The last time Isaac Cruz fought in Los Angeles, it was in a headlining fight against Gervonta Davis. The fight closed the curtains for the arena formerly known as the Staples Center, which is now billed as the Crypto.com Arena.

The hard-hitting Cruz will return to the locale where he enjoyed a breakout performance – albeit in a losing effort to Davis – when he takes on fellow Mexican and veteran contender Eduardo Ramirez (27-2-3, 12 KOs).

The 12-round WBC lightweight title eliminator will serve as the co-main event for the FOX pay-per-view headlined by Andy Ruiz Jr. and Luis Ortiz. 

Cruz (23-2-1, 16 KOs) has kept climbing the ladder ever since making his United States debut less than three years ago. The 5-foot, 4-inch fighter nicknamed “Pitbull” strung five stateside wins together to set himself up for a slugfest with Davis. 

Cruz’s ascent can be partly credited to the matchmaking of longtime boxing figure Sean Gibbons.

When Manny Pacquiao's longtime handler and current head of MP Promotions was asked about Cruz’s promise and potential, he gave glowing reviews about his pupil. 

“Isaac Cruz is the next face of Mexican boxing, after Canelo Alvarez,” Gibbons told krikya360.com in an interview. “Isaac Cruz is so hot right now, if he does what he's supposed to do with Ramirez, his ‘it factor’ will increase. He's a fighter people are noticing. That's how PBC and Al Haymon build stars. They give fighters like Cruz the biggest and best platforms to fight on.

“He had his coming-out party against Tank. I saw about 15 Hall of Fame NBA players go 'oh sh!t' after the first round. Who's this guy running Gervonta out of the ring? This fight against Ramirez will take him to the next level where he's headlining a card himself afterward.”

The 24-year-old Cruz leveraged another co-headlining opportunity in his last fight in April, dropping Yuriorkis Gamboa four times and stopping the faded former world champion inside five rounds during the Errol Spence Jr.-Yordenis Ugas PPV.

Before that, Cruz pushed Tank to the brink and looked remarkable even though he lost by a unanimous decision via scores of 113-115 twice and 112-116. Davis barely outlanded Cruz 133 to 121, and the durable boxer became just the second opponent Davis couldn’t knock out. 

Cruz's only other loss throughout his seven-year career came during his sixth fight in Mexico via unanimous decision against an unheralded journeyman. 

Gibbons wants to use the recent momentum to deliver Cruz the right fights. 

"We're ready to fire up Cruz versus Ryan Garcia,” said Gibbons. “Isaac is not afraid of any fighter. I don’t want to disappoint fans, but this isn’t fantasy boxing putting A against B against C against D. There are certain things that need to happen, like with platforms the guys fight on. We’ll fight anybody when the circumstances are right." 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com.