Jose Valenzuela shocks Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz for the WBA junior welterweight title

LOS ANGELES – When he heard, “… and it’s new,” Jose Valenzuela raised his hands, closed his eyes, and knelt with a happy canvas. The lanky, 5-foot-10 southpaw used his range, stayed with the game plan, and did something many didn’t think he could do—beat Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz.

Valenzuela, 25, (14-2, 9 knockouts) defeated Cruz by split decision to win the WBA junior welterweight title on Saturday night at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California.

Judges Rudy Barragan (116-112) and Eddie Hernandez (115-113) ruled in favor of Valenzuela, beating Pat Russell’s card (116-112 for Cruz).

“I’m speechless, I’m speechless because of a dream come true,” said Valenzuela. “I had to be smart. I did not despair. I was not under pressure. I just kept quiet. I felt great, I felt in control the whole time, using my speed, using my footwork. This is because of my mother and father and all the sacrifices they made.”

CompuBox statistics showed Valenzuela’s victory. Valenzuela outshot Cruz, 171(37)/516 (33%) to 118 (63)/521, a difference of 53 punches. He outboxed Cruz on power punches, 138 (36)/337 to 112 (61)/413. According to CompuBox, Valenzuela hit double digits in 11 of 12 rounds and Cruz hit double digits in 5 of 12 rounds.

The judges agreed on just three rounds, the first (for Cruz), the seventh and the 10th. On Russell’s scorecard, Valenzuela has won five of his last six rounds, while Barragan has Valenzuela winning four of his last six.

Clearly, Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KOs) thought he had won the fight.

“Just listen to this crowd,” he said. “They are the judges; not me. I have to do my job and let everyone else decide. I would like to officially request a replay. I would definitely like to throw that down.”

In the opening seconds, the 5-foot-10 Valenzuela tried to put his 7-inch southpaw to good use and blocked Cruz with a jab, though it didn’t matter. Cruz tags in and lands a chop, big shot on Valenzuela.

Cruz is hard to pin down. Small to begin with, it is made much smaller by bending, the way forward.

Ten seconds into the second round, Cruz backed Valenzuela into the corner and hit him with a flurry of shots, several of which hit him in the head. Cruz is not against the rights to earn from his bent position. At :27 seconds into the second, Cruz landed Valenzuela with a right to the face.

Valenzuela opened the third better than the previous two rounds. He kept Cruz off with his jab, and he was his size and distance. After a few seconds, Cruz closed the distance and started coming again. He began landing a left uppercut as Cruz approached. It was a good first round for Valenzuela, landing a jab, and getting out of the way of a hard charging Cruz.

Can Valenzuela continue?

Valenzuela again used size in the fourth, although a minute into the round, Cruz was able to hold on and connect. But Valenzuela, in the second straight round, did well to block Cruz and land a jab.

After four, the fight could even be two rounds apiece.

In the fifth, Valenzuela had Cruz fired up and missing badly. Cruz tried to come at Valenzuela like a giant crab, with its curved, clawed claws. But he was getting punched and punched out from Cruz.

Between the fourth and fifth, Cruz’s corner begged him to be patient, not to lose hope. Valenzuela seemed frustrated with Cruz.

Going into the sixth, it turned into a competitive battle. With 1:03 left in the fifth, Valenzuela landed a right uppercut to Cruz’s chin with his knees locked.

Cruz didn’t seem to have a Plan B. He continued to try to get in his way and was being given time by Valenzuela, who was getting high scores. He was still at a distance when Cruz lowered his head and threw him badly.

Valenzuela, showing good ring generalship, landed a left uppercut to Cruz’s stomach with 1:33 left in the seventh. Cruz took the shot. Although it’s a goal. At the end of the round, Valenzuela was supporting Cruz.

In the eighth, Cruz closed some distance. But Cruz relied on one punch. Valenzuela was nailing Cruz with combinations. In the middle of the eighth, Valenzuela did a great job, hitting Cruz at will, then getting out of the way. He closed out the round with Cruz on the ropes.

In the ninth, Cruz hit a punishing hook that forced Valenzuela’s head to deflect. Valenzuela again fought smartly in the 10th, although Cruz connected with a big right to the body.

Sensing that he might be in trouble, Cruz laid low on Valenzuela in the first 11 minutes. Before Valenzuela exited in 11th place, he was told by his corner that he still had two rounds to win the title. CompuBox stats favored Valenzuela. In the closing seconds of the 11th round, Cruz tagged Valenzuela and put him in trouble. Valenzuela was able to stay in the round, but Cruz’s right added drama to the final round.

With 2:05 left in the final round, Cruz took Valenzuela’s head back with a straight right. Valenzuela landed a right uppercut with 1:30 left in the fight. Valenzuela closed well, though Cruz may have done enough to win the final round.

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has worked for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.