Lightweight Lazaro Alvarez Estrada was one of four Cuban boxers to taste victory on day four of the 2017 AIBA World Championships ©AIBA

Cuba demonstrated their strength on day four of the 2017 International Boxing Association World Championships with all the country’s competing fighters picking up unanimous points wins to reach their respective quarter-finals.

Among them were reigning world champions Lazaro Alvarez Estrada and Julio César La Cruz.

Lightweight Alvarez Estrada defeated The Netherlands’ Enrico Lacruz to begin his quest for a fourth-consecutive World Championship gold medal.

The 26-year-old topped the bantamweight podium in 2011 before claiming the lightweight title in 2013 and 2015.

La Cruz, meanwhile, is bidding for a fourth-successive light heavyweight crown on the global stage to add to the Olympic gold medal he won at Rio 2016.

The two other Cuban winners today were flyweight Yosbany Veitia and welterweight Roniel Iglesias.

Veitia is aiming to go one better than his silver-medal winning performance at the 2015 World Championships in Doha and started with a comprehensive victory over the Philippines’ Dannel Maamo.

Iglesias, the former Olympic and world light welterweight champion, overcame Jordan’s Zeyad Eashash.

The only country to eclipse Cuba’s winning tally today was Uzbekistan with the nation ending the two sessions on a unblemished record of five victories out of five.

Three of their triumphs came in the afternoon session, headlined by super heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov’s knock-out success over Denmark’s Kem Larsen.

Flyweight Jasurbek Latipov was among a quintet of winners for Uzbekistan ©AIBA
Flyweight Jasurbek Latipov was among a quintet of winners for Uzbekistan ©AIBA

Welterweight Shakhram Giyasov and lightweight Elnur Abduraimov were also impressive in claiming unanimous points wins.

Rio 2016 silver medallist Giyasov beat Ukraine’s Ievgenii Barabanov and 2015 world bronze medallist Abduraimov defeated Armenia’s Karen Tonakanyan.

A perfect day for Uzbekistan was completed in the evening as flyweight Jasurbek Latipov, a two-time world medallist, overcame Bulgaria’s Daniel Asenov 3-2 and middleweight Bektemir Melikuziev, the reigning Olympic and world silver medallist, beat Russia’s Muslim Gadzhimagomedov.

Hosts Germany also had a largely successful day, recording victories in three of their four contests.

The afternoon session saw lightweight Murat Yildirim and light heavyweight Ibragim Bazuev triumph over Japan’s Arashi Morisaka and England’s Thomas Hart respectively.

Super heavyweight Max Keller, meanwhile, suffered a crushing 5-0 defeat at the hands of Kazakhstan’s Kamshybek Kunkabayev.

Welterweight Abass Baraou got the home nation back on the winning trail in the evening session, however, with a 4-0 success over the Dominican Republic’s Juan Solano Santos.

Action in Hamburg is due to continue tomorrow when the semi-finalists in all 10 weight categories are set to be decided.