Cuba Has 6 Semifinalists, but Still Isn’t Satisfied

Cuba’s highly regarded boxing team placed six in the semifinals, but still came away disappointed Wednesday, losing four bouts.

The first Cuban to lose was 6-foot-8 super-heavyweight Alexis Rubalcaba, who beat up Mukhtarkhan Dildabekov of Kazakhstan in the first round before Dildabekov turned the tables on him and won, 25-12, in the afternoon.

The last Cuban to lose was Juan Hernandez, an Olympic silver medalist in 1992-96, who was outpointed, 15-7, by Yermakhan Ibraimov of Kazakstan at 156 pounds.

Four U.S. boxing were scheduled to fight in the semifinals the next two days: 119-pound Clarence Vinson will box Guillermo Rigondeaux of Cuba tonight. On Friday, light welterweight Ricardo Williams will box Cuba’s Diogenes Luna, and featherweight Rocky Juarez will fight Russia’s Kamil Dzamalutdinov.