Andy Cruz Tipped To Shake Up The Boxing World
Andy Cruz, the Olympic Gold medalist, has been tipped to make some noise in the sport.
The Cuban has an impressive amateur career, winning two gold medals at the Pan American Games. He also managed to achieve three gold medals at the AIBA World Championships. To top things off, he picked up a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He also had four wins against Keyshawn Davis during the amateur ranks. Since Keyshawn has made an impression in the pro ranks, Cruz has been tipped to do the same. That made quite an impression on the boxing world.
He turned professional at 27, signing a deal with Matchroom Boxing. He made his pro debut against Juan Carlos Burgos. Cruz came through with a dominant unanimous decision win. He followed it up with three more wins, taking his record to 4-0. His last bout was a win over Antonio Moran. Cruz will hope to follow in the footsteps of his fellow Cuban fighter David Morrell Jr. The latter is seen as the rising star in the super middleweight category and aims to do so at light heavyweight after moving up to the weight class.
Cruz Vs. Davis
Eddie Hearn has talked up his fight. Cruz has been linked with a fight against Keyshawn Davis in the pro ranks. The Matchroom Boxing promoter has publicly said that Davis would not beat Cruz. Keyshawn has hit back at those claims, stating that Cruz’s camp is not interested in the fight. He referenced how he agreed to fight Cruz during an Instagram Live with Hearn. Davis also mentioned how his team had sent Cruz a contract, but they did not get a response.
“He will never fight Andy Cruz, especially in the next year or so. He will want to do it because he couldn’t beat him in the amateurs,” Hearn stated
“The ball is in their court. We’re waiting for them. We already sent them a contract. I already got on live with Eddie Hearn and said to set up the fight. I don’t know what more y’all want me to do [to make the Andy Cruz fight]. Stop asking me this question. I already tried to fight these guys when I was still co-main,” Davis said
Plaudits
WBC Lightweight Champion Shakur Stevenson discussed Cruz’s chances of getting a world title. Cruz has often been praised for his boxing IQ, something Shakur is also known for. Stevenson was on hand to watch Terence Crawford beat Israil Madrimov to pick up the WBA Junior Middleweight Title. On the undercard of that event, Cruz took on Antonio Moran. He stopped him in round seven, remaining undefeated. Shakur tipped Cruz to go far, with even the possibility of the pair facing off in the future. He tipped Cruz to be challenging for a world title.
“Great performance, he was sharp. Good defensively. Once the guy got tired, he got him out of there. Great performance, he was sharp. Good defensively. Once the guy got tired, he got him out of there,” Stevenson stated
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