Again and again the Russian Muslim Gadzhimagomedov looked for him on the ring. One blow to the air, another, a third, and with each failed attempt the hopes of a man who is a world champion at 91 kg and came to Tokyo to extend his reign were diluted.
However, he only found a ghost, a shadow used to rise to first place and now ready to conquer his second Olympic crown. When the referee finally pointed to the Cuban as the winner, Julio César turned to the cameras and said it very clearly: "I am the Cross."
As on so many other occasions, the captain of the flagship looked impressive on the tarp. A feint, a torso movement, a provocation with the guard down to incite the opponent and tempt him to strike first. Only then did Julius Caesar go on the counterattack. A fast, precise entry, and again outside, to dissolve on a ring that when he fights seems much bigger, more slippery.
The first round was a good 4-1. From the stands, Roniel Iglesias, another champion, told him over and over again. Beside him, another voice took over the Kokugikan Arena with a long shout of "captain", as if the word echoed and never ended amid the sound of Julius Caesar's blows.
One round later the story ended 5-0 and "the shadow" had more than half the way. Then it would be much more difficult to find it on the ring.
The final round was even, but the Cuban got the best part and also turned it into a victory. Dressed in blue, calm, he received the verdict. First in English, then in the local language. Later the voice that marked him as the champion. Only then did he turn around and salute the stands, his teammates who did not stop supporting him, the tricolor flag that has always accompanied each victory.
The erect chest, the straight body, the hand of the best blows on the forehead in martial salute. It is the gesture that Julius Caesar has made his sign. Mission accomplished, he thought, as if proving he's the best in the world at his division was always his purpose. Before this success he had barely competed at 91 kg.
Perhaps that is why he spoke of Alcides Sagarra and dedicated the triumph to him. From him he learned discipline, humility and sacrifice, three qualities that led him to become the eleventh two-time Olympic champion of Cuban boxing. Then he returned to a wish that he has been repeating for days.
“With the respect of the great champion Mijaín López,” he acknowledges, “but if he decides not to attend Paris 2024, I would like to carry the Cuban flag there. I have won two gold medals, but that would be my greatest pride ”.
And it would also be for Cuba. See him appear with the emblem on top, bright as his career, and say from each of the places where there is a Creole: “that's the Cross.
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