There was a seismic upset in the men’s 65kg semi-final where Olympic gold medallist Erislandy Alvarez suffered a split decision loss to Yuri Falcao Dos Reis of Brazil.
After flooring Alvarez with a huge left hand in the first round, the South American entertained the crowd with dancing, celebrating in the clinch, and smiling at his teammates.
*”*It’s my boxing style I like. I like to be aggressive, and people like it. This attracts the public to me, and I think it also makes a good impression on them [referees]. When I go into the bout with giant energy, positive energy, there’s no way it can go wrong,” Dos Reis told Olympics.com after.
Next up, he’ll meet another Olympic champion in Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev of Uzbekistan, who was awarded a walkover victory due to a hand injury to Georgian Lasha Guruli.
It was more bad news for Cuba when Alejandro Claro lost by split decision to talented Kazakhstani Sanzhar Tashkenbay in an epic contest.
At points, the noise was deafening as both men surged forward and let their hands go.
After receiving an early standing 10 count, former world champion Tashkenbay rebounded to land more scoring punches over the next two rounds, taking the bout on four of the five judges’ cards to seal a place in the gold medal match while Claro settled for bronze.
“I dedicate this bronze medal to my pregnant wife and the baby to come. We’ve been doing a good job, but Cuba didn’t perform well at this Worlds, and we hope to do better next time,” Claro told Olympics.com.