Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela says he sees himself hurting WBA light welterweight champion Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz en route to knocking him out on August 3rd in their co-feature clash at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
‘Rayo’ Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KOs) is coming up from lightweight to challenger ‘Pitbull’ Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) for his title on DAZN and ESPN+ PPV. Valenzuela, 25, is surprised that Cruz didn’t want to shake his hand because of his knockout prediction for the fight.
Rayo feels Cruz has unrealistic expectations of how his opponents should act. Of course, if the media asks them their prediction, they’ll predict a knockout.
That’s the name of the game, but it’s almost essential to make predictions to promote the fight. Cruz might be new to how fighters in the U.S. market their fights because they’ve to work harder in the States. There are so many different sports that they’re competing with to get their voice heard.
‘Rayo’ is coming off a sixth-round knockout of Chris Colbert in their rematch on December 16th. The win snapped a two-fight losing streak to Colbert and Edwin De Los Santos.
“I feel good. I’m ready to fight. I’m ready tp get in there and showcase my skills,” said Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela to Little Giant Boxing, talking about his fight against Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz on August 3rd in Los Angeles.
“I’m tapering down the weight, so I’m feeling faster. I was going up in weight, putting on muscle. I’m bringing it back down, and everything is where it should be. I believe he said it because I said I was going to knock him out,” said Rayo about ‘Pitbull’ Cruz not wanting to shake his hands because of his knockout prediction.
Pitbull Cruz predicted his fight with Rayo would steal the show from the main event fight between Terence Crawford and WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov. That might happen because Cruz and Rayo will be going to war in this fight. Crawford is expected to box, move, and hold to neutralize Madrimov’s offense.
“Yeah, that’s my prediction. We’re fighters, and that’s what we do. Let’s not act like little girls,” said Rayo about his knockout prediction over Cruz. “‘He offended me.’ This new generation. We’re fighters. What am I supposed to say? He’s a hell of a fighter. I have nothing but respect for Pitbull, but do I think I can knock him out? Yeah. Does he think he can knock me out? Probably.”
Pitbull Cruz might be feeling a little insecure heading into this fight because many fans are predicting that Rayo will win. One of them is promoter Eddie Hearn, who predicts Rayo’s victory. With so many people picking Valenzuela to win, Cruz might feel unconfident.
“That doesn’t mean you got to act a certain way and not shake his hand in public,” said Rayo. I think I’m going to hurt him. I don’t see myself not hurting him. It’s going to be a clash. I have everything to fire back, too.”
Cruz’s last opponent, Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero, didn’t show respect for him during the build-up of their fight last March, and I think it got under his skin. Ultimately, Cruz got the last laugh by knocking out Rolly to dethrone him of his WBA title.
“I’ve got a jab. I’ve got footwork. I got speed. I got power, and I got skills. Everybody is going to have to tune in on August 3rd,” said Rayo.
If Rayo Valenzuela upsets Cruz, it will open the doors for some big fights in the division. There will be a potential rematch with Cruz, and if not, there are fights against Liam Paro, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez.
Read the full article here
