SAN FRANCISCO – Andy Cruz will fight for just the second time as a professional Saturday night on the Regis Prograis-Devin Haney undercard.
His limited pro experience notwithstanding, the ambitious Olympic gold medalist doesn’t think he is all that far away from taking center stage himself. The confident Cruz predicted during a press conference Thursday at Chase Center that he will win all of boxing’s lightweight titles at some point and go down as one of the sport’s all-time greats.
In the short term, Cuba’s Cruz is fully focused on beating Mexican veteran Jovanni Straffon in the second of three undercard fights DAZN Pay-Per-View will stream before Prograis defends his WBC super lightweight title against Haney in the main event. Straffon (26-5-1, 19 KOs) replaced an injured Hector Tanajara (21-1-1, 6 KOs) on less than three weeks’ notice, but the 30-year-old southpaw is at least a harder puncher than San Antonio’s Tanajara.
“It’s the objective of every fighter to win belts, to win fights,” Cruz said, according to his translator. “And I want to show that I’m coming here and I’m ready for these big challenges. Jovanni’s a great boxer, I respect him. He’s a Mexican fighter. Like all Mexicans, he’s a strong fighter. But I want to show that it’s not just a case of me having a good amateur career. It’s also the case that I’m gonna have a great professional career. And I’m going to become a legend, and I’m going to win all of the belts.”
Unlike most prized prospects, the 28-year-old Cruz has been scheduled for 10 rounds in each of his first two professional fights.
He convincingly outpointed another Mexican gatekeeper, two-time world championship challenger Juan Carlos Burgos, in his pro debut July 15 at Masonic Temple in Detroit. Cruz, who is promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, beat Burgos (35-8-3, 21 KOs) by scores of 100-90, 100-90 and 98-92.
“I’m super prepared for this, for being on a card of such magnitude,” said Cruz, who won the lightweight gold medal at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in August 2021. “You know, I’m looking forward to giving the best of me in this fight. I’m prepared both physically and mentally. … I’m ready to take on each step as it comes on and I’m ready to show that for this fight and for this card, I’m more than ready.”
The show headlined by Prograis (29-1, 24 KOs) and Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT). It’ll cost DAZN subscribers $59.99 and non-subscribers $74.99.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.