Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz faces fellow Mexican Angel Fierro in a rematch on Saturday, July 19 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The contest is featured on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao vs Mario Barrios.
The two fighters first met in February. Former champion Cruz (27-3-1, 18 KOs) defeated Fierro (23-3-2, 18 KOs) by unanimous decision. With the victory, the native of Mexico City returned to winning ways after dropping his title to Jose Valenzuela last August.
One month away from his second fight with Angel Fierro, “Pitbull” Cruz says he is focused, motivated, and has been working “toward the best possible result.” If successful, the 27-year-old also looks to challenge current WBO 140-pound champion Teofimo Lopez and WBC titleholder Alberto Puello, as well as face former opponent Gervonta “Tank” Davis, who holds the WBA 135-pound title.
“We’re working even harder than last time so we can give Fierro a beatdown on July 19,” Cruz said.
“Fierro’s shot in the third round [of the first fight] was to the back of the head, not the chin, and that would make anyone stumble. I will make sure that doesn’t happen again… Maybe Fierro didn’t watch the fight or doesn’t know how to identify body parts. He wants to piss me off, but I fight with a cool head and a hot heart. He’s not going to distract me by saying baseless and idiotic things.”
“We are fully seizing the moment this time around. We were kind of lackadaisical the first time around, but that’s not happening this time. It’s all internal motivation. No pain, just working toward the best possible result. All I’m doing is going from the gym to the house and back.”
‘This fight is going to end with Isaac Cruz winning in the best way possible’
“My mentality is always to fight like I’m down on the cards, because that brings out the best of me. I was lacking consistency in my pressure in the first fight and letting him think. We have a plan to fix that and implement a wider variety of punches to get the job done.”
“I still can’t believe I am sharing a PPV card with Pacquiao. It truly is a thrill. I read the contract and couldn’t believe it. My favorite Pacquiao fights are his fight against Ricky Hatton, his fights against Juan Manuel Márquez, and really any of his entertaining matchups against Mexican opponents, and his fight against Floyd Mayweather. Whenever Pacquiao fought Marquez, it was a clash of emotions for me. I wanted Márquez to win as a fellow Mexican, but it was 50/50 because I always loved Pacquiao’s fighting style so much.”
“Look at Pacquiao vs. Márquez, Erik Morales vs. Marco Antonio Barrera and Israel Vázquez vs. Rafael Márquez, all three of those second bouts were even better than the first. This rematch won’t be the exception. I like to give it my all so that the fans can enjoy themselves. If other fighters like to lull them to sleep or bore them, that’s on them. It will never be my style.”
“This fight is going to end with Isaac Cruz winning in the best way possible. After that, I would like to face Teofimo Lopez and Alberto Puello. I would like to stay at 140, but if facing Gervonta Davis requires going down to 135, I have no issues with that either.”
In the main event, eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) of the Philippines returns to the ring to challenge San Antonio’s Mario Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs) for his WBC welterweight title. In the co-main event, Sebastian Fundora (22-1-1, 14 KOs) of West Palm Beach, Florida defends his WBC super welterweight title in a rematch against former champion Tim Tszyu (23-2, 18 KOs) of Australia.
Also on the card, two-weight champion Brandon Figueroa (25-2-1, 19 KOs) of Weslaco, TX takes on former title challenger Joet Gonzalez (27-4, 15 KOs) of Glendora, CA.