On the card of the Riyadh season headlined by Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov, defending WBA super-lightweight world champion Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KOs) was defeated in 12 rounds. split decision over Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KOs) on Saturday, August 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Isaac Cruz was just coming off his fight win over Rolando “Rolly” Romero. His opponent, Jose Valenzuela, also entered the August 3 bout with momentum after knocking out Chris Colbert out cold in the sixth round.
In the opening round of the Cruz-Valenzuela matchup, defending champion Cruz came out with his trademark style of relentless aggression. Cruz had early success, but Valenzuela quickly adapted to his opponent’s pressing style.
Boxer Jose Valenzuela showed patience, timing, footwork, stamina, and ring IQ as he settled and dictated the pace of the fight. He did a professional job landing his countershots, as the uppercut was money all night.
After the 12-round contest, one judge scored it 115-113 in favor of Cruz, but two other judges overturned that card, scoring the contest 116-112 in favor of Jose Valenzuela.
Isaac Cruz will relinquish his WBA belt to Jose Valenzuela in his first title defense. Because of this shocking upset, is a Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz rematch officially off the table?
In December 2021, Gervonta Davis defended his WBA (Regular) lightweight title against Isaac Cruz. Cruz’s pressure seemed to affect Davis in the first few rounds, but by round 3, Davis was starting to slow down, scoring important points.
Unfortunately for Davis, he suffered a hand injury in the 6th round. Even if Gervonta Davis could go on and pull off a one-handed unanimous decision victory, for some reason, a certain group of fight fans were calling for a Davis vs. Cruz rematch.
During a post-fight interview, Jim Gray asked Davis, “Should this be repeated?” Davis replied, “hell no!” Some fight fans did not understand Tank’s answer as they thought that Davis said no because of Cruz’s competition in their first fight.
To be honest, Davis answered no because if Cruz couldn’t win the fight when Davis was forced to use one-handed surgery in the last six rounds, how was Cruz going to win the second fight when Davis was able to use it. both hands to get 12 full rounds?
As the years have passed, Isaac Cruz has been looking for a rematch against Gervonta Davis. Davis is nowhere near confirming a rematch against Isaac Cruz, but it seems like something Davis was willing to consider.
When he fights inside the ring, Gervonta Davis works like a machine. He retrieves information, breaks down his opponent, and finally gets an amazing stoppage.
Davis had to settle for a one-handed decision victory, but with two hands over the course of 12 rounds, Davis would likely stop or dominate Pitbull Cruz.
Many fight fans are in awe of Tank’s power, but others fail to realize that Davis has great boxing skills and a high ring IQ in addition to striking power.
Pitbull Cruz’s ability to make Tank Davis fight on the back foot gave the illusion that Pitbull is on Tank’s level, but to be honest, he is not.
On the night of August 3rd, Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela carried out the plan of his trainer Robert Garcia perfectly. As a result, he pulled off a stunning upset over Pitbull Cruz, and is now the new WBA super-lightweight champion.
With the win, Jose Valenzuela earned his first world title and set himself up to pursue more lucrative opportunities. Valenzuela helped himself and indirectly helped the fans in the fights because the way he defeated Pitbull Cruz showed boxing fans that the Davis-Cruz rematch is a highly anticipated event that could end up being a one-sided affair.
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