Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KOs) outboxed WBA light welterweight champion Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KOs), beating him by a 12-round split decision in the chief support bout on Saturday night at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
(Credit: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing)
Rayo’s Masterful Boxing Display
‘Rayo’ Valenzuela used his 5’10” height, long reach, and technical skills to pick apart the 5’4″ Cruz, who was making his first defense of his WBA 140-lb title. Valenzuela did an excellent job of outboxing Cruz and neutralizing his offense with his movement.
The scores were 116-112, 116-112 for Rayo, and 115-113 for Cruz.
Many fans weren’t happy with the results, believing that Pitbull had done enough to deserve the win. The fans booed the decision and continued to boe while Rayo was interviewed inside the ring.
Cruz constantly applied pressure but was getting hit while coming in by Rayo. After Cruz was hurt by an uppercut in the sixth round, he was more cautious and not as reckless with his attacks.
Valenzuela banked many of the early rounds with his slick skills and then milked his lead in the championship rounds to earn a decision.
Cruz’s Valiant Effort
Although Cruz came up short, he landed many hard shots in rounds nine through twelve that gave the fight a sense of drama. In round six, Rayo stunned Pitbull with an uppercut, and he had to collect himself for a brief moment before continuing with his offensive attack.
That shot would have knocked out many fighters, but Pitbull took it well and recovered quickly. It was interesting to see Rayo show off his power and show the fans that he was the better puncher.
What kept Cruz from winning the fight was his jabs and the power of Rayo, who surprisingly looked like the bigger puncher of the two. With Rayo’s power, Cruz couldn’t attack him the way he needed to for him to have won.
It will be interesting to see if there’s a rematch between the two fighters because it was a close enough outcome for a second fight. Rayo would obviously prefer to face Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis next, but if that fight isn’t available, a rematch with ‘Pitbull Cruz would be a good option.
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