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VILLEPINTE, France — Two-time Olympic gold medal-winning boxer Julio César La Cruz of Cuba lost his opening bout at the Paris Games. He lost by split decision to Loren Alfonso, a Cuban defector who fights for Azerbaijan. La Cruz won the first round of the heavyweight bout but lost the last two rounds on three of the five judges' scorecards to lose the 3-2 decision. He graciously accepted the result with Alfonso. La Cruz was attempting to join Laszlo Papp of Hungary and fellow Cubans Teofilo Stevenson and Felix Savon as the only three-time gold medalists in Olympic boxing history.
