By Laz Izada: It’s been a long road for (Bantamweight, 118Lbs,Super Bantamweight ,122Lbs) 29 year old boxer Jessy Cruz that turned pro in 2008, after coming off an illustrious amateur career.
In 2008 before turning pro he competed at the Olympic trials for the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. With an amateur record of 32-6 he was also a quarter finalists in the 2006 National Golden Gloves and 2006 National Police Athletic League tournament at 54gs.
His pro career which had high expectations started out on rocky ground as at one point he was 2-2 then 3-3, now he has recently turned things around with a solid 7-4-1 record going 4-1 over the past year. The one defeat in his last 5 fights was against Charlie Serrano 12-2-1, a controversial lost in Serrano’s hometown of Tampa, which fans booed after the results were given feeling Jessy had won the fight.
Jessy which has a 3 year old son and works full time as a professional barber then trains for his upcoming bouts feels good and confident in the direction his pro career is now headed.
Local South Florida promoter Henry Rivalta has never given up on Jesse. Rivalta now Vice President of Acquinity Sports (his promoter based in Deerfield, Fl) only has to say good things about Jessy. He tells me that “Jessy is a great kid; barber, family man, and that Gary Jonas owner of Acquinity Sports and him are behind Jessy 100%”. Rivalta points out that, “Jesse has never been knocked out, that he has a lot of courage and will, and who knows he could be 15-4 at one point down the road fighting for a championship belt”.
Jessy feels that he “would not be where he is today” without Acquinity Sports and his new trainer Herman Caicedo. He has been with Caicedo over a year now. He tells me that Caicedo has helped him “put it all together”, in all aspects of his game.
Caicedo his trainer tells me that “no one trains as hard as Jessy, he is ambitious to learn, great attitude, and a pleasure to work with”. He states that Jessy has no issues, with strong punching power and boxing ability, physically he is at the caliber to compete with the best”.
Jessy and Caicedo both agree that Jessy’s turnaround has come after Caicedo has worked with him improving his “mental toughness” which is very important in any sport at any level.
My assessment of Jessy as a fighter (from seeing him in local fights) is that he is an exciting southpaw, that always puts on a good show, and fights with his heart. He has a solid local growing fan base in South Florida, and is a great guy with an awesome attitude inside and outside the ring.
Saturday night July 21, he will be fighting on the undercard of Acquinity Sports show at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fl.