Isaac Cruz is already targeting Devin Haney, George Kambosos Jr., and Vasily Lomachenko for his next fight following his close 12 round unanimous defeat last Sunday night against WBA lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
If Pitbull Cruz can’t get a rematch with Tank, he’d like to challenge WBC lightweight champion Haney or four-belt champ Kambosos for their straps.
As Tank (26-0, 24 KOs) said, a “star was born” with Cruz (22-2-1, 15 KOs) putting on an impressive performance in coming close to unseating the unbeaten champion in their headliner fight on Showtime PPV at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Indeed, many boxing fans felt that the 23-year-old ‘Pitbull’ Cruz did enough to deserve the victory over Tank. However, the judges had the final say so, scoring it 115-113, 115-113, and 116-112.
Cruz says he would like a rematch, but Tank has already rejected that idea, saying, “Hell, no.” You can understand why Tank would be reluctant to fight the hard-hitting Cruz a second time.
Besides how tough Pitbull Cruz is, there are bigger money fights out there, Davis, starting with a match against undisputed lightweight champions George Kambosos Jr.
The only way Cruz gets a rematch with Gervonta is if he can capture a world title, but that’s going to take a while. Cruz may have scared off the other champions at 135 with his performance against Tank Davis.
“I think we got robbed by the judges,” said Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz to ESNEWS on his loss to Gervonta Davis.
“Haney, #1, Kambosos #2, and Lomachenko #2,” Cruz said in naming the top three fights he wants next. “I can beat a lot of big-name fighters out there.”
Out of the three names Pitbull Cruz mentioned, Lomachenko would be the most likely to fight him. Haney has already said he’s going to be moving up to 140 after two more fights, and he’s going to make sure those matches involve big names.
Kambosos is already looking for the biggest money fight available, which will be against Haney or Tank Davis. It’s debatable whether Kambosos will be either of those two guys. This writer doubts Kambosos will still be champion after his next fight if he faces one of those two.
Cruz would have an excellent chance of beating Kambosos and Haney, but maybe not so much against Lomachenko due to his incredible boxing skills.
“We showed the people that we could come forward, and that’s what we did,” Cruz said of his fight with Gervonta. “They’ll recognize me more after this fight,” said Pitbull.
The power, high work rate, and his nonstop attacking style of fighting make Isaac Cruz a nightmare for anyone in the 135-lb division. It would be fun to see Cruz and Ryan Garcia go at it in a title eliminator for one of the belts.
Ryan has passed up title shots against Devin Haney, but he might be game to take on Cruz after seeing the kind of excitement he generated against Tank. Ryan vs. Cruz would bring in a lot of new subscribers on DAZN, and it would get a lot of boxing fans interested in watching these two all-action fighters.
“He can say what he wants, but nobody can handle going toe-to-toe for 12 rounds against me. From now on, we’re going to prepare much better, so we have no problems securing that 135 division in a more healthy way and preparation,” said Cruz.
After the fight, Cruz looked unmarked, as if he hadn’t been in a match at all. It’s surprising how fresh he looked after the match. Usually, Tank’s opponents are beaten up and look like they’ve come out of a warzone, but not Cruz.
“My real motivation in this sport is my wife and my son, and that’s what I’m in this sport for. We’ll be looking forward to the rematch,” said Pitbull Cruz on wanting a second fight against Gervonta.
