Maxi Hughes told Matchroom that he wants to fight Andy Cruz, who is ranked #4, in a WBA lightweight title eliminator next.
Hughes (28-7-2, 6 KOs) is ranked #5 with the WBA just below Cruz (5-0, 2 KOs) and has won his last two fights since being stopped in the fourth round by William Zepeda on March 16th last year.
Ring Magazine reports that Hughes is interested in taking the fight with the 2020 Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz. The Cuban talent is coming off a lopsided 10-round unanimous decision win over Omar Salcido (20-2, 14 KOs) last Saturday night at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Cruz, 29, stole the show from the main event fight between Diego Pacheco and Steven Nelson with his dominating performance against the power puncher Salcido. The scores were 99-91, 98-92 and 98-92.
WBA Title Picture
The World Boxing Association will have to sanction the Cruz vs. Hughes fight to be a lightweight title eliminator. It might be a waste of time for Cruz to go the WBA route because the current champion, Gervonta Davis, picks & chooses his opposition. He’s unlikely to agree to fight a talented fighter like Cruz if the WBA orders the fight.
If the WBA orders Tank Davis to fight Cruz, he’ll probably ignore them, and if they try to force it, he’ll surely vacate the belt. Andy is the complete opposite of the type of opposition Davis has fought during his career.
Promoter Eddie Hearn mentioned that Cruz could go the IBF route because Vasily Lomacheko could vacate that belt soon. Raymond Muratalla vs. Zaur Abdullaev are expected to fight to go after the IBF belt. #6 IBF Cruz has a better chance at fighting for a belt with this sanctioning body.
Maxi Hughes would be entirely overmatched against Cruz. He is not powerful, fast, or equipped with the skills needed to be competitive. There is probably nobody in the lightweight division who can beat Cruz.
Tank is too limited, Keyshawn Davis already lost four times, and Shakur Stevenson lacks the offense. Andy Cruz is the uncrowned King of the 135-lb division.
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