Lightweight contender Andy Cruz will fight Omar Omar Salcido Gamez on January 25th. 2020 Cuban Olympic gold medalist Cruz (4-0, 2 KOs) continues to gain experience for a possible world title shot against one of the lightweight champions in 2025.
Salcido (20-1, 14 KOs) is coming off a surprising ninth-round knockout victory over former highly-hyped Chris Colbert on Oct. 16. That fight showed that Salcido would be a threat to the top lightweights, and it says a lot that Cruz was willing to fight him.
Lance Pugmire – @pugboxing – reports the Cruz vs Saldido fight on January 25th.
The boxing public wants to see Cruz moved faster by his promoter, Eddie Hearn, against the top 135-pounder, but that won’t happen. Cruz is in the ‘who needs him club’ because he is too talented for his own good and lacks the popularity needed to attract the top names. He can’t even get fighters like Keyshawn Davis to fight him, and he’s unpopular.
It will be interesting to see how Cruz fares against Mexican slugger Salcido. Cruz’s trainer, Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis, urged him to be more offensive to entertain fans as he started his career with his amateur style, which was very successful posting a record of 135-9.
However, that style is boring, and Cruz will find himself in the same boat as Shakur Stevenson, who fans will boo if he sticks to that approach.
Cruz’s pro record:
– Antonio Moran: TKO 7
– Brayan Zamarripa Rodriguez: UD 10
– Giovanni Straffon: KO 3
– Juan Carlos Burgos: UD 10
Cruz’s fight with Moran took place on the undercard of Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov on August 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. In the Moran fight, Cruz looked significantly smaller than he is and was buzzed at one point when he walked into a big shot. However, after his trainer Bozy Ennis encouraged Cruz to go on the attack, he wore Moran down and knocked him out in the seventh round. The forward pressure that Cruz put on Moran was too much for him.
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