SAN DIEGO – Like a dog with a meaty bone, Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz bit down on his WBC interim 140lbs belt following his Friday weigh-in, informing opponent Nestor Bravo in no uncertain terms that the strap is not leaving Cruz’s side.
Mexico’s former WBA super-lightweight champion Cruz, 28-3-2 (18 KOs), weighed 139lbs while Puerto Rico’s Bravo, 24-1 (17 KOs), came in at 139.2lbs for the Saturday night DAZN main event at Pechanga Arena.
Following some extended “barking” between himself and Bravo’s team, Cruz lifted the belt, then put one end of it in his mouth, chomping down on it ferociously.
“I hope [Bravo] is coming with the focus he seems to be coming with because [others] seem to fall down at the end,” Cruz said. “You’re going to see the best version of ‘Pitbull.’ I’m here to defend my belt and I can’t wait for [Saturday] night.
“I’m here to represent Mexico and provide a great fight.”
Bravo, 32, vowed he’s prepared for his most important bout yet.
“I’m here. I’m the man. I want to fight [for a title] and was begging. No one gave me a chance to fight,” he said. “Two years ago, I signed to fight with [Lamont] Roach and [wanted new welterweight champion Liam] Paro. [Cruz] has the guts to fight me. Tomorrow, you’re going to hear, ‘And the new … .’”
The card was weakened when scheduled co-main event fighter and WBC interim middleweight champion Jesus Ramos Jnr of Arizona pulled out of his scheduled bout against Kazakhstan’s top-ranked Meiirim Nursaltanov, 20-0 (11 KOs), due to food poisoning that hospitalized him Thursday night, requiring an overnight stay.
It’s unclear when Ramos-Nursaltanov will be rescheduled, but a Premier Boxing Champions official indicated it could likely land on the December 12 card in the Phoenix area scheduled to be headlined by Phoenix’s unified cruiserweight champion David Benavidez.
The episode was crushing for Nursaltanov, who hasn’t fought since November 2023.
The cancellation moved unbeaten super-middleweight Daniel Blancas’ bout versus Sergio Jimenez, 17-1-1 (15 KOs), to the co-main event. Trained by Jose Benavidez Snr, Blancas weighed 166.8lbs while Jimenez was at 166.4lbs.
Trained by Canelo Alvarez cornerman Eddy Reynoso, Mexico’s 2024 Olympic silver medalist Marco Verde, 6-0 (3 KOs), weighed 157.6lbs while opponent Guillermo Hernandez weighed 160.6lbs.
An eight-round middleweight bout