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Sunday, January 19, 2025

Andy Cruz vs Omar Salcido: WBC Title Eliminator Fight next Saturday


2020 Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz (4-0, 2 KOs) is a week away from Mexican slugger Omar Salcido (20-1, 14 KOs) in a WBC lightweight title eliminator on Jan. 25, live on DAZN from The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Chelsea Ballroom, Las Vegas.

Cruz-Salcido will be on the undercard of Diego Pacheco vs. Steve Nelson fights, and there’s a good chance they’ll steal the show. Also on the card is undefeated light welterweight Ernesto Mercado (16-0, 15 KOIs) fighting former two-division world champion Jose ‘Sniper’ Pedraza.

WBC Title Eliminator

If Andy Cruz prevails against Salcido, the talented Cuban will be in a position to challenge for WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson for his title this year. Shakur has bigger plans for this year. He hopes to beat Floyd Schofield on February 22nd and then defend against #1 William Zepeda if he can’t lure Vasily Lomachenko into the ring.

To top it off, Gervonta Davis is fighting at the end of the year. More likely, Shakur will have to settle for someone else, but probably not Cruz, unless the World Boxing Council gives him no choice.

“My Son”

Cruz would also like to face Keyshawn Davis if he can capture the WBO lightweight title next month in his fight against champion Denys Berinchyk on February 14 at Madison Square Garden. Andy is well-acquainted with Keyshawn, whom he refers to as “My son” because he has fought him four times in the amateurs, beating him each time in one-sided matches.

Cruz’s victory was so dominant in the 2020 Olympic finals that Keyshawn seemed to lose his mind, celebrating his loss after the fight, seemingly clear that he had lost the fight. Since Cruz turned pro in 2023, he has called out Keyshawn repeatedly, but with no luck.

The Norfolk, Virginia native wants no part of the fight against Cruz again, and it’s understandable why. He’ll ruin his career, and he can’t afford that to happen in the pros.

It’s a very different story if you lose in the pro game because it’s permanent and hard to come back from unless someone like Turki Al-Sheikh is interested in you and willing to let you. lose around the clock and keep getting opportunities for big paydays.

“Yes, it’s mandatory for the (WBC),” Andy Cruz told YSM Sports Media when asked if his fight against Omar Salcido is a WBC lightweight title eliminator on Jan. 25 to become the next mandatory challenger for the champion Shakur Stevenson to determine.

“When that time comes, then I’ll approach it differently,” Cruz said of the fight with Shakur. “It’s a division with a lot of talent. There are many fighters with talent. I am only focused on myself.

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