90) will rise to the quadrilateral, who play forward to the semifinals.
Álvarez, who has surpassed the Spanish Oier Ibarreche and the Kyrgyz Almaz Orozbekov, will see them in the quarterfinals with the Iranian Ali Habibinejad. For its part, the cross will cross gloves with the English Damar Thomas after unseating the Azerí Mahammad Abdullayev and the Iranian Amir Esmaeili.
These fighting are transcendental for the Cuban Navy in Liverpool, where there are only three exponents of the national team. In addition to Erislandy and Julio César, among the favorites for their proven record, Alejandro Claro (50) is still chance, which will look for his semifinal pass on Friday against Turkish Samet Gümüş.
From the rest of the team, everyone fell eliminated during the first days: Jorge Cuéllar (70), Nelson Williams (90), Rolando Martínez (55), Jorge Soto (80) and Luis Enrique Vinent (60).
Boxing World Cup: Cuba loses more than half of her team in Liverpool
Apart from the squad that runs Rolando Acebal, there is more Cuban presence in the English city, where, for example, this Wednesday they secured a podium position Loren Berto Alfonso and Enmanuel Reyes, Antillanos who emigrated and now represent Azerbaijan and Spain, respectively.
Alfonso had to come from the back to defeat Turkish Emrah Yasar, who was ahead in the voting after the first two assaults in the quarterfinals. But the Pinarño, double Olympic medalist and world champion of 2021, appealed to the experience and got the unanimous verdict of the judges in the third and decisive round.
In this way, he assured his third medal of the world and now he will also seek his third consecutive final in global leaders. In the next instance the Brazilian Isaias Filho will be measured, who swept the American Malachi Georges.
For his part, “The Prophet” said his second world medal after passing over the Polish Adam Tutak. Reyes Plá, bronze in 2021, left no margin and a strong 5-0 victory, so he is now at the gates of reaching the first final of his career in these events.
To get to that instance he will have to unseat the young Uzbeco Torabek Khabibullaev, who at 21 is a World Youth Champion and Absolute Monarch of Asia since last year.
If Loren Berto Alfonso and Enmanuel Reyes exceed their semifinal pitfalls, an eminently Cuban final could occur in heavyweights, with the uniqueness that neither of them would be representing the island.
