Isaac Cruz has been fighting like a man possessed ever since he crossed paths with Gervonta Davis. He may have given it everything he had on that warm December night in Los Angeles, but Cruz, reluctantly, was forced to walk away with a close decision loss.
Since then, if you even looked his way, Cruz wanted to fight. With three consecutive victories under his belt, the 25-year-old was hopeful that Davis would be impressed. He might be, but it hasn’t been enough to earn him a rematch.
The lightweight division still houses a ton of well-known names but Cruz (25-2-1, 17 KOs) has decided to wash his hands of the division and head on over to the 140-pound landscape. Instead of taking on a soft touch in his debut, he’ll throw himself right in the shark-infested portion of the super lightweight pool and take on Rolando “Rolly” Romero.
It might be his first time venturing off into unknown territory but the oddsmakers like his chances. Cruz is an aggressive fighter, one who puts on mind-numbing pressure. Although it’s worked on countless occasions, Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions, believes his biggest asset will be exposed as his greatest flaw.
“We know that Pitbull’s gonna come,” explained Ellerbe to Fight Hub TV. “I think that’s gonna play right into Rolly’s hands.”
Romero’s skills have always been placed under the microscope and chastised profusely but his power, on the other hand, has never been doubted. Most recently, he rode it to the finish line as he scored a controversial stoppage win over Ismael Barroso.
Few have stood directly in front of Romero and traded bombs with him. Even Davis, who ultimately stopped him, boxed and moved before finding the fight-ending shot in the sixth.
Ellerbe has been to enough of Romero’s scraps in person. More times than not, the heads of his opponents bounce violently off the canvas and remain there. By and large, the longtime CEO is expecting a similar result.
“I think he’s gonna win, he’s gonna win emphatically and I think Rolly is gonna clip him early. Would not surprise me one bit.”