Lightweight contender Andy Cruz (3-0, 1 KO) won a decision one-sided 10-round unanimous decision over Brayan Zamarippa (14-3, 5 KOs) on Saturday night at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida.
The 2020 Olympic Cuban gold medalist Cruz looked to dominate the entire fight, landing beautiful shots to the head and body of Zamarripa and rarely getting hit in return by the tough Mexican fighter.
The scores were 100-90, 100-90, and 100-90. With the win, the 28-year-old Cruz regains his IBF International and WBA Continental Latin-American lightweight titles.
Clinical, Yet Conservative
Cruz landed well with his right hand, buckling Zamarripa’s knees with a hard shot in the second round. When Cruz tried to connect with a follow-up shot, Zamarippa smartly tied him up.
In rounds three through eight, Cruz threw single potshots, placing the punches perfectly with excellent accuracy.
Zammarippa survived by moving away, forcing Cruz to pursue him around the ring to land his shots. He rarely threw anything back at Cruz to keep him honest, making the fight kind dull at times.
Cruz’s trainer Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis, the father of IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, was trying to get him to throw combinations, telling him between rounds throw more than one punch at a time.
The Path to PPV Success
For some reason, Cruz couldn’t follow Ennis’ instructions and seemed stuck on his amateur fighting style. That style worked well for him tonight to win a lopsided decision, but it will not make him a superstar in the sport.
Cruz has got to be more entertaining to become a PPV attraction, and the way to do that is to throw combinations, not single punches.
“I know he was just there to survive,” said Andy Cruz to Matchroom Boxing after the fight, talking about Zamarripa. “I learned quite quickly that he wanted to survive and didn’t want to exchange any point.
“What I’ve been saying for a while is I want to be the best, and I want to take gigantic steps. I want to move very quickly, given the experience that I’ve had in the amateurs. So, I want to progress as soon as possible to show that I’m ready for big things in the pro game.
“I want that to come sooner rather than later. I think that progress is going really well. Tonight, it felt like a sparring session in the gym. So, I feel like I’m ready to take those challenges sooner rather than later,” said Cruz.