By Manuel Perez: Undefeated super featherweight contender Urbano Antillon (25-0, 18 KOs) stopped Juan Ramon Cruz (15-6-1, 11 KOs) in the 4th round of a scheduled 10-round bout on Friday night at the Alameda Swap Meet, in Los Angeles, California. Antillon, 26, ranked #1 in the World Boxing Council, #3 in the WBO, #6 in the WBA and #10 in the IBF, knocked Cruz down three times en route to stopping him in the 4th round with a hard right hand body shot. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. then halted the fight at 1:35 of the round.
Cruz, 30, who had lost four out of his last six fights going into Friday night’s bout, was stopped seconds into the fight with a short right hand to the jaw. After receiving a standing eight count, Cruz continued fighting and lasted out the round after taking a lot of hard shots from Antillon. In the 2nd round, Antillon continued giving Cruz a lambasting, hitting him with exceptionally hard jabs and short right hands to the body and head.
Cruz, from Puerto Rico, did little until late in the round when he was finally able to offer up a few feeble right hands. However, just when things were going good for him, Cruz was staggered in the last seconds of the round by a left to the head and a right uppercut.
In the 3rd round, Antillon knocked Cruz down again, this time with a left hook to the body that sent him down after a delayed reaction. Cruz would then take a battering for the next minute as Antillon tried hard to end the fight. However, Cruz fought back hard, outworking Antillon in the last minute of the rounds and landing hard right hands and jabs to the head of Antillon.
Cruz fought reasonably well in the 4th round, landing left hands and jabs. However, he once again came under heavy fire from Antillon, who after hitting him with a series of hard shots to the body, finally put him down for good with a right hand to the body. Cruz got up, but referee Raul Caiz Jr. stopped it anyway, ending the fight at 1:35 of the round.
As good as the win is, it’s high time that Antillon start considering stepping up the level of his opponents. He’s fought almost entirely soft opposition since turning pro in 2000, and none of them will prepare him adequately for a fight against WBC title holder Humberto Soto, who will be a huge step up in competition for Antillon. That said, even under the best of circumstances, Antillon would be an almost no win situation against Soto, because he doesn’t appear to have the size, work rate or power to compete with a fighter as good as Soto.
Antillon would be much better off going after WBO champion Nicky Cook, a fighter than Antillon matches up well against. Antillon could probably win that fight, but against Soto, I see Antillon being knocked out well before the distance.