“I still can’t believe I am sharing a PPV card with Pacquiao,” said Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz. “It truly is a thrill. I read the contract and couldn’t believe it. My favorite Pacquiao fights are his fight against Ricky Hatton, his fights against Juan Manuel Márquez, and really any of his entertaining matchups against Mexican opponents, and his fight against Floyd Mayweather. Whenever Pacquiao fought Marquez, it was a clash of emotions for me. I wanted Márquez to win as a fellow Mexican, but It was 50/50 because I always loved Pacquiao’s fighting style so much.”
Cruz was speaking ahead of his July 19 rematch with Angel Fierro and the 27-year-old highlighted how some rematches have packed in as much or more excitement the second time round.
“Look at Pacquiao vs. Márquez, Erik Morales vs. Marco Antonio Barrera and Israel Vázquez vs. Rafael Márquez, all three of those second bouts were even better than the first,” said Cruz. “This rematch won’t be the exception. I like to give it my all so that the fans can enjoy themselves. If other fighters like to lull them to sleep or bore them, that’s on them. It will never be my style.”
Cruz is 27-3-1 (18 KOs), and having won the WBA 140lbs title against Rolando Romero, who was outscored by Jose Valenzuela in his first defense. Then, in February, came a tough 10-round decision win against Fierro at the T-Mobile in Las Vegas. Next time, they meet across the street at the MGM Grand.
“We’re working even harder than last time so we can give Fierro a beatdown on July 19,” said Cruz.
“We are fully seizing the moment this time around. We were kind of lackadaisical the first time around, but that’s not happening this time. It’s all internal motivation. No pain, just working toward the best possible result. All I’m doing is going from the gym to the house and back.
“My mentality is always to fight like I’m down on the cards, because that brings out the best of me. I was lacking consistency in my pressure in the first fight and letting him think. We have a plan to fix that and implement a wider variety of punches to get the job done.”
“This fight is going to end with Isaac Cruz winning in the best way possible. After that, I would like to face [WBO 140-pound champion] Teofimo Lopez and [WBC 140-pound champion] Alberto Puello. I would like to stay at 140, but if facing Gervonta Davis requires going down to 135, I have no issues with that either.”