Pick it: Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz vs. Lamont Roach
When to Watch: The pay-per-view is on Saturday, December 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. GMT). A free preliminary undercard will start at 5:30 p.m. ET (10:30 p.m. GMT).
How to watch: Pay-per-view available via Amazon’s Prime Video, PPV.com and traditional cable and satellite outlets. The free preliminary undercard will stream for subscribers and nonsubscribers alike on Prime Video.
Why to Watch: This is a good show with two title matches, plus two interim belts also on the line. Even if you don’t care about the sanctioning bodies, the main event should be entertaining and the undercard bouts are intriguing.
Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz vs. Lamont Roach is the headliner at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. Cruz, 28-3-1 (18 KOs), is a former junior welterweight titleholder who now holds a secondary belt in the weight class. The 27-year-old from Mexico City has an aggressive style that is friendly to fans and less so for his foes.
Cruz attracted attention at lightweight in 2020 and 2021 as he defeated Diego Magdaleno (KO1), the previously unbeaten Jose Matias Romero (UD12), and Francisco Vargas (UD10), and then he stepped in with Gervonta “Tank” Davis. With Davis hampered by a hurt hand, Cruz lost a competitive decision.
Cruz then notched four straight victories, the last being an eighth-round stoppage of Rolando “Rolly” Romero in March 2024 to grab the WBA belt at 140lbs. Alas, Cruz lost in his first defense to Jose Valenzuela about four months later.
Cruz returned this past February, facing Angel Fierro on the David Benavidez-David Morrell undercard. Cruz won the competitive firefight via unanimous decision, and the two signed for a rematch – this time with the WBC interim title on the line – to take place on the undercard of Mario Barrios vs. Manny Pacquiao.
Except Fierro withdrew because of health issues believed to be caused by his weight cut. Cruz instead widely outpointed his late replacement opponent, the 20-2 Omar Salcido Gamez. The WBC still allowed its trinket to be available because, well, sanctioning fees. Which means the winner of Cruz vs. Roach will be in line to challenge the winner of January’s bout between primary titleholder Subriel Matias and Dalton Smith.
Roach, 25-1-2 (10 KOs), is the WBA junior lightweight titleholder, though he is heading into his second straight fight above 130lbs. Roach fought lightweight titlist Gervonta “Tank” Davis to a controversial draw in March and now is moving up to 140 for this bout with Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz.
Roach, a 30-year-old from Washington, D.C., has improved since losing unanimously in his first title shot to Jamel Herring in 2019. His second title shot came against Hector Garcia in November 2023, and this time Roach triumphed via split decision. He’s only defended the belt once, stopping the 16-0 Feargal McCrory in eight rounds in June 2024.
Roach was the underdog against Davis but fought with hunger, confidence and skill. The fight included a bizarre and hotly debated sequence in the ninth round after Roach landed a jab. Davis voluntarily took a knee and then walked to his corner, where one of his trainers used a towel to wipe something from his eye (Davis said afterward that it was a substance from having his hair treated a couple days before the bout). The referee not only stopped his count, canceling what should’ve been a knockdown call, but also failed to penalize Davis for his team member coming onto the ring apron.
Roach and Davis had been in discussions for a rematch before Davis opted to go in a different direction – a lucrative exhibition with Jake Paul that was later called off after new domestic violence allegations against Davis.
Roach owed a mandatory defense back down at junior lightweight to Albert Batyrgaziev, who subsequently lost the WBA’s interim belt to Jazza Dickens. It’s understandable why Roach has instead opted for the bigger payday and higher profile match with Cruz.
On the PPV undercard:
Erislandy Lara, 31-3-3 (19 KOs), will defend his WBA middleweight title against late replacement Johan Gonzalez, who is stepping in on short notice after unified IBF/WBO titleholder Janibek Alimkhanuly tested positive for a banned substance. Lara's last fight was a ninth-round TKO of Danny Garcia in September 2024. Gonzalez, 36-4 (34 KOs), is coming off a split decision win over Jarrett Hurd in March. Prior to that, Gonzalez had a pair of TKO losses to Yoenis Tellez and Jesus Ramos, plus a victory over a gimme opponent.
Junior lightweight O’Shaquie Foster, 23-3 (12 KOs), is defending his WBC belt against Stephen Fulton, 23-1 (8 KOs), who is seeking to become a three-division titleholder; Fulton previously unified two titles at 122lbs and currently owns the WBC belt at 126.
And back at middleweight, the WBC interim title will go to either Shane Mosley Jnr, 22-4 (12 KOs), or Jesus Ramos Jnr, 23-1 (19 KOs). The WBC’s primary titleholder at 160lbs is Carlos Adames.
The three-bout free preliminary undercard is topped by Frank Martin vs. Rances Barthelemy. Martin, 18-1 (12 KOs), is back nearly 18 months after getting knocked out by Gervonta Davis. He will compete as a junior welterweight against former two-division titleholder Barthelemy, 30-3-1 (15 KOs), who himself is returning 19 months after his unanimous decision loss to Jose Ramirez. Plus junior middleweight Isaac Lucero, 17-0 (13 KOs), faces Roberto Valenzuela Jnr, 31-5 (29 KOs), and junior lightweight Luis Reynaldo Nunez, 21-0 (14 KOs), is in with Hector Andres Sosa, 18-3 (9 KOs).
