Cuban Erislandy Alvarez fights today at 2025 World Boxing Championship

HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 9 (ACN) Paris 2024 Olympic champion Erislandy Alvarez will face Kyrgyzstani Almaz Orozbekov in the 65kg division of the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, United Kingdom.

Alvarez, fresh off a unanimous victory over Spaniard Oier Ibarreche last Sunday, is looking to surpass the world championship runner-up title he won at the previous event in Tashkent 2023.

Cuban flyweight Alejandro Claro (50kg), who will debut against Hungarian Istvan Szaka, after a bye in the first round thanks to his ranking at the top of the flyweight division, will also fight today.

On Monday, two-time Olympic champion Julio César La Cruz won for the second time in the tournament, overcoming Iranian Amir Esmaeili to advance to the quarterfinals of the heavyweight division (+90kg).

La Cruz will seek to secure the bronze medal tomorrow, Wednesday, against Britain's Damar Thomas.

Cuban squad has four wins and five losses in this tournament, but keeps its three fighters with the best chance of winning medals, according to pre-competition predictions by the island's specialists.

Of the eight Cuban fighters, the national team suffered the eliminations of Rolando Martinez (55 kg), Jorge Soto (80 kg), Jorge Cuellar (70 kg), Nelson William (90 kg), and Luis Enrique Vinent (60 kg), although the latter at least won one fight.