LOS ANGELES – Tour de force Isaac Cruz saw his meteorotic rise come to a sudden crash Saturday night in Los Angeles courtesy of Jose Valenzuela, as the swarming brawler met his match against a precise marksman.
Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KOs) may have had the fans at BMO Stadium in his pocket throughout the night and landed the more eye-catching shots, but Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KOs) leveraged his footwork, movement, length, jab and southpaw savvy to outbox and frustrate his counterpart for a career-best win.
The six-year pro Valenzuela was sharp as ever, managing space to showcase superior ring generalship. Valenzuela used Cruz’s momentum against him all night, and he was awarded appropriately with a split decision.
Judges scored the fight 116-112 and 116-112 for Valenzuela, while a third had it 115-113 for Cruz.
Valenzuela outlanded Cruz 171 to 118 in the 12-round contest.
Cruz failed to defend the WBA junior welterweight title he won in March against Rolando Romero and saw a potential rematch against Gervonta Davis slip through his hands. Now Valenzuela looks like a legitimate candidate to face Davis instead, if a rematch against Cruz is not next.
Cruz kicked off the fight with his trademark relentless pressure right from the onset, prowling on “Rayo” with a vicious combination attack. It looked pleasing to the eye, but Valenzuela was the more efficient fighter, connecting with 13 shots compared to seven from Cruz.
Cruz was much more successful in the second, battering Valenzuela in the corner with effective aggression, landing several shots to the body as well as to the head with a shoeshine attack.
“Pitbull” continued to control the pace in the third, but Valenzuela connected with several crisp counter uppercuts, again outlanding Cruz, this time 22 to 16 in the round.
The fourth and fifth rounds were fairly even, but Valenzuela snapped Cruz’s head with a clubbing right uppercut once again in the sixth.
Valenzuela outworked Cruz in the seventh and eighth rounds, outlanding Cruz 31 to 14.
Cruz had a bounce-back round in the ninth, even though it was momentarily halted by him landing a low blow. A left hook was the best punch Cruz landed in the round.
Valenzuela rebounded in the 10th with a crisp three-punch combination. Cruz, meanwhile, landed a fight-low five punches in the round.
Cruz buzzed Valenzuela with perhaps his hardest shots of the night in the final 10 seconds of the 11th, but the bell sounded before he could do more damage.
Cruz carried the newfound momentum into the final round and crushed Valenzuela with two more overhand right hands, but did not hurt him.
The fans booed Valenzuela after the decision was announced, and Cruz called for a rematch.
The fan favorite Cruz, 26, was riding a four-fight winning streak since his 2021 loss to Davis.
Valenzuela, 25, is now a world titleholder for the first time in his career.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
Read the full article here
