Julio César La Cruz Challenges Gadzhimagomedov for WBA Super Cruiserweight Title on May 9

April 19, 2026

Cuban two-time Olympic gold medalist Julio César La Cruz Peraza, nicknamed La Sombra (The Shadow), is preparing for one of the biggest tests of his professional career. On May 9, in the Russian city of Makhachkala, he will challenge undefeated Muslim Gadzhimagomedov for the WBA universal super cruiserweight title in a 12-round bout.

La Cruz, 36, arrives with a perfect 4-0 professional record, while his opponent Gadzhimagomedov, 29, boasts six wins with no losses and will fight on home turf. According to Cuba's Juventud Rebelde newspaper, the Cuban is currently training in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, with high-quality sparring partners.

"First of all, we have full confidence in Julio — he is very serious in his work and focuses very well on the assigned tasks. It will be a very difficult fight, especially on the opponent's home ground, but as I said, we have great confidence in our captain. The preparation in Spain is going very well — he has the right sparring partners there for a good training camp. There is a lot of positive mindset ahead of his fight, and we expect the best from him," said Eulises Pouyot, technical chief of the Cuban boxing team, in remarks to Juventud Rebelde.

The two fighters have met three times before: La Cruz won against Gadzhimagomedov in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic final and at the Golden Belt Series stop of the 2023 World Boxing Tour in Marrakech, Morocco. The Russian prevailed in one rematch at a Night of Champions event in Serpukhov, Russia, in August 2023.

A victory would add the WBA professional world title to La Cruz's already-glittering résumé, which includes Olympic gold at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, three amateur world championships, and four Pan-American titles.