Isaac Cruz Stops Nestor Bravo in Six, Ryan Garcia Accepts the Challenge
Pitbull Cruz retained his WBC interim light welterweight title with a sixth-round KO and immediately called out Ryan Garcia, who said yes.
Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz knocked out Nestor Bravo in the sixth round on Saturday night at Pechanga Arena in San Diego to retain his WBC interim light welterweight title. Then he grabbed a microphone and called out the biggest name available. Ryan Garcia said yes before the broadcast was over.
Cruz (29-3-2, 19 KOs) dominated a messy, foul-filled fight from the first bell. He dropped Bravo with a left hook in the opening round and scored another knockdown in the second, per Boxing News 24. Referee Thomas Taylor had his hands full all night, deducting a point from Bravo in round two for holding and another in round four for throwing Cruz to the canvas.
The finishing blow came in the sixth: a left hook to the chin that sent Bravo (24-2, 17 KOs) to a seated position from which he did not rise, per Bad Left Hook.
"Hey Ryan, I am here. My next fight for you. Come on, Ryan," Cruz said in the ring, per Bad Left Hook.
Garcia responded on social media within minutes, posting that there is an "offer on the table" and that he has "given the go to my attorney" to finalize terms, per Boxing News 24. He set a December deadline and added, "If he rejects this time I will never give him another chance." Garcia also predicted Cruz would lose to Bravo before the fight, which did not age well.
The weight question looms. Cruz holds a title at 140 pounds while Garcia has been campaigning at 147. Whether the fight happens at welterweight or a catchweight remains the key negotiation point.
Pitbull Cruz did everything you could ask. Dropped Bravo in the first, again in the second, survived a foul-filled mess with point deductions flying, then ended it with a left hook in the sixth. And Garcia, who had predicted Cruz would lose, said yes within minutes. That is a good night's work.
The weight is the whole fight. Cruz is a 140-pound champion and Garcia has been living at 147. Cruz is short and comes forward like a bulldozer, and giving up seven pounds plus whatever Garcia rehydrates to is a real problem against a guy with Ryan's speed and left hook. At a true catchweight it gets much more interesting.
My read is that Garcia's December ultimatum is real, because he needs this fight to close out Golden Boy and keep the Lopez plan on track. Cruz should take it at whatever weight he can live with. This is the biggest name he will ever get in a ring, and he just proved he belongs there.
