Julio César La Cruz Overcomes Knockdown to Stop Dilan Prašović

Julio César La Cruz (4-0, 4 KOs) had to overcome a knockdown in order to ultimately stop Dilan Prašović (18-6, 15 KOs).

The official time of the knockout was 1:30 of round three. With the victory, La Cruz is now the mandatory challenger for the WBA bridgerweight world title held by Muslim Gadzhimagomedov (Note: Bridgerweight is only considered a legitimate weight class by the WBA and WBC). La Cruz-Prašović was also the first professional boxing fight to headline an event in Cuba since October 27, 1961. In 1962, Fidel Castro had banned professional boxing, resulting in the more than 60-year gap between pro fights.

The bout headlined an AGON Sports card at the Meliá Internacional in Varadero, Cuba. Boxing fans around the world could catch the action live on YouTube. Those in Argentina could so so with TyC Sports.

Julio César La Cruz Stops Dilan Prašović

Julio César La Cruz vs. Dilan Prašović Fight Recap

Both fighters kept their hands low in the opening round. While La Cruz was generally outworking his opponent in this round, he did get hit with a pull counter that caused him to initiate a clinch. Early in the second, a left hook from Prašović sent the Cuban to the canvas. La Cruz got up and spent the next minute on the back foot. With under a minute to go in round two, he knocked down Prašović with a right cross. The Montenegrin was able to get up and make it out of the round.

In the third, a jab followed by an overhand right knocked down Prašović a second time. Not long after, he went to the canvas again from a left hand to the face. La Cruz scored his fourth knockdown of the night when he landed a left hook to the body. The referee immediately waved off proceedings after that, giving the Cuban the stoppage victory.

Julio César La Cruz vs. Dilan Prašović Undercard Results

Erislandy Álvarez (4-0, 2 KOs) won via first round knockout against Brainer Soli (21-6-1, 13 KOs). The official time of stoppage for this 10-round super lightweight bout was 0:28. Soli was knocked down by an uppercut followed by two right hooks. He failed to beat the referee’s count, giving Álvarez the knockout win.

Lazaro Álvarez (7-0, 4 KOs) won via seventh round technical knockout against Miguel Santos (10-1-1, 4 KOs). The official time of stoppage for this 10-round lightweight contest was 3:00. In the opening round, Santos was knocked down by an overhand left. He went to the canvas once again in the seventh from a right hand. Santos remained in his corner at the beginning of round eight and did not come out to fight, resulting in a technical knockout win for Álvarez.

Arlen López (4-0, 2 KOs) won a unanimous decision against Martin Bulacio (14-9, 10 KOs) in a 10-round light heavyweight fight. Scores were 100-90 (x2) and 99-91.

Moussa Gholam (23-1, 13 KOs) won via third round technical knockout against Misael Vásquez (17-5-1, 15 KOs). The official time of stoppage for this 10-round super featherweight clash was 1:44. Following a barrage of punches from Gholam, the referee stepped in to end proceedings with Vásquez still standing. The Dominican protested the stoppage, though it was all for naught as his opponent still had his hand raised in the end.

Opening the broadcast on YouTube, Yakelin Estornell (1-0, 1 KO) won via second round technical knockout against Lina Tejada (13-6-1, 10 KOs). The official time of stoppage for this four-round welterweight bout was 1:45. Tejada initiated a clinch after being hit with a couple of overhand rights in the second. When the referee separated the two, she proceeded to walk away from her opponent. As a result, the referee put an end to proceedings.