Isaac Cruz once again lived up to his ‘Pitbull’ nickname.
The compact lightweight contender from Mexico City was relentless in a second-round knockout of countryman Eduardo Ramirez. Cruz scored two knockdowns, the last one drawing an immediate stoppage at 2:22 in the second round of their WBC lightweight title eliminator on Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Cruz has quickly developed a cult following in the sport, drawing raucous applause at the venue where he appeared just nine months ago. He came in a narrow loss to undefeated two-time junior lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis in their secondary fight for the WBA lightweight title, though he ended Davis’s 16-fight knockout streak.
A similar reception was offered before Cruz’s fifth-round one-sided knockout of former champion Yuriorkis Gamboa on the Errol Spence-Yordenis Ugas undercard on April 16 in Arlington, Texas. A much more competitive effort was expected from Ramirez, a junior lightweight contender from Los Mochis, Mexico, who moved up in weight for the occasion.
The action was slow but steady in the first round, though it just set the table for an explosive finish. Ramirez survived the initial storm before getting hit when he was planted face first on the canvas courtesy of a jarring left hook midway through the second round. Ramírez was able to beat the count, but referee Jack Reiss issued him a stern warning to turn things around and avoid a stoppage.
Ramírez was unable to defend against a relentless Cruz, who cornered his taller foe at the last minute. A right hand hit Ramirez (27-3-3, 12KOs) to the head before a left hook finished the job, prompting an immediate stoppage.
Cruz moves up to 24-2-1 (17KOs) with the win, better positioning him for a second shot at a lightweight title. Davis, who was sitting ringside, laughed and shook his head at Cruz’s request for a rematch in the ring, before the Mexican slugger insisted on undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney (28-0, 15KOs), who is already booked with an October. 15 rematch with former unified champion George Kambosos Jr. in Melbourne, Australia.
No matter what the next step is, it’s clear that all eyes will be on the red-hot lightweight contender.
Cruz-Ramirez aired as a co-star in a four-fight pay-per-view. Headlining the show, former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz (34-2, 22KOs) takes on two-time title challenger Luis Ortiz (33-2, 28KOs) in a scheduled twelve-round WBC heavyweight semifinal eliminator. .
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
