Isaac Cruz – Angel Fierro Rematch Likely on Pacquiao-Barrios Card in July

Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz could fight a rematch against Angel Fierro on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao vs. Mario Barrios in July. That event still has to be confirmed.  Cruz (27-3-1, 18 KOs) defeated Fierro (27-3-2, 18 KOs) by 10-round unanimous decision earlier this year on February 1st, with scores of 98-92, 97-93, and 96-94. There would be a rematch because some boxing fans felt it was a controversial result.

Fierro Again?

I watched the fight, and had Cruz winning 9-1. There was no controversy. The only question about the scoring is why the judges had it so close. Pitbull dominated that fight, but the judges gave him no credit for the body shots that he was landing throughout. Fans would prefer to see Cruz fight someone else, like WBA light welterweight champion Gary Antuanne Russell, IBF champ Richardson Hitchins, or Teofimo Lopez for his WBO belt.

Pitbull Cruz could have fought Ryan Garcia last Friday night, but he didn’t want to negotiate the fight with him while he was still scheduled to fight Fierro on February 1st. Cruz has got to be kicking himself now because he would have not only made more money fighting Ryan, but he’d have captured the WBA ‘regular’ welterweight title. If he’d taken the Garcia fight and won, he would have been in the position to make huge money in a rematch against another popular fighter.

What Pitbull doesn’t need is to get stuck with doing rematches against contenders just because one of his fights was competitive or controversial. He needs to be moving on, challenging for world titles.

Pitbull Style 

Cruz looked like a small Mike Tyson against Fierrero. It was impressive how he adapted when Fierro kept making him miss with his headshots. Cruz focused on his body, and he couldn’t do anything to get out of the way of those shots. Again, the judges gave Pitbull no credit for his body work because they’d have scored it a lopsided decision if they had.

Fierro has lost two out of his last three fights and is heading towards journeyman status. His other defeat was to Alfredo Santiago last year in June, and that was a wide 10-round decision defeat. If anyone Fierro should be rematching, it should be Santiago.