Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo (born 14 August 1988) is a Cuban boxer, best known for winning the junior world title at lightweight in 2006, a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and a gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He went on to add to his already impressive Olympic resume by winning another gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo at 33-years-old.
Career
In 2005, Iglesias won the national (senior) flyweight title as a 16-year-old when Olympic champion Yuriorkis Gamboa was out injured. He beat future two-time champ Yoandri Salinas and then Karel Luis in the final.[2] However, the more experienced Andry Laffita who had competed at junior flyweight was sent to the world championships.
In 2006, he competed in January at the national (senior) championships at bantamweight and lost in the semifinal to Idel Torriente, in September he had put on 6 more kilograms and won the 2006 world title at lightweight in Agadir, Morocco. In the quarterfinals he beat Éverton Lopes and then Kazach Azamat Smagulov in the final.[3]
In 2008 he won the junior welter national senior championship, he beat Richard Poll 12:9 in the final and was sent to the Olympic qualifier in Trinidad where he beat another teenager Javier Molina in the semifinal to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics where he lost his semi to defending champion Manus Boonjumnong.[4][5]
In the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Iglesias won the gold medal by defeating Denys Berinchyk from Ukraine by a score of 22–15.[6][5]
1904: 135–145 lb (61.2–65.8 kg) · 1920–1936: 135–147 lb (61.2–66.7 kg) · 1948: 62–67 kg · 1952–2000: 63.5–67 kg · 2004–2012: 64–69 kg · 2016: 65–69 kg · 2020–2024: 64–69 kg · 2024–: 64–71 kg
