Andy Cruz is on course to fight Hironori Mishiro of Japan in an eliminator for the IBF lightweight title.

The Cuban’s promoters Matchroom hope to schedule what would be his sixth professional contest on the undercard of the IBF junior-welterweight title fight being negotiated between the champion Richardson Hitchins and Australia’s George Kambosos Jnr on June 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Raymond Muratella and Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev contest the IBF interim lightweight title on May 10 – the inactive Vasiliy Lomachenko of Ukraine remains the permanent champion – and the winner of Cruz-Mishiro would be on course to fight the winner of their fight.

“That’s in play for the Hitchins card in June,” Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn told BoxingScene. “Hopefully [Cruz will fight the winner in 2025]. We need to get him mandatory, ‘cause no one’s gonna fight him.”

Cruz, by then, could be on course to fight another of Matchroom’s lightweights, the WBC champion Shakur Stevenson, according to the promoter.

“That’s not the plan, ‘cause we want Shakur to fight ‘Tank’ [Gervonta Davis]. But if Andy Cruz becomes world champion, why not a unification with Shakur?

“We’re just negotiating with Golden Boy to do the [Stevenson-William] Zepeda fight at the end of the summer. In America.”

Cruz trains alongside Jaron Ennis and Stephen Fulton Jnr under Derek “Bozy” Ennis, and the respected trainer told BoxingScene of his 29-year-old lightweight: “He’s wanting to fight, man – he’s sounding on everybody. He don’t care who it is. I think he can deal with all them guys at that weight. 

“Andy can [fight for a title already], yeah. Even with those little [number of] fights – Andy’s smart, man. He’s another one. 

“He’s willing to fight the top guys. Whichever one of the top guys. I think there was something with Abdullah Mason, too. [Cruz] asks for everybody. It’s up to the promoters, and I guess the managers.”

Mishiro, 30, last fought in December, when outpointing his compatriot Hinata Maruta.