Pitbull Cruz Robbed by ‘Home Cooking’ Call

Tim Bradley says Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz was the victim of “Home Food” in his controversial 12-round majority draw against Lamont Roach last Saturday, December 6th at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Bradley believes the reason Roach got a draw was payback for the win he missed in his last fight against Gervonta Davis last March. Many felt that he deserved the win against Tank. So, Tim argues that Roach was saved from losing to Cruz to make up for what the judges didn’t do for him against Tank.

Phantom Low Blow controversy

Pod host Bradley says WBC interim light welterweight champion Cruz (28-3-2, 18 KOs) “definitively” won the early rounds and then won the 12th against a missing-in-action Roach (25-1-3, 10 KOs).

Where he believes it was “home cooking” is in the seventh when the umpire took a point from Cruz for a phantom low blow. Replays showed that the punch was on the tire line and that Roach raised his trunks high. Bradley says that if not for the point deduction, ‘Pitbull’ would have won the fight. Indeed, he would. The scores were:

“When that last lap comes, I’m like, ‘Where are you, Roach?’ ‘Pitbull’ closed the show, won the last round and won the fight. There’s no doubt in my mind that he won the fight,” Tim Bradley said of his channeltalking about last Saturday’s clash between Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz and Lamont Roach.

Roach Coasted in the 12th

The 12th was a strange one for Roach as he fought as if he thought he had the win in the bag. He didn’t even try to win the round by making an effort. His vision of how he thought the fight had played out up to that point may have given him the belief that he could just coast.

Roach repeatedly said after the fight that he felt he won handily, which explains why he made no effort to win the 12th. He chose to box to avoid being caught. What a mistake that was.

“I look at these rounds and say, ‘It’s another round for Pitbull.’ These rounds are definitively won. It wasn’t like they were close. He even had him (Roach) touch the canvas with his glove, indicating a takedown,” Bradley said of the takedown Cruz scored in round three.

Cruz fought well enough to win the first six rounds of the fight. So, for Roach to take the win, he had to win all six of the final rounds. He certainly didn’t, as Cruz finished strong in rounds 11 and 12.

Replay shows Legal Shot

“That’s where the take-home food came in because when it got a little bit later, you saw what happened. Roach was in there getting his a** booed. Then all of a sudden ‘Pitbull’ got some shots that went low. I get it. The last shot that the referee took the point off was on the belt line though, and Bradley’s reference point was a high belt line,” James said. taken from ‘Pitbull’ Cruz in round seven.

“It wasn’t under the tape. I saw the instant replay. That shot was a legal shot, it wasn’t an illegal shot, and he took a point,” says Tim.