Cuba’s celebrated boxer Julio Cesar La Cruz sailed through to the semi-finals without throwing a punch in the heavyweight division in the Golden Belt Series event in Marrakesh.
His Moroccan opponent Karim Maatalam was injured in his previous and therefore could not take on the double Olympic gold medallist and five-time world champion.
This information is courtesy of Moroccan federation Director of Communication Zoubida Wissame who is in Marrakesh. She’s also a board member of the Africa Boxing Confederation (AFBC).
La Cruz will now meet Russia’s Olympic silver medallist Muslim Gadzhimagomed in what promises to be a mouth-watering semi-final. The Russian also made it to the semis on a walkover against his injured Egyptian opponent Ibrahim Elsalamony.
It’s been a bad day in the office so far for African boxers as Morocco’s cruiserweight Said Harnouf was beaten 4-1 by Brazil’s Ramon Batagello.
Credit: AFBC Communication Department
