Havana, September 7 (RHC) – A solid debut by Olympic champion Erislandy Álvarez (65 kg) provided a positive note for Cuba’s performance today at the Liverpool 2025 World Boxing Championships.
Determined to avoid any surprises, the Paris 2024 Olympic champion imposed his classic aggressiveness, constantly pursuing the well-established Spaniard Oier Ibarreche, and won 5-0 on a Sunday that was unfavorable to his teammates Rolando Martínez (55 kg) and Jorge Soto (80 kg).
Martínez faced Azerbaijan’s Nijat Huseynov in a close duel that marked his debut at that level. He finished at a good pace, thanks to a lot of grit, but the verdict came in 4-1 for his opponent.
Also in his debut, Soto fell 2-3 to 2021 world champion Robby Gonzales of the United States, who displayed speed in his movements to avoid exchanges.
Thus, three Cubans remain in the competition and five are eliminated, as Jorge Cuéllar (70 kg), Nelson Williams (90 kg), and Luis Enrique Vinent (60 kg) lost earlier, the only one among them with a win.
On Monday, star Julio César La Cruz (+90 kg) will face Iranian Amir Esmaeili, and a day later, Erislandy himself will exchange blows with Almaz Orozbekov of Kyrgyzstan, and Alejandro Claro (50 kg) will make his debut.
