Isaac 'Pitbull' Cruz says 'bring it on' to Ryan Garcia – but December might be too soon

SAN DIEGO – Dogged, festive and energetic, Mexico’s Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz transformed himself from interim 140lbs champion to something much more in Saturday night’s sixth-round knockout of Puerto Rico’s Nestor Bravo.

Generating an immediate callout from popular WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia, being labeled the heir apparent to Canelo Alvarez as his nation’s most popular boxer and showcasing a crazed and brutal fighting style, Cruz, 29-3-2 (19 KOs), maximized the opportunity of his ring return following a 10-month absence.

“Let’s do this in December. The offer is on the table,” Garcia posted on X one week after his own title defense, a second-round knockout of Conor Benn in Las Vegas. “I can tame a lion. I’m not too concerned about taming a pitbull.”

Fighting up one weight class would likely aid that cause, but as the overwhelmed Bravo, 24-2 (17 KOs), learned from getting floored right after the bell, then staging a series of sabotaging pro-wrestling-type acts before getting finished in the sixth, fighting “Pitbull” is not for the timid.

“It’s the shots you don’t see that are hurtful,” Bravo told BoxingScene afterward. “He caught me with a good shot [to end it], but it was the first one that really hurt.”

While Cruz is first in line to meet the winner of next month’s WBC full 140lbs championship bout between England’s Dalton Smith and Cruz’s PBC stablemate and former titlist Alberto Puello, his promoter Tom Brown told BoxingScene he’ll be attentive to all “the phone calls that come in” following the captivating triumph at Pechanga Arena.

Beyond the crowd barking in unison during Cruz’s highlights – writing colleague Norm Frauenheim correctly called it the sound of “an overcrowded kennel” – Cruz let forth an assault of fists that Bravo and many others had no chance of enduring.

“Pitbull’s got one style – come forward – but there seemed to be something more in his shots, and that was one hell of a left hook,” Brown said. “Obviously,his work with [new trainer] Eddy Reynoso helped, and maybe the extra time away [following a December draw with Lamont Roach Jnr] was exactly what he needed.” 

And now that the 28-year-old is back, he’s positioned to assert a prominent standing among the sport’s most fervent fan base with a multi-layered demeanor that switches from fearsome, charming, brutal and entertaining.

While his advisor, Sean Gibbons, indicated a December return to fight Garcia before Garcia’s planned Cinco de Mayo unification versus WBA welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez is too soon, Cruz said he’ll yield to his handlers but added “bring it on.”

Cruz said he’s driven to victory to “hold Mexico up high… I don’t speak a lot outside the ring. I speak with my fists.”

Not losing his temper as Bravo shoved, held and cheap-shotted him with the low blows was a testament to work with a sports psychologist, Cruz said.

“I was able to stay strong physically and mentally,” he said, forecasting that a bout with Garcia “would be entertaining, but with my aggressive style, ‘Pitbull’ will come out on top.”

Gibbons said he wants Cruz to fight more often to satisfy his building fan base and sharpen his skills.

“He’s ferocious, but humble – a man of the people. The key is to see what happens with Dalton Smith(-Puello), see what happens with Ryan, see what happens with Gervonta [Davis]… we’ve got to sit down and figure out what’s next, but it seems to me January or February is best,” Gibbons said. “It’s business. You have to find the right time, the right money.”

With Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez advancing toward retirement and PBC’s three-division champion David Benavidez expected to leave his promoter after one more fight in December, Cruz stands to inherit massive followers and support.

“Pitbull’s the face of Mexican boxing – there’s Canelo, and then there’s ‘Pitbull,’” Gibbons said. “I love [unified 130lbs champion Emanuel] Navarrete, I love [lightweight champion William] Zepeda, but you don’t see this type of stuff when they fight. There’s only one ‘Pitbull.’ 

“He is the face of Mexican boxing after Canelo is done.”