“I don’t feel like a loser. I was more effective,” Cruz told Fight Hub TV when asked about the fight.
His argument rests on how the rounds played out, not how they were scored. Cruz boxed out Muratalla for long stretches, landing the cleaner work and controlling distance when he chose to hold his man. He came out of the fight without visible damage. Muratalla did not. His face showed it, with swelling and both eyes marked towards the end.
Cruz didn’t do enough of that. He gave ground too freely, and he moved against the slower Muratalla when he didn’t need to. Against a pressure fighter, that can read as retreat even when the punches thrown don’t land cleanly. Judges tend to reward forward movement. Muratalla had it.
When Cruz, 30, stood his ground, the battle changed. He picked off Muratalla with combinations and made him pay for closing the distance. Those moments were clear, but they just weren’t constant.
Andy acknowledged that part without backing down on his broader view of the fight. He said he could have done more, especially in terms of aggression, but insists that what he did produce was enough.
This leaves him in a narrow lane, accepting the correction while rejecting the conclusion.
No next fight has been confirmed yet, and Cruz is back in training waiting for that to fall into place as he carries that view forward.
Cruz said that’s the part he carries into his next fight, where the moments where he stood his ground were there, but he didn’t stay with them long enough to take full control, which is the adjustment he plans to make.
