WBA Grants Isaac Cruz Backdoor Entry to Rolly Title Shot
One-time lightweight title challenger Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (25-2-1, 17KO) is being handed an unearned title shot following the WBA’s display of favoritism in their ranking system. Pitbull will face WBA junior welterweight champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero as part of the Premier Boxing Champions venture with Amazon Prime. Original reports indicated uncertainty about the title being on the line or not.
HOW THEY PULLED IT OFF
The organization has solved that issue by pulling off a sleight-of-hand trick, placing the Mexican in the number two spot. To further show the sneakiness of the governing sanctioning body, in their December rankings update, Cruz’s name is nowhere to be found on the list.
In addition, he was removed from the number one spot at lightweight and placed in the higher position at junior welterweight in the updated January rankings. It’s completely unfair to any of the guys that have been busting their butt to move up the rankings.
HE SHOULDN’T BE FIGHTING FOR THE TITLE
There is no denying that Cruz deserved a title shot, but it should not be at junior welterweight nor at the expense of the other fighters in the division. He has not fought beyond the lightweight limit since 2017, and has leapfrogged over everyone in the rankings without facing anyone in the division.
This is one of many examples of why boxing is losing its integrity within the community. The hard-punching Mexican wanted to fight top contender Ryan Garcia. The irony in this is how they managed to pull the Romero fight from underneath Garcia to the shock of the boxing public.
Cruz is more than capable of winning the fight, especially when looking at his natural attributes of punching power, granite chin, and pressure fighting style. Although Cruz versus Romero could make for an entertaining fan-friendly fight, the WBA shouldn’t be given a pass for this.
