2020 Olympic gold medal Andy Cruz (6-0, 3 COs) was excellent on Saturday night and crushed Hironori Mishiro (17-2-1, 6 COs) by a fifth round technical knockout in an IBF lightweight elimination in the Madison Square Garden in New York. Cruz used his Power Jab during the fight to mark Mishiro.
In the third round, Cruz opened with right hands and dropped Mishiro twice. The second Knockdown comes in the final seconds of the third. If not, he would surely have been completed by the Cuban talent.
Cruz took off the fourth round, mostly crackled, moved and occasionally landed right hands. In fifth place, Andy Mishiro chased and landed a three-punch combination that left him, which forced the referee to step in and stop the competition. The time was at 1:13 of the round.
Mishiro tried to adapt in rounds four and five more aggression and show more aggression, but it doesn’t work. You can see that he got instructions through his corner to go on the attack, because he was slaughtered by Cruz in the first three rounds. It didn’t work.
Cruz’s actions have been the best so far on tonight’s map. It was a master class that shows skills that the other fighters on the match card could only dream.
With the win, Cruz is now the compulsory challenger for IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla. The battle will be ordered soon, and it will be interesting to see how Muratalla’s promoters in the top ranking attempt to postpone this battle. They cannot be excited to have their fighter Muratalla defended against a phenoma like Andy Cruz, because he is on another level in terms of ability.
Muratalla is a big puncher, but he is one -dimensional and fights like a robot. In addition, he fights on one gear and does not raise the pace of his battles. He can be as much as Mishiro was tonight.
New York City, New York: Andy Cruz Veg Hyronori Mishiro for the final Eliminator for IBF World Lightweight title before the IBF World Junior Welterweight title on June 14, 2025 in Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom Boxing)New York City, New York: Andy Cruz Veg Hyronori Mishiro for the final Eliminator for IBF World Lightweight title before the IBF World Junior Welterweight title on June 14, 2025 in Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom Boxing)New York City, New York: Andy Cruz Veg Hyronori Mishiro for the final Eliminator for IBF World Lightweight title before the IBF World Junior Welterweight title on June 14, 2025 in Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom Boxing)New York City, New York: Andy Cruz Veg Hyronori Mishiro for the final Eliminator for IBF World Lightweight title before the IBF World Junior Welterweight title on June 14, 2025 in Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom Boxing)New York City, New York: Andy Cruz Veg Hyronori Mishiro for the final Eliminator for IBF World Lightweight title before the IBF World Junior Welterweight title on June 14, 2025 in Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom Boxing)New York City, New York: Andy Cruz Veg Hyronori Mishiro for the final Eliminator for IBF World Lightweight title before the IBF World Junior Welterweight title on June 14, 2025 in Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom Boxing)New York City, New York: Andy Cruz Veg Hyronori Mishiro for the final Eliminator for IBF World Lightweight title before the IBF World Junior Welterweight title on June 14, 2025 in Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom Boxing)New York City, New York: Andy Cruz Veg Hyronori Mishiro for the final Eliminator for IBF World Lightweight title before the IBF World Junior Welterweight title on June 14, 2025 in Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom Boxing)New York City, New York: Andy Cruz Veg Hyronori Mishiro for the final Eliminator for IBF World Lightweight title before the IBF World Junior Welterweight title on June 14, 2025 in Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom Boxing)New York City, New York: Andy Cruz Veg Hyronori Mishiro for the final Eliminator for IBF World Lightweight title before the IBF World Junior Welterweight title on June 14, 2025 in Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom Boxing)New York City, New York: Andy Cruz Veg Hyronori Mishiro for the final Eliminator for IBF World Lightweight title before the IBF World Junior Welterweight title on June 14, 2025 in Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom Boxing)New York City, New York: Andy Cruz Veg Hironori Mishiro in the final Eliminator for IBF World Lightweight title before the IBF World Junior Welterweight title on June 14, 2025 in Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom Boxing)New York City, New York: Andy Cruz Veg Hironori Mishiro in the final Eliminator for IBF World Lightweight title before the IBF World Junior Welterweight title on June 14, 2025 in Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom Boxing)New York City, New York: Andy Cruz Veg Hironori Mishiro in the final Eliminator for IBF World Lightweight title before the IBF World Junior Welterweight title on June 14, 2025 in Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Geoffrey Knott/Matchroom Boxing)
 was superb on Saturday night, crushing Hironori Mishiro (17-2-1, 6 KOs) by a fifth-round technical knockout){kind=link}