Ryan Garcia Excited for Upcoming Fight with Isaac Cruz
After a year-plus layoff, lightweight contender Ryan Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs) returned to the ring in April 2022 with an easy twelve-round win over Emmanuel Tagoe. Since that victory, Garcia has made the media rounds claiming that his next fight was imminent.
Ranked second by the WBC, he even went on to say he’s returning to the ring in July. When astute members of the boxing press asked Garcia if his upcoming opponent is former world title challenger Isaac Cruz (23-2-1, 16 KOs), he would give a suggestive wink and nod, a sure sign that is the case.
What has been long-hinted was validated by WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman, who announced on social media that the sanctioning body has ordered a fight between the two in a world title eliminator. In response, Garcia took to social media with this reaction.
While Garcia’s last bout was against Tagoe, Cruz has established himself as a legit threat within the division. In December 2021, he was on the losing end of a war with current WBA Regular lightweight champ Gervonta Davis. Cruz followed that up with a fifth-round stoppage over one-time unified featherweight champ Yuriorkis Gamboa in April 2022.
LET’S MAKE A DEAL
The question now becomes, can this ordered match be made? There was a previous attempt to put these two in the ring, but negotiations fell through. According to Garcia’s promoter, Golden Boy, Cruz turned down what he referred to as more than a decent offer. On this occasion, if no deal is finalized, a June 14 purse bid will be ordered.
Cruz (#3 WBC, #4 WBO, #11 IBF, #14 WBO) has an emerging fanbase with hardcore heads while Garcia has established himself as a mainstream attraction. With both displaying two-fisted power, a fight between the two has the potential to be quite an entertaining affair. Stay tuned to 3Kings Boxing for further details.
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By: Michael Wilson Jr.
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