A promoter’s job is to promote, naturally, but has Eddie Hearn been guilty of going too far, of getting too excited, about recent signing Andy Cruz? Cruz, who had an absolutely sensational amateur career, with the Cuban lightweight winning Olympic gold, two gold medals at the Pan Am Games, and no less than three gold medals at the AIBA World Championships.
Cruz’s list of amateur credentials is truly impressive, and now Hearn feels the 27 year old will go on to achieve greatness as pro level. In fact, Hearn has gone on record as saying Cruz “may be our greatest ever signing,” and that “in over 30 years of watching boxing, he’s one of the most special fighters I have ever seen.”
Hearn went further, telling Boxing Social how he would back Cruz to defeat current 135 pound top dogs Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson right now!
“As much as I rate Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney and all those guys, I wouldn’t even back against Andy Cruz beating them now,” Hearn said.
This is of course quite the bold statement. How good, how special is Cruz? It’s going to be a whole lot of fun following the Cuban talent as he goes on his pro journey, that’s for sure. Cruz is likely to make his anticipated pro debut in July and he will campaign in the lightweight division. Do the likes of Haney, Stevenson, Lomachenko, Tank, and others have some serious stuff to worry about as Cruz gets ready to invade the 135 pound division?
They sure do if Hearn is correct in his high praise of Cruz, who compiled a 140-9 amateur record. Unusually for a Cuban boxer, Cruz, who hails from Matanzas, Cuba, fights out of the orthodox stance, not the southpaw stance. During his amateur career, Cruz picked up wins over, amongst others…Keyshawn Davis, Elvis Rodriguez, Ivan Kozlovsky, and Hovhannes Bachkov.
How much gold will Cruz earn in the pro ranks? Again, it should be exciting finding out.