Should Ryan Garcia fight Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz next?

By Boxing News - 04/19/2022 - Comments

By Jeff Aronow: Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz is inviting Ryan Garcia & his promoter Oscar De La Hoya to begin negotiations with him for a fight following his fifth-round knockout of Yuriorkis Gamboa last Saturday.

After the fight, Ryan Garcia posted on Twitter, saying that he wants to face Pitbull Cruz in July at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. For his part, De La Hoya offered the 23-year-old Cruz an offer of $1 million to take the fight with Ryan next.

To be sure, it’s a VERY risky fight for the popular Ryan, considering he’s fought fringe contenders and second-tier opposition throughout the whole of his six-year professional career.

Pitbull Cruz hasn’t been pampered in the same way, already having faced Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis last December, and coming close to beating him.

If Ryan & De La Hoya choose not to take the fight with Cruz (23-2-1, 16 KOs), you can hardly blame them. Cruz is an advanced-level fighter with a style that would be murderous for the young Ryan.

“They said I needed to win this fight [against Yuriorkis Gamboa]. Oscar De La Hoya and Ryan Garcia, come on down and negotiate with us. Let’s make this fight happen, but NOT on social media. Let’s negotiate and let’s not dance, let’s fight,” said Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz.

What we saw from Ryan Garcia in his last fight against Emmanuel Tagoe on April 9th was a fighter that needs work on offense, and defense, and is lacking in the courage department.

While Ryan defeated Tagoe by a convincing near shutout victory over 12 rounds, he looked one-dimensional overly reliant on his left hook. Despite having a huge height advantage over Tagoe, the 5’10” Ryan failed to use his jab and seemed to be afraid of using that punch.

“#Garciacruz at the Crypto Stadium or better known as Staples Center in LA would be fire šŸ”„ Iā€™m ready for it in July! The Fans you guys can make this happen! Just push it and we will have our hands flying!” said Ryan Garcia on Twitter.

If Ryan or De La Hoya change their mind and decide not to go through with the fight with Isaac Cruz, there’s always Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz Jr. whom they can set up a match against next.

Ryan vs. Diaz Jr. would do well on DAZN, and it’s a safe fight for King Ry. Jojo Diaz is slow, doesn’t possess huge power, and his work rate is low for a lightweight. It would be a winnable fight for Ryan, and less dangerous than if he were to battle Pitbull Cruz.

With that said, Ryan is going to need to be able to beat fighters like Cruz if he’s to have any hope of capturing a world title and defending it against the young lions in the 135-lb division.

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