More Fights to Watch
Saturday, December 6: Shabaz Masoud vs. Peter McGrail (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (7 p.m. GMT).
Masoud, 14-0 (4 KOs), is a 29-year-old junior featherweight prospect from Stoke-on-Trent, England, who is trained by Ben Davison.
Masoud has fought only four times in the past three years. There was a one-year gap between November 2022 – a 12th-round TKO of the 17-0 Jack Bateson – and a November 2023 split decision over the 34-7-1 Jose Sanmartin. And 13 months have passed since Masoud’s last outing, a 12-round split decision against the 16-0 Liam Davies. Masoud was initially slated to take on McGrail in June but had to pull out with an injury. Masoud has notched some good victories for his stage of development, though he is not currently ranked at 122lbs by any of the four major sanctioning bodies.
McGrail, 12-1 (6 KOs), is a 29-year-old prospect from Liverpool, England. He competed in the Olympics in 2021, losing a decision in his sole featherweight tournament bout against Mirco Cuello. McGrail won his first eight pro fights before suffering an upset loss to the 16-1-1 Ja’Rico O’Quinn in December 2023. McGrail was ahead after four rounds and had dropped O’Quinn twice, but he was dismissed in the fifth. O’Quinn pulled out of their rematch, leaving McGrail to pursue other routes for rebuilding.
That wasn’t the only canceled fight for McGrail. He was supposed to face fellow junior featherweight prospect Dennis McCann last year, but McCann tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing drug. Instead, McGrail moved up two weight classes and faced late replacement Rhys Edwards – a 16-0 junior lightweight – and took a narrow unanimous decision. And as noted above, McGrail was originally scheduled to take on Masoud in June. Instead, he triumphed via majority decision victory over Ionut Baluta, who is better than his 17-5-1 record at the time may otherwise indicate.
McGrail’s four-fight winning streak has him ranked seventh by the WBA, 12th by the WBO and 14th by the IBF.
The undercard at the Salle des Etoiles in Monte Carlo, Monaco. includes a lightweight title fight between IBF beltholder Beatriz Ferreira, 8-0 (2 KOs), who won an Olympic silver medal in 2021 and bronze in 2024. She is defending against Elif Nur Turhan, 11-0 (7 KOs).
Also on this show: a heavyweight bout between Johnny Fisher, 13-1 (11 KOs), back for the first time since his rematch loss to David Allen, taking on Herbert Matovu, 9-1 (8 KOs). Welterweight Pat McCormack, 8-0 (6 KOs), who took home silver in the 2021 Olympics, is in against Conah Walker, 16-3-1 (7 KOs), who is coming three straight victories over Lewis Ritson, Harry Scarff and Liam Taylor. And junior welterweight Hugo Micallef, 11-0 (3 KOs), will perform in his home country against Sean McComb, 20-2 (5 KOs), who has won two straight since his controversial decision loss to Arnold Barboza.
Saturday, December 6: Temur Mamoyan vs. Djuar El Scheich (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Time (6 p.m. GMT).
Mamoyan, 10-0 (10 KOs), is a 34-year-old from Armenia now living in Germany. The 6-foot-3 heavyweight will main event at an arena in Göppingen. In his last outing in May, Mamoyan took out the 7-0 Sergej Adamovic in 124 seconds.
El Scheich, 23-1-1 (22 KOs), is a 33-year-old from Syria who also now calls Germany home. The 6-foot-1 fighter had a six-round draw with the 21-4 Erkan Teper in 2023 and took his sole loss against the 18-1 Peter Kadiru in September 2024. El Scheich spent almost exactly a year away before returning this September, putting away the 6-1 Selcuk Tezer in the third round.
Saturday, December 6: Melissa Mortenson vs. Dorota Norek (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at noon Eastern Time (5 p.m. GMT).
This show in Varde, Denmark, is headlined by a junior featherweight bout between Mortenson and Norek. Mortenson, 7-0 (4 KOs), is the hometown fighter. Norek, 9-5 (2 KOs), hails from Poland.
Saturday, December 6: Vladislav Khotenov vs Khashaiar Ghassemi (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at 7 a.m. Eastern Time (noon GMT).
Khotenov, 7-0 (6 KOs), is a 23-year-old junior welterweight from Russia whose past five fights have been in Thailand. This show in Bangkok will be his sixth. So far, Khotenov has yet to face anyone with more wins than losses – his opponents’ combined record is 10-40.
Ghassemi, 17-7 (16 KOs), will break that trend. The 36-year-old hails from Iran but also fights mostly out of Thailand these days. In his last outing, however, Ghassemi traveled to Kazakhstan and was knocked out in the first round by the 16-2 Daulet Daukenov.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
