Isaac Cruz didn’t want distraction of Ryan Garcia fight until he finishes February 1 bout

Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz believed that agreeing to a major fight against Ryan Garcia with another bout yet to be fought was bad luck, so he withdrew from the golden opportunity, according to Cruz’s adviser, Sean Gibbons.

“Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz would absolutely love to fight Ryan Garcia, but with the timing of this coming out as ‘Pitbull’ is scheduled to fight February 1, he didn’t feel comfortable negotiating another fight and turning his attention to that fight, too. It was bad luck in his eyes,” Gibbons said.

Cruz, 26-3-1 (18 KOs), defeated Romero, 16-2 (13 KOs), by eighth-round TKO for the WBA junior welterweight title on March 30. Cruz lost that belt to Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela on August 3.

He meets Mexican countryman and action fighter Angel Fierro, 23-2-2 (18 KOs) on the February 1 pay-per-view card (streaming on Amazon Prime Video and PPV.com) headlined by the light heavyweight battle of unbeatens between David Benavidez and David Morrell at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“It’s bad luck to him. He’s seen Jaime Munguia take a [December] fight when he had bigger fights awaiting him against guys like Edgar Berlanga and Caleb Plant, and [Munguia] got knocked out,” Gibbons said. “You need to concentrate on what’s in front of you.

“So ‘Pitbull’ let us know that – unfortunately – due to the timing, he has to wait after this first fight. After that, he’s happy to discuss all the details, because, again, it’s a fact that he believes he would knock Ryan Garcia dead.”

Garcia meets Romero years after the pair flirted with the idea of fighting as proteges of long-bitter rivals Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jnr, respectively.

Romero returned from his Cruz loss to defeat Manuel Jaimes by unanimous decision in September, and he’s remained busy in his Las Vegas gym, ready for whatever assignment emerged.

Alalshikh’s New York card will also include Garcia’s bitter rival and former two-division champion Devin Haney against former unified 140-pound titleholder Jose Ramirez in another welterweight bout, while heavyweight Martin Bakole will meet Efe Ajagba in a title eliminator. 

Gibbons said he explained Cruz’s logic to Alalshikh’s events company, Sela, and they understood and “will revisit this again in the future.”

Gibbons indicated the card could be staged on May 2, the traditional Cinco de Mayo weekend that has been the boxing domain of Mexico’s superstar Canelo Alvarez.

“It’s just bad timing,” Gibbons said. “We’re going to now turn our attention to step one with Angel Fierro. It’s not an easy fight. It’d be kind of disrespectful for ‘Pitbull’ – knowing the history of this in boxing – to look forward to another fight and turn the other guy into a tuneup.”

Fighters such as Terry Norris and Tommy Morrison have blown greater paydays by accepting an interim fight and losing it.

“All of a sudden, that other fight is in the back of their mind and they lose focus,” Gibbons said. “Isaac Cruz is an intelligent fighter. He wants to focus on one opponent, Angel Fierro. He has nothing on his mind other than February 1. Yes, he can talk about Ryan or Gervonta Davis, as he’s done. But signing for the actual fight? That’s risking losing focus. That’s it. That’s how this went down.”

Gibbons said he wasn’t moved to talk Cruz out of it.

“It’s like what your grandmother used to say: ‘Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.’ Everything’s back on the table after the [Fierro] fight, but why take your eye off of it, to start talking about things coming up? You want to paint Fierro as a gimme? That’s when you get beat,” Gibbons said.

“It’s just the right decision. If he had agreed to this fight [with Garcia], what’s Angel Fierro thinking? ‘A-ha, OK, you disrespect me, you think I’m fucking easy? I’m coming to whoop your ass, and I’ll be the one fighting Ryan Garcia.’”

Gibbons said Cruz promoter Premier Boxing Champions did not meddle in this decision.

“This was absolutely the sole decision by ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, plain and simple.”