Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz says he sees Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela and Shakur Stevenson as being boring fighters. He feels they’re the opposite of what he tries to do when he’s inside the ring, which is to entertain the fans.
Shakur fought in the old style of a past generation when TV networks, fans, and promoters were more tolerant of safety-first fighters. Nowadays, that style is poison for promoters and networks because fans don’t want to watch. People don’t have the patience anymore to tolerate a dull fighter.
The former WBA light welterweight champion ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KOs) lost his title to ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KOs), losing a 12-round split decision on August 3rd in Los Angeles. It looked like a clean sweep for Rayo, but the judges scored it:
– 116-112: Valenzuela
– 115-113: Cruz
– 116-112: Valenzuela
Rayo outboxed Cruz, using his newly crafted Lomachenko fighting style. Pitbull barely laid a glove on Rayo in the fight, and he looked frustrated.
Cruz will be looking to bounce back from his loss against Angel Fierro (23-2-2, 18 KOs) on February 1st on the undercard of David Benavidez vs. David Morrell at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Pitbull Slams Boring Boxers
“I can only think of Shakur and Rayo. Those are two fighters that are the opposite of what I do inside the ring,” said Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz to Fighthype, when asked which fighters are boring. “I don’t think we should intertwine Shakur’s fighting style with Pernell Whitaker’s style.
“Whitaker, as tactical as he was and as stylish as he was, he also liked to get inside and mix it up. Shakur does not want any of that.
“You’re going to get to see me get back on the winning path and on the path to a championship to be the kind of champion I want to be once again,” said Pitbull Cruz about his fight against Angel Fierro on February 1 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Cruz does have a good point about Pernell Whitaker’s fighting style being far different than Shakur’s. Whitaker actually tried to entertain by mixing it up with his opponents, looking to score knockouts.
Shakur doesn’t do. He focuses on landing single shots and moving. He doesn’t doesn’t sit down on his punches and appears afraid of being hit.
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