Julio Cesar La Cruz: The Cuban Star Set for Historic World Title Shot in Just Four Fights
The Cuban invasion into professional boxing has been long anticipated, and now the proud boxing nation is poised for a landmark contest as one of their most accomplished amateurs seeks to achieve world honors in just his fourth professional bout.
Julio Cesar La Cruz, an Olympic gold medalist in both the light-heavyweight division at Rio 2016 and the heavyweight division at Tokyo 2020, has established himself as one of Cuba’s most impressive amateur talents, boasting an incredible five world championships while dominating the light-heavyweight and heavyweight divisions for almost 15 years.
In May 2022, ‘La Sombra’ made his professional debut in Mexico, scoring a knockout win over Deivis Casseres. He followed that performance with a second stoppage victory against Juan Rodolfo Juarez three months later. However, the now 35-year-old has fought only once since, banking ten rounds against Austine Nnamdi in a clash in Guinea in December 2023. That win crowned La Cruz as the WBA Gold bridgerweight champion.
Following a meeting with the IBA, the WBA has announced that La Cruz will challenge Muslim Gadzhimagomedov for the WBA bridgerweight title, as well as the less recognized IBA bridgerweight strap. The showdown is set to take place in Dubai this December, acting as a launchpad for regular fights between contenders on the IBA circuit and WBA-ranked world title hopefuls, as detailed on the WBA website.
“Another point to be discussed was the development of the IBA Champion’s Night, whose events have had the support of the WBA and include bouts for both regional and world titles of the pioneer organization. Fighters such as Albert Ramirez, Albert Batyrgaziev, and Muslim Gadzhimagomedov have had the opportunity to fight and win WBA championships in this great project.
“In addition, this occasion marks a step forward towards achieving a unified WBA-IBA fight in December, featuring Gadzhimagomedov facing Julio La Cruz in the ring in Dubai during the annual IBA congress. This congress will be significant as it aims to relaunch a league project similar to the old World Series of Boxing (WSB), offering opportunities for fighters from the IBA circuit to compete against boxers from the WBA rankings.”
As a result, Julio Cesar La Cruz will become the first Cuban boxer to fight in a world title contest while representing the CBF (Cuban Boxing Federation), and he will do so on his fourth different continent in as many professional outings.
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