Mexican Star and former world champion Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz plans to leave no doubt in his dominance when he faces reigning WBA Super Featherweight World Champion Lamont Roach in the main event of a PBC Pay-Per-View available on Prime Video taking place Saturday, December 6 from Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. Tickets for the live event are on sale now through Ticketmaster.com.
“Winning is the only option on December 6,” said Cruz (28-3-1, 18 KOs). “Whether it’s by knockout or it goes to the judges, it must be decisive. I know that there’s no margin for error. We must prevail and we will do one round at a time…Everyone on my team is focused on the same goal, and that’s winning no matter what it costs.”
The 27-year-old Cruz will be opposed by the fast-rising Roach, who jumped up to the upper echelon of the sport earlier this year in giving three-division world champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis the toughest test of his career before leaving the ring with a much-discussed draw. While Cruz has his own history with Davis, and with much being made about the winner of this fight rematching Davis in the future, Cruz is only focused on the opponent who’ll be in his way on December 6.
“We know we have a great opponent in front of us and we know that we can’t underestimate his boxing ability,” said Cruz. “We’re studying all of his past fights and making sure we know all the good and the bad. We’re getting stronger every day and that just makes me more and more confident that we’ll have our hand raised on December 6.”
The Mexico City-native Cruz has seen his popularity continue to rise in recent years, with the passionate Mexican fanbase showing their support for Cruz’s crowd-pleasing style and willingness to face the best. Cruz’s last fight in San Antonio came in 2020 as he delivered his breakout performance by knocking out Diego Magdaleno in round one in front of the city’s rabid boxing-loving population. Having won a world title and competed in high profile bouts since then, Cruz hopes to give an even bigger audience another memorable performance.
“There are going to be a lot of Mexican fans in San Antonio,” said Cruz. “Coming back to an area where you can see and feel the support of your people, even though you’re far from home, is a great feeling. Now that we’re back, we hope that the energy and enthusiasm from the fans is still there and has grown since I was last in the ring.”
While Cruz steps into the ring for the main event, the entire four-fight pay-per-view card is filled with high-stakes, 50-50 matchups that should leave fans on the edge of their seat throughout the night. For Cruz, he says he’s most looking forward to a fellow fighter who displays Mexican pride stepping into the ring.
“All of the undercard fights are very good, but if I had to pick a favorite it would be Jesus Ramos Jr. vs. Shane Mosley Jr. I think that’s going to be a very entertaining fight. Ramos and I are two Mexican warriors and we represent our people humbly and with dignity.”
With an opening in the sport for who will be the next Mexican superstar to take the mantle from Canelo Alvarez, Cruz knows that his name is often one of the first brought up. While he insists on taking his career one fight at a time, the idea of stepping into that historic position is something that motivates him every day leading up to December 6.
“Being talked about as the next face of Mexican boxing when Canelo passes the torch motivates me in the best way,” said Cruz. “It makes me want to strive for perfection, but it doesn’t change my goal. As always, I want to make sure that the fans are the true winners on December 6.”
