Isaac Cruz has given up on his years-long pursuit of a rematch with Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, For now.
The popular lightweight from Mexico City has a new target in his sights. Actually an old one, as Cruz hopes to unearth past business with Ryan Garcia.
“I am no longer waiting on Gervonta Davis/Abdul Wahid (Davis’ chosen Muslim name),” Cruz told BoxingScene.com in a quote provided through Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions. “Ryan Garcia has been calling us out for the last few fights. That’s the fight I want and what my promoter wants for me. Call your attorney, Guadalupe Valencia and quit running, poodle.”
Cruz (25-2-1, 17KOs) has won three straight since his narrow points loss to Baltimore’s Davis (29-0, 27KOs) in a December 2021 WBA ‘Regular’ lightweight title fight he accepted on five weeks’ notice. The 25-year-old contender has applied heavy pressure on a second bout versus Davis, with the benefit of a full training camp for both in preparation for each other.
The cries fell on deaf ears, even though both are under the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) umbrella and Cruz has risen to the top of the WBA lightweight rankings.
Cruz now turns to Garcia (24-1, 20KOs), who rebounded from an April 22 knockout loss to Davis with an eight-round knockout of Mexico’s Oscar Duarte last December 2 in Houston, Texas.
Garcia has since publicly called for—in order—a shot at WBA junior welterweight titleholder Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero (15-1, 13KOs), a high-profile showdown versus unbeaten two-division champ Devin Haney (31-0, 15KOs), and back to Romero, whom he hopes to face this spring.
A fight between Garcia and Cruz was previously ordered by the WBC in 2022 as a planned title eliminator. Garcia and Golden Boy Promotions publicly expressed interest in the fight. Cruz was unavailable at the time as was already committed to a fight versus Eduardo ‘Zurdito’ Ramirez.
With both free at the moment, Cruz believes there is no time like the present to pick up where they left off a couple of years ago.
“Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz was unavailable for various reason,” Sean Gibbons, Cruz’s rep and hype man, told Boxing Scene. “But the time is now. Pitbull has accepted Ryan Garcia’s challenge. This is the fight we want for Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, no question. So, what’s your excuse now, Ryan?”