LOS ANGELES – Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, empowered by the fact that his drawing power generated a capacity crowd to San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center Saturday, tells BoxingScene he’s content in not taking an immediate rematch with Lamont Roach Jnr.
Following their draw in which WBC interim 140lbs champion Cruz scored a third-round knockdown, and closed by winning the last two rounds on two judges’ cards to generate scores of 115-111 Cruz and two 113-113 cards, the popular Mexican fighter says he’s turning to champions and elite contenders who’ll be more willing to fight in the center of the ring.
Cruz named upcoming welterweight title challenger Ryan Garcia, WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis and WBC 140lbs champion Subriel Matias as his ideal next foes.
“I’m so happy and proud of myself for the fight I gave [against recent WBA super-featherweight champion Roach],” Cruz said. “It’s not possible to have another fight with him because I’ve already demonstrated I did a really good fight.
“The type of fight that I really want is from fighters who come to fight for the people: Garcia, Davis, Matias.”
The change of tune by Cruz, 28-3-2 (18 KOs), won’t likely sit well with Washington’s Roach, 25-1-3 (10 KOs), after Baltimore’s Davis barely survived with a March 1 draw against Roach and then turned his back on his neighborhood rival.
Against Cruz, Roach rallied to win five rounds between the fight and 10th on two cards and saw the tiring Cruz get hit with a point deduction for excessive holding during the run.
In a post-fight interview, Cruz said he was not Davis, indicating he’d be accepting of a rematch, but Cruz’s advisor, Sean Gibbons, pointed to Roach saying his right hand was broken midway through the Saturday bout, and said this of Roach to BoxingScene Tuesday night:
“Brother man’s lying around with a cast on his arm, so I don’t think [he’ll be next],” Gibbons said. “We won the fight. I don’t care what the judges say. The fight the fans want to see is what we’re after. Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis are those fights, and that’s who we’re targeting in 2026.”
Garcia has a February 21 WBC welterweight title shot at champion Mario Barrios, and Davis hasn’t fought since the Roach draw after getting booted from a planned exhibition with Jake Paul.
Cruz said he’s out to provide more entertainment to his fans.
“I want to show the people I want to give them a good fight,” Cruz said. “That means the most to me.”
Gibbons was bullish on his fighter’s showing, pointing to the capacity crowd of 10,230 despite the middle-rounds fade.
“Isaac is the new face of Mexican boxing. There is no one else from [Mexico] who’s putting on the kinds of exciting fights he is – not Canelo, no one,” Gibbons said. “So he has the right to choose – Ryan Garcia at 147, Gervonta Davis. All he’s looking for and all he wants to accomplish is bringing fights fans want to see. He has earned the right. He is the draw. He puts butts into seats.
“Lamont Roach thought he was going to go mano-a-mano. He learned real quick that didn’t work and went on his bicycle and came up with the lame excuse he hurt his hand. ‘Pitbull’ has a tendency to cause injuries when he fights guys.
“You’re looking at a guy who’s the most exciting fighter in 2026.”
