The 31-year-old and Rio 2016 gold medallist was in phenomenal form and overwhelmed Gadzhimagomedov with his outstanding reflexes in what appeared to be a one-way boxing showdown - with the ROC athlete at times chasing him down in vain and La Cruz not even breaking up a sweat.
With the first two rounds belonging to La Cruz, Gadzhimagomedov picked up the pace in the last round but all his attempts were not enough to outclass the more dominant Cuban boxer.
La Cruz won in three straight sets 5:0 whilst Gadzhimagomedov, who was the 2019 heavyweight world champion, settled for silver.
This is the third gold medal in boxing for Cuba after Roniel Iglesias won the men's welter division and Arlen Lopez capturing gold in the men's light heavy.
Great Britain's cyclists dominate to win first-ever women's madison gold
After 120 laps of the gruelling racing at the Izu Velodrome, Great Britain have won the first-ever Olympic madison gold with a total of 78 points. The British team, made up of Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald, dominated their rivals to become Olympic champions, with Denmark 43 points back on 35 and ROC winning bronze with 26 points.
In an eventful race, which involved multiple crashes, Great Britain were in a league of their own, building an unassailable lead in the 30km race before passing through the finish line for an unforgettable victory.
The Danish team were ecstatic with a hard-earned silver, however, it was Great Britain's legendary cycling duo – this is Kenny's fifth Olympic gold medal and Archibald's second – who stormed to victory, making Olympic history in the process.
Cuba's Andy Cruz reaches lightweight boxing final
Cuba’s Andy Cruz overcame Australia’s Harry Garside in the second lightweight boxing semi-final to secure a place in the fight for the gold medal.
The Cuban boxer, the number-three seed, won by a unanimous decision.
The Cuban double world champion faced an onslaught of quickfire punches from Garside, but the Cuban used his jab effectively to hold off a spirited Australian at the Kokugikan Arena.
Cruz won every round on the scorecards of all five judges. The fight was scored 30-27, 30-27, 30-27m 30-26, 20-26.
Andy Cruz of Team Cuba (red) exchanges punches with Harry Garside of Team Australia during the Men's Light (57-63kg) Semifinal 2 on day fourteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, Japan on August 06, 2021. (Photo: Getty Images)
Despite the defeat, Garside wins the bronze, which is Australia’s first boxing medal in 33 years.
Cruz, who is guaranteed at least a silver medal, will face Team USA’s Keyshawn Davis for the gold.
Li Qian heads to gold-medal match
In a scrappy fight, it was China's Li Qian who came away with the win to head to the women's middleweight division gold-medal bout against British fighter Lauren Price on Sunday (8 August).
The ROC's Zenfira Magomedalieva joined Netherlands’ Nouchka Fontijn, who was beaten by Price in the first semifinal of the day, in winning an Olympic bronze medal.
Li won by unanimous decision, 5-0, in a fight that saw her deducted a point in the second round for punching with the inside of her glove while Magomedalieva was also deducted a point in the same round for excessive holding.
British boxer Lauren Price advances to gold-medal match
British boxer Lauren Price advances to the gold-medal match after beating Netherlands’ Nouchka Fontijn in the women’s middleweight semifinal bout at the Kokugikan Arena.
Price, the world champion, who overcame a slow start and deducted point in the second round due to excessive holding, now has the opportunity to become Olympic champion by virtue of heading to the Olympic final on Sunday (8 Aug).
Fontijn finished her tournament with a bronze medal, unable to improve on her Rio 2016 silver.
USA women dismantle Serbia in straight sets to set sights on first ever Olympic gold
The United States women's volleyball team will play for a maiden gold medal on Sunday after a 25-19, 25-15, 25-23 victory over Serbia.
Five years ago Serbia sent the States to the bronze medal match at Rio 2016. Today was redemption day for the US as they responded by blowing the World and European champions away in straight sets.
The USA have never won Olympic gold, collecting three silver and two bronze medals at past Games but now the Volleyball Nations League champions have eliminated the Rio silver-medallists. And are just one game from Olympic glory.
Basketball: US women all business to defeat Serbia and secure place in eleventh Olympic final
The US women's basketball team continues to steamroll the competition at Tokyo 2020 after they breezed past Serbia 79-59.
Whoever does take on the US in the final will certainly have their work cut out; history favours the team in the red, white and blue. Team USA have won gold in the last six Olympics - dating as far back as Atlanta 1996.
The team that will try and disrupt that consistent flow of gold will be determined later today in the second semi-final between hosts Japan and France.
The US beat both teams in the group stages of the competition.
