By: Sean Crose
Some fights are sloppy. Other fights are just a mess. Saturday’s junior welterweight throwdown between Pitbull Cruz and Nestor Bravo was just a mess. The referee probably had the most challenging job of the night. The fight itself was riddled with holding, dirty punching, and at times a complete disregard for the rules. It was indeed one of those nights. It just happens sometimes. At the very least it wasn’t boring. Plus, Cruz was able to get the knockout win in the 6th with a thunderous left hook. Maybe it was me but it appeared that Bravo simply didn’t want to get up after he hit the mat.
Either way, Cruise was able to successfully defend his interim title in front of a warm crowd in San Diego. He was also able to do so in the main event of a card presented and streamed by DAZN. Cruz employed his stunning body shots whenever he got the chance to while Bravo tried in vain to hold his man off with a southpaw jab and more holding than anyone could possibly have wanted. Old fighters like Jack Johnson are remembered for their holding but even Johnson himself would have been stunned by what went down Saturday night in San Diego. It was outrageous to the point of being comical.
With that being said it’s hard to wonder what Bravo could have done to win the fight. It seemed that he became aware of very early on that the defending titlist was simply too strong for him. Cruz is an excellent pressure fighter. He’s also not a bad defensive fighter, which makes him both dangerous and difficult to hit. It’s not a pleasant combination to have to face. Perhaps that’s why Cruz was able to give Gervonta Davis a real run for his money and outright defeat Rolly Romero. Still boxers are supposed to box not hold and Bravo did a whole lot of holding in the ring on saturday.
Not that Cruz was the innocent victim. The man liked to throw some low blows that’s for sure. He also engaged in holding himself. Again the referee really earned his keep. For a while it looked like the fight might actually be brought to an end simply because of dirty tactics. Cruz’ left hook put an end to that possibility however. The guy knows how to turn off the lights that’s for sure. Again though it was clear Bravo didn’t have his heart in it. He may have thought he was trying to beat the count but it certainly didn’t seem like he was trying to.
What this means for Cruz’ career remains uncertain. He certainly won emphatically. What’s more he was up against an opponent who he simply couldn’t look good against even in the best of circumstances. There are styles in boxing that just don’t mesh and this seemed to be just such a pairing on Saturday. Still although Cruz looked impressive in closing this past weekend, he didn’t fully dominate the way most would probably have wanted or expected him to. Once more however there might not have been anything he could have done about it.
An optimistic view of this weekend’s bout was that Cruz once again managed to keep people from being bored. In the contemporary fight world that’s not always the case. Cruz however delivers even if it’s in the midst of holding, low blows and what have you. He had struck Bravo with some hard hooks earlier, making it seem that perhaps Bravo had the kind of jaw that couldn’t be broken, at least not figuratively. Cruz however ultimately proved that simply was not the case.
* Images: DAZN, PBC
