Eddie Hearn states that lightweight Andy Cruz is two fights from challenging for a world title at 135. The 2020 Olympic gold medalist Cruz (3-0, 1 KOs) faces Antonio Moran (30-6-1, 21 KOs) on August 3rd at His Excellency Turki Alakshikh’s event at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Despite only having three fights as a pro, Cruz is ranked #8 WBA, #8 WBC, #9 IBF and #15 WBO. His ranking is based on his talent, as he’s considered arguably a top three-level fighter at 135, just below #1 Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis and #2 Vasily Lomachenko.
Hearn has tried his best to lure Keyshawn Davis to fight Andy Cruz but with no luck. The talented Cuban Cruz has already beaten Keyshawn four times in amateur competition, including in the 2020 Olympic finals. Still, in the pro ranks, the Top Rank-promoted American doesn’t want to chance it to risk suffering a fifth consecutive defeat.
Cruz recently defeated Brayan Zamarripa by a ten-round unanimous decision on February 24th in Orlando, Florida. Cruz’s performance mirrored his nickname, ‘Diamond,’ because he looked like a valuable gem with the way he schooled Zamarripa the entire fight, easily outboxing the slugger.
Antonio Moran has lost to Jamaine Ortiz, Arnold Barboza, Devin Haney, and Jose Pedraza. He’s a good fighter who will prove a test for Cruz to show his ability in this important card on August 3rd on ESPN+ PPV.
“I think this is the perfect platform for Andy Cruz. I think you’re talking about a pound-for-pound star,” said Eddie Hearn to Matchroom Boxing, discussing the upcoming fight for 2020 Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz, who faces Antonio Moran on the Riyadh Season card on August 3rd in Los Angeles.
It would be nice if Hearn could get a top contender for Andy Cruz to fight next after his match against Moran. One of these contenders would be perfect for Cruz to fight next if Hearn can bang out a deal:
– Joe Cordina
– Mark Chamberlain
– Edwin De Los Santos
– Frank Martin
– Gustavo Lemos
– Raymond Muratalla
– Keyshawn Davis
“It’s a good step up for Antonio Moran; he is always in good fights,” said Hearn. “A Mexican is going to have good support in Los Angeles as well. It’s the kind of fight for Andy Cruz to shine. Moran will come to fight and bring the best out of Andy Cruz.”
With an excellent performance, Cruz could steal the show from the main event fight between Terence Crawford and WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov. It’s vital that Cruz focus more on his offense and less on his hit-and-not-get-hit style of fighting, which has brought praise from Shakur Stevenson.
“Probably this fight and maybe one more, and Andy Cruz is ready to fight for a world championship at 135 pounds,” said Hearn.
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