The ‘Pitbull’ gave a hard stare at ‘El Rayo’ as their eyes locked. The final presser and weigh-in of the much anticipated Terence Crawford–Israil Madrimov fight card are over. Only the fighting remains. For Isaac Cruz, it’s a crucial contest. The 26-year-old, after all, achieved his world championship dream early this year. So there’s no way he is going to let a challenger take it away so easily.

Isaac Cruz suffered his second career loss to Gervonta Davis three years ago. He won a slew of regional titles thereafter. Finally, this year, he decided to pursue a world championship in a different weight class. To date, he remains one of only two fighters to take the deadly ‘Tank’ the whole distance. Given the rout he handed to Rolando Romero on March 30, to many, ‘Pitbull’ remains the favorite to win on Saturday night. As he sits and contemplates his strategy to stop an equally heavy-hitting Jose Valenzuela, a sense of déjà vu might have forced the ‘Pitbull’ to reflect on his last few fights. What he revealed in an interview might surprise a few fans.

Romero finally beats the ‘Tank’: Isaac Cruz

Through its Instagram handle, DAZN Boxing shared a short clip of Isaac Cruz attending a rapid-fire question round. The best fight he had ever seen was the one between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. Next, he shared that his favorite shot remains the right hook. Seemingly, it shook a few of his opponents, including Felix Junior, Gervonta Davis, and Rolando Romero.

But what about the receiving part? ‘Pitbull’ recalled that the boxers who had hit him the hardest were ‘Tank’ Davis and ‘Rolly’ Romero. Career’s toughest fight thus far? No, it’s not the dance at the Staples Center with the Baltimorean. The light welterweight champion would rather give that honor to the PBC-Amazon Prime fight card with Romero.

Continuing with the series, Isaac Cruz revealed that the ‘proudest moments of his life’ have been the fights against Davis and Romero. The Mexican boxer considers either Hawaii or New York as the best choice for a dream vacation. The ‘dream fight’ would be against any of the world champions in the 140-pound weight class in a stadium packed with fans.

“On August 3, I’m going to give a great show because that’s what I prepared for,” said the world champion, closing.

Dominant to Dominance

As one of the fans joked on the post, many might wonder why Romero. The whole world watched in amazement as ‘Pitbull’ hammered the American champion with relative ease. Left with no answer to Cruz’s questions, Romero resorted to clinching, eventually losing a point. The eighth round saw Isaac Cruz thrashing ‘Rolly’ Romero’ first with a left hook and following up with a combination that finally forced the referee to step in and stop the fight.

Given a lot is at stake, a win looks like a must for Isaac Cruz. Aside from retaining his belt, a triumph will ensure that he stays at the top of the game. Subsequently, he can chase either Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez, or who knows Liam Paro for a much bigger payday and title unification. There are chances that against the resurgent ‘El Rayo’ he might go full-on, like the way he did against Rolando Romero. A deadly combination of hook and haymakers could be in the game plan to wreck ‘El Rayo’s advance.

Do you also agree with Isaac Cruz’s views on the ‘Rolly’ Romero fight?