Julio César La Cruz

Julio César De La Cruz Peraza (born 11 August 1989)[1] is a Cuban professional boxer. As an amateur he won gold medals at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics, and the 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2021 AIBA World Boxing Championships.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is La Cruz and the second or maternal family name is Peraza.

Julio César La Cruz
Cruz at the 2016 Olympics
Statistics
Real nameJulio César De La Cruz Peraza
Nickname(s)
  • La Sombra
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Reach78 in (198 cm)
Born (1989-08-11) 11 August 1989
Camagüey, Cuba
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights2
Wins2
Wins by KO2
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  Cuba
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2016 Rio de JaneiroLight heavyweight
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Heavyweight
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2011 BakuLight heavyweight
Gold medal – first place2013 AlmatyLight heavyweight
Gold medal – first place2015 DohaLight heavyweight
Gold medal – first place2017 HamburgLight heavyweight
Gold medal – first place2021 BelgradeHeavyweight
Bronze medal – third place2019 YekaterinburgLight heavyweight
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place2011 GuadalajaraLight heavyweight
Gold medal – first place2015 TorontoLight heavyweight
Gold medal – first place2019 LimaLight heavyweight
Central American and Caribbean Games
Gold medal – first place2014 VeracruzLight heavyweight
Gold medal – first place2018 BarranquillaLight heavyweight
Gold medal – first place2023 San SalvadorLight heavyweight
Pan American Championship
Gold medal – first place 2017 TegucigalpaLight heavyweight

Amateur career

At the 2011 World Championships, he captained the Cuban national team,[2] where he beat number 1 seeded Egor Mekhontsev from Russia on points (21–15) in semi-final, and defeated Adilbek Niyazymbetov from Kazakhstan after 3 rounds by 17–13 finishing score in final, being the 4th World amateur boxing champion boxer from Camagüey.[3] He grasped the gold medal at 2011 Pan American Games in which Cuba national team topped the medal table with 8 golds and 1 silver.[4] He beat Carlos Gongora of Ecuador in the semi-finals and Yamaguchi Falcão Florentino of Brazil in the final on points (22–12).[5]

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was upset by Falcão Florentino in the quarterfinals in a rematch from the 2011 Pan American Games.[6] At the 2013 World Championships in Almaty, he beat Serge Michel, Oleksandr Ganzulia, Abdelhafid Benchabla and Joe Ward, before again beating Niyazymbetov in the final. On 4 January 2014, Julio Cesar la Cruz was hospitalized after being shot outside of a recreation center in his hometown of Camagüey.[7] In 2015, he again won the gold at the AIBA World Boxing Championships held in Doha.

He won the gold medal at the men's light heavyweight event at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[8] La Cruz sports a 21–3 record in the World Series of Boxing.[9] In the 2020 Summer Olympics, he gained attention for expressing his support to the Cuban’s regime by declaring after his quarterfinal win over a Cuban-born Spanish opponent, "Patria y vida, no. ¡Patria o muerte, venceremos!".[10] , a Fidel Castro’s communist slang. In 2021, he again won the gold at the men's heavyweight held in Tokyo.[11]

Professional boxing record
2 fights 2 wins 0 losses
By knockout 2 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
2 Win 2–0 Juan Rodolfo Juarez TKO 4 (6) 28 Aug 2022 Club Social y Deportivo El Porvenir, Quilmes, Argentina
1 Win 1–0 Deivis Casseres KO 2 (6), 1:40 20 May 2022 Palenque de la FNSM, Aguascalientes, Mexico

References
  1. "Boxing la CRUZ Julio - Tokyo 2020 Olympics". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  2. "No rest bite for Cuban squad". AIBA. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  3. Florencio Rodriguez, Luis (17 October 2011). "Boxers of Camagüey to Ratify their Worth in Pan-American Games". cadenagramonte.cu. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  4. "Cuba's Panamerican supremacy". AIBA. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  5. "Cuba win a total of eight gold medals in Guadalajara". AIBA. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  6. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Julio César La Cruz". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  7. Elisinio Castillo (4 January 2014). "Cuban Amateur Star, WSB Fighter is Shot in Camaguey". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  8. "Julio Cesar la Cruz". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  9. "World Series of Boxing". Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  10. ""Patria y vida, no": Mensaje polémico de boxeador cubano tras ganar su pelea en Tokyo 2020".
  11. "Tokyo Olympics: Julio Cesar la Cruz wins heavyweight final for Cuba's third boxing gold". BBC Sport.
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