the squad of cuban boxing will have the possibility of reaching up to four world titles this weekend at the closing of the World Championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Of the six fighters from the island who climbed the ring this Friday in the semifinals, debutants Saidel Horta (57 kg), Erislandy Álvarez (60 kg) and Fernando Arzola (+92 kg), as well as the most experienced Yoenlis Hernández (75 kg), who is the current champion of his division.
Hernández asserted his favoritism and “walked” the Frenchman Moreno Fendero to deserve the 5-0 score from the judges, in accordance with the digital site Hit. For the scepter he will face the Brazilian Wanderlei Pereira this Saturday, whom he has previously defeated.
Four Cubans for belts in the World Cup #Boxing
Three rookies at this level are part of the group headed by the defending monarch Yoenlis Hernández. #Cuba #VivaCuba #boxeocubano #I was goinghttps://t.co/8yIbqDoApc pic.twitter.com/fkNlhEcqiJ— JIT Cuban Sport (@jit_digital) May 12, 2023
Another who had no setbacks was Álvarez, one of the most promising figures in Cuban boxing, who has shown himself at a high level in the World Cup. The Antilles also dominated Jordanian Mohammad Abu-Jajeh 5-0, with two protection counts included.
For the gold he will have a hard obstacle in the French star Sofiane Ouumiha, current world champion and Olympic runner-up in Rio de Janeiro 2016.
For his part, the young Horta did not have to exert himself in the ring, as his rival, the Indian Hussam Uddin Mohamed, suffered an injury and did not appear to fight. The Cuban will collide on Sunday with the host and leader of Asia, Abdumalik Khalokov, in a very difficult fight for his aspirations to be crowned.
Also clinching the silver medal was super heavyweight Arzola, who defeated Azeri Mahammad Abdullayev 4-1 in a rematch. The Cuban took revenge for his defeat at the hands of his rival last year, during a tournament in the Kazakh city of Karaganda.
To achieve glory, he must defeat the local idol and Olympic titleholder Bakhodir Jalolov, a favorite of the specialists.
“I know it will be a very difficult opponent, with results as a professional, but I will maintain the same disposition,” Arzola said, quoted by Hit.
The defeats of Cuba in the day were to the account of Yosbany Veitía (54 kg), dominated by the Kazakh Makhmud Sabyrkhan, current number two in the world, and Alejandro Claro (48 kg), who did not receive the endorsement of the doctors, due to the state of the cut he suffered in his first fight.
However, both will return to the island with two commendable bronze medals.
The same luck did not run the experienced and multi-medalists world and Olympic Julio César la Cruz, Roniel Iglesias, Arlen López and Lázaro Álvarez, who they had fallen in their fights to climb to the podium. The newcomers Erislán Romero (51 kg), Jorge Cuéllar (71 kg) and Nelson Williams (86 kg) did not reach medals either.
Despite this, Cuba already has one more medalist than in the previous edition of the World Cup, held in Belgrade, when it won a trio of crowns and two bronze medals. Now the island has the possibility of surpassing that number of golds, although it will be very complex due to the quality of the contenders, two of them local.
