He cuban boxing closed this Thursday a disastrous year in his journey through top-level tournaments, leaving with only one bronze medal in the World Championship of the International Boxing Association (IBA) held in Dubai.
The last opportunity for an exponent from the island to climb to the top of the podium disappeared with the defeat suffered this Thursday by the double Olympic champion Arlen López in the semifinal match of the 80 kilogram division. report the sports portal Hit.
Arlen was left in bronze and #Cuba said goodbye to the IBA World Cup
He lost 0-5 to the Uzbek Javokhir Ummataliev, champion of the world competition organized last September by World Boxing. #Boxing #CubanBoxinghttps://t.co/vpuHV6wYeu pic.twitter.com/Wy1at1xi8q— JIT Cuban Sport (@jit_digital) December 12, 2025
The Guantanamo fighter, one of the most experienced of the four Cuban fighters who hosted the event, gave in by unanimous vote to the Uzbek Javokhir Ummataliev, who dominated the division in the universal event held last September in the English city of Liverpool under the auspices of the nascent World Boxing.
The judges’ cards reflected the manifest superiority of the Asian monarch, since according to the media, “a good demonstration” by the Cuban was not seen in the ring.
In this way, Arlen added a new medal to the title won in the Doha edition exactly a decade ago, before having won his first crown under the five rings in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.
In addition, he pocketed a check for 75 thousand dollars as part of the juicy pool of cash prizes offered by the contest.
His performance barely disguises the discreet performance of the Antillean army, which in the English event also failed to place any of its eight representatives among the champions, thus signing the most disappointing performance in universal competitions with only three bronze medals as prizes.
Now the two-time Olympic titleholder also had the opportunity to change that image. Julio Cesar La Cruz (92 kg), Fernando Arzola (+92 kg) and the debutant Giorvis Salfrán (51 kg), who were left without access to the podium after losing in their respective quarterfinal matches.
Boxing World Cup: Cuba, without golden bullets, has its worst performance in history
Beyond the pale performance, Cuban participation in the event organized by the questioned IBA served to confirm the ties that the Cuban federation maintains with that organization, which lost the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to questions related to the transparency of its management.
Forced by circumstances and as the only option to ensure its presence at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the governing body of boxing in Cuba complied with the IOC directive and ended up joining World Boxing last July.
