SAN FRANCISCO – Andy Cruz wouldn’t settle for anything other than an impressive stoppage in his second professional fight Saturday night.
Almost five months after Juan Carlos Burgos took him the 10-round distance in his pro debut, the elite lightweight prospect pummeled late replacement Jovanni Straffon on the Regis Prograis-Devin Haney undercard at Chase Center. Cuba’s Cruz (2-0, 1 KO) blasted Straffon with various vicious head shots before referee Edward Collantes finally halted his brutal assault early in the third round.
The official time of the stoppage was 53 seconds of the third round. Straffon was on his feet when the bout ended, but he had taken an inordinate amount of punishment during their brief bout.
Cruz won a gold medal at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics two years ago in Tokyo. The 28-year-old Cruz convincingly outboxed Burgos (35-8-3, 21 KOs), another Mexican veteran, in his 10-round debut July 15 at Masonic Temple in Detroit.
Burgos has not been knocked out in 46 professional fights. Straffon (26-6-1, 19 KOs) lost by technical knockout for the second time in his 13-year, 33-fight pro career.
Mexico City’s Straffon, a former IBO lightweight champ, replaced an injured Hector Tanajara (21-1-1, 6 KOs) as Cruz’s opponent on less than three weeks’ notice.
The round before the stoppage, a right-left combination by Cruz buzzed Straffon less than a minute into the second round. Cruz continued to tee off on Straffon, including a vicious right uppercut that knocked Straffon off balance.
A right hand by Cruz made Straffon stumble backward about 20 seconds into the second round. Collantes could’ve stopped the bout during that one-sided second round, but he allowed Straffon to continue.
Cruz’s hand speed enabled him to land a crisp combination that backed Straffon into the ropes and got his attention with over a minute remaining in the first round.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
