Alex Pereira's Coach Plinio Cruz Scores TKO in Misfits Debut, Calls Out Chase DeMoor
Alex Pereira's coach Plinio Cruz stopped Gary Olive in his Misfits Boxing debut and called out champion Chase DeMoor.
Alex Pereira's longtime coach and translator Plinio Cruz made a statement in his Misfits Boxing debut on Saturday, stopping Gary Olive in the second round at the Copper Box Arena in London.
Cruz finished Olive with a series of left hooks at 0:58 of the second round, per MiddleEasy. The win came after Cruz shed 100 pounds to make his transition from the coaching corner to the boxing ring. "I trained hard and I lost 100 pounds for this fight," Cruz said afterward.
The bout was a last-minute adjustment. Cruz was originally scheduled to face Misfits heavyweight champion Chase DeMoor, but DeMoor withdrew with an eye injury. DeMoor's coach Olive stepped in as a replacement, turning the fight into a battle of coaches.
Cruz did not let DeMoor off the hook after the victory. He lit into the absent champion, calling him "Pinocchio" and questioning his toughness. "First of all, props to Gary, he boxes better than Chase," Cruz said. "He didn't have the balls to be in his coach's corner. What kind of champ is that, he can't even back up his family."
Cruz continued the verbal assault, per MiddleEasy. "Daddy's going to show you what a real man is about. You don't have boxing skills. You don't have swag."
The former MMA fighter, who carries a professional record of 8-9 in mixed martial arts, is best known as the man in Pereira's corner for every UFC fight. Cruz walked away from his own competitive career in 2019 but has clearly been putting in work. Whether Misfits puts together the DeMoor matchup remains to be seen.
I love everything about this. Plinio Cruz has been standing behind Alex Pereira for years, translating interviews and coaching one of the baddest men on the planet. Now he steps out from behind the curtain, drops 100 pounds, and knocks a guy out in his boxing debut. That's a storyline you can't script.
The DeMoor callout was pure theater, too. Calling a guy Pinocchio and saying his own coach boxes better than him? Cruz brought the energy. DeMoor pulled out of their scheduled fight with an injury, so you can understand the frustration. Whether Misfits books it or not, Cruz put himself on the map with a performance that backed up every word of trash talk.
