Julio Cesar La Cruz Peraza

Sport: Boxing

Nation: Cuba

DOB: August 11, 1989

Career Highlights: After failing to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games, Cesar la Cruz is clearly one of the top medal contenders among Cuban boxers and is the national team's captain. The No. 1 ranked boxer in his weight class according to AIBA, Cesar la Cruz earned his way to the top after two first-place finishes in 2011. He earned his Olympic berth that year with an impressive performance at the world championships. Cesar la Cruz defeated rising stars Damien Hooper and Enrico Koelling before beating top seed and former world champ Egor Mekhontsey 21-15 in the semifinal round. That was good enough to get Cesar la Cruz into the 2012 Games, but he went on to win gold with a 17-13 victory over Adilbek Niyazmybetov in the final. He took the momentum from that triumph into the Pan American Games two weeks later and was dominant. He won his final three matches by a combined score of 60-23, including a 22-12 victory over Yamaguchi Florentino, who also will be competing in the Olympics.

Olympic History: None