Cuba Best in AIBA World Boxing Championships

Sancti Spiritus outstanding boxer Yosbany Veitía won one of the five titles achieved by the Cuban team in Hamburg

Cuban boxers ruled the ring at the 19th World Championships, grabbing five gold and two silver medals to finish on top for the second successive time.

The local press described the Cubans as the South America’s boxing giants, calling them “simply unstoppable” and “champions by quite a distance.”

Cuba walked away with half of the world titles on offer, with Joahnys Argilagos (49kg), Yosbany Veitia (52kg), Andy Gomez Cruz (64kg), Julio La Cruz (81kg) and Erislandy Savon (91kg) claiming the top honors in their respective weight categories.

Lazaro Alvarez Estrada (60kg) and Roneil Iglesias (69kg) ended up with silver medals.

For Savon, the nephew of three-time Olympic gold-medalist —the legendary Felix Savon—, it was his first world title in five championship appearances. For his maiden gold, Savon got the better of reigning Olympic champion Evgeny Tishchenko in a split verdict despite the Cuban’s clear dominance in the bout. Savon had finished with a silver in the 2015 edition of the championship.

Another Olympic champion to go down to Cuban might was Uzbekistan’s Hasanboy Dusmetov (49kg). He was also beaten in a split decision in a more closely-contested bout against Joahnys Argilagos.