In what is a bad blow to tomorrow night’s undercard action on the Mario Barrios-Manny Pacquiao fight in Las Vegas, it’s been reported by Mike Coppinger that Angel Fierro will not now be squaring off with Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz as originally set. The rematch is now off, this because Fierro struggled mightily to make weight, and he has been pulled out for safety reasons.
(Credit: Esther Lin/Premier Boxing Champions)
Angel Fierro Out of Cruz Fight
“Angel Fierro has been forced to withdraw from Saturday’s rematch with Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, sources told @ringmagazine. The 140-pound fight was scheduled for the Manny Pacquiao-Mario Barrios PPV undercard in Las Vegas. Cruz defeated Fierro in a firefight in February,” Coppinger’s message on X reads.
And, in a follow-up with more details, Coppinger wrote the following:
“Fierro encountered health issues during his weight cut. [I’m] told Fierro is headed to a hospital for observation after he encountered health issues with his weight cut. Wishing him a speedy recovery.”
While this news is, of course, a bad blow for the fans who were very much looking forward to another slugfest between Cruz and Fierro, no fight is worth the health and well-being of one of the fighters. If Fierro had nothing left after trying to make 140 pounds, then of course, he should not have been allowed to fight.
Fierro Moving to Welterweight?
It seems it’s time for Fierro to make the move up to the welterweight division. As Coppinger says, let’s wish Fierro a full recovery, while we also hope he can add some real excitement to the 147-pound division, as he engages in some big fights there if he does indeed make the move up.
Cruz will no doubt be gutted that his fight is off, and at this extremely late stage, no replacement foe will be found for Cruz. One wouldn’t have thought so, anyway.