Paulie Malignaggi says Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz is the “second hottest Mexican fighter in boxing,” just right behind Canelo Alvarez after his eighth-round knockout victory against WBA light welterweight champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero last Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Pitbull Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) had the fans on their feet cheering loudly for him at the T-Mobile Arena with his win. He stole the show from the main event fight between Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora.
When that fight came on afterward, the crowd was quiet in comparison, making it clear that they saw it as a less entertaining match.
Who’s Next for the Red-Hot “Pitbull”?
The question now is, who will Pitbull Cruz fight next? At 5’4″, he’s on the small side to stay at 140 unless it’s for a lucrative fight against WBO champion Teofimo Lopez or Ryan Garcia. Those are the biggest money fights. Cruz has already said that he’s not interested in fighting Devin Haney, as he wants to face guys who come to fight.
A rematch with Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis would be interesting at 135 or 140. It’s likely that Pitbull would have to return to lightweight for that fight to take place because Tank wouldn’t want to come up to 140, and then deal with the pressure from Haney to face him.
Cruz says he’d like to fight Teofimo or IBF champion Subriel Matias. Unfortunately, neither of those guys is available right now, so Cruz will need to go in a different direction unless he wants to sit and wait.
Unbreakable and Entertaining
“He has the attitude of a fighter. Nothing breaks him, he comes forward and even if you put an offensive on him, it doesn’t deter him,” said boxing expert Paulie Malignaggi to the Probox TV YouTube channel about Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz.
“He’s also dependable in that he’s always going to be entertaining. You’re not going to see an Isaac Cruz fight that doesn’t entertain you because his style is pure entertainment.”
The kryptonite for Cruz are fighters that box him, as we saw in his loss to Tank Davis and his narrow win over Giovanni Cabrera. If Pitbull stays at 140, he could have issues if he fights Haney, who will play it safe and use a hit, run, and hold style to win a boring decision.
“At this point, he probably is the second hottest Mexican fighter in boxing besides Canelo Alvarez, who, of course, is the main attraction. In the moment right now, I don’t think there’s a Mexican fighter that is generating more talk in boxing besides Canelo Alvarez and Pitbull Cru,” said Malignaggi.
“One thing about Pitbull is if you put offense on him, it doesn’t break his positioning. Even if you attack Pitbull Cruz, he stays in this little pocket so he can punch back at you. He doesn’t bust position, which is so important.
“It’s subtle and underrated. That’s why he’s consistently dangerous, and that’s why a guy like Rolly Romero, has the worst jab that I can ever imagine. Now, you can’t get this guy off of you because his positioning is always dangerous,” said Malignaggi.