Pitbull Cruz stops Nestor Bravo in six to retain interim title in San Diego

SAN DIEGO — Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz put a violent end to a fight that had turned messy, dropping Nestor Bravo with a clean left hook in the sixth round to retain his Interim WBC Super Lightweight Title at Pechanga Arena.

The crowd made its allegiance clear before either fighter threw a punch. Bravo was booed from the moment he stepped into the tunnel, and the boos followed him all the way into the ring, even as he took a knee in his corner to pray. Cruz got the opposite treatment. The arena erupted when Jimmy Lennon Jr. announced him, and “Mexico!” chants filled the building as both fighters met center ring for referee Thomas Taylor's instructions.

Cruz set the tone early. A hard right hook dropped Bravo in the first round, and Cruz spent the rest of the round working behind heavy hooks to the body. Bravo answered by holding, and he kept holding. Taylor warned him repeatedly through the first two rounds before finally docking him a point in round two for grabbing after the warnings piled up. By round three, Taylor had seen enough dirty tactics from both sides to call the fighters to center ring between rounds and tell them flatly to cut it out.

Bravo didn't. He landed two low blows in round three, the second of which the broadcast team flagged as intentional given how little else Bravo had to work with against Cruz's pressure. Taylor stopped short of a penalty that round, but he didn't in the fourth, taking a second point from Bravo for another low blow and warning him he wouldn't get paid if it led to a disqualification.

Whatever frustration Cruz felt with the holding, he channeled it. Round four saw him throwing wide, violent hooks that had Bravo covering up and the crowd on its feet, and a fifth-round left hook wobbled Bravo enough that he had to hold on to stay upright. That round also showed the clearest evidence yet of what Cruz's camp has been building with new trainer Eddy Reynoso. Cruz mixed his output more than he has in years past, cutting off the ring and picking his spots instead of simply walking forward.

The finish came in round six. A clean left hook landed on Bravo's jaw and put him on the canvas, and he never had a chance at beating the count. Taylor waved it off at 1:30, and Cruz remained Interim WBC Super Lightweight Champion by knockout.

Cruz stayed businesslike in his post-fight interview with Chris Mannix, with Sergio Mora translating. “I am very happy. Bigger and better opportunities are going to open up,” Cruz said when asked what the win meant to him, adding that he'd trained to win the fight whether it lasted one round or went the distance. Asked to walk through the finishing sequence, Cruz kept it simple. “The performance speaks for itself,” he said. “I was prepared for what he brought to the table and my plan worked.”

The most animated Cruz got all night came when he switched from Spanish to English mid-interview. “Hey Ryan, I am here! My next fight. Come on!” he said, calling out Ryan Garcia directly as the crowd roared. His stated preference is the winner of Dalton Smith and Alberto Puello, but he made clear Garcia is very much on the table if that fight doesn't materialize. “My promoters and team are behind me and I would love the fight,” Cruz said. “This is for Mexico. I am ready for anything."

Earlier on the card, 2024 Mexican Olympic silver medalist Marco Verde improved to 7-0 with a fifth-round stoppage of Guillermo Hernandez, and Daniel "Iceman" Blancas picked up the win in the night's other featured bout.

Cruz spent fight week promising a new era. What's next is out of his hands now, sitting with Garcia, with Smith, with Puello. But one thing was obvious walking out of Pechanga Arena: Pitbull Cruz isn't waiting on anybody.