By Jake Donovan
Orlando Cruz hopes to rediscover his winning ways, returning to the venue that hosted his last victory. The one-time featherweight contender headlines an October 24 show at the Kissimmee Civic Center in Kissimmee, Florida, facing Mexico’s Ruben Tamayo in a 10-round bout that will serve as the final edition of the most successful year in the history of Boxeo Telemundo series.
The bout marks Cruz’ first fight both at the Civic Center and on Telemundo since scoring a 6th round stoppage over Aalan Martinez last March. The win helped set up a featherweight title shot, but was stopped in seven rounds Orlando Salido in their vacant title fight last October.
Of greater concern was his first fight following the title fight loss, as Cruz was upset by Gamalier Rodriguez in their UniMas-televised clash this past April in Orlando, mere miles from where his next fight will take place.
“It’s a must-win situation for Orlando, and it comes against a very tough southpaw from Mexico who’s pulled off his share of upsets,” notes promoter Felix ‘Tuto’ Zabala Jr.
Cruz (20-4-1, 10KOs) aimed to make history for his native Puerto Rico, hoping to become the third member from the 2000 Puerto Rico Olympic boxing team to win a major title. Miguel Cotto and Ivan Calderon were the other two from that class to accomplish the feat over the course of their respective Hall of Fame careers.
The dream remains alive for Cruz, though it could very well become a race against the clock for the 33-year old.
Despite having yet to capture a major title, he made plenty of headlines in past appearances on Telemundo. Most notable was his ‘coming out’ prior to his Oct. ’12 win over Jorge Pazos, becoming the first known openly gay active fighter in boxing history.
The storyline carried through all the way to his title fight with Salido, though coming up well short.
Tamayo (25-4-4, 17KOs) fights in the United States for the second straight time. His previous appearance came in April, scoring an upset points win over Efrain Esquivias this past April in California. The win extended his unbeaten streak to four straight heading into next month’s showdown with Cruz.
In the televised co-feature, Daniel Rosario (8-1, 7KOs) - who hails from Cotto’s hometown of Caguas, Puerto Rico - will battle Jose Alberto “El Flaco” Leal (9-5-1, 4KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico. The welterweights square off in a scheduled eight-round bout, as both legs of the telecast pit Puerto Rico versus Mexico, a familiar theme on the Telemundo series.
“We expect fireworks on our season finale show with two classic battles between Puerto Rico and Mexico,” Zabala Jr. states. “This is our 13th anniversary at the Kissimmee Civic Center and we will bring the fans a great night of action.”
The fall season of Boxeo Telemundo kicks off next Friday, October 3 in Tampa, Florida. Jonathan Vidal faces Daniel Lozano in the finals of Telemundo’s four-man super flyweight tournament which began in the summer season.
Both fighters earned their way to the finals with separate 8th round knockouts. Lozano (12-1, 9KOs) stopped Antonio ‘Tostado’ Garcia in their August 1 battle, two weeks after Vidal (18-2, 10KOs) blasted out Juan Kantun in the same amount of time. Vidal’s win headlined what ranks as Telemundo's highest-rated boxing telecast, drawing more than 600,000 viewers for the July 18 show.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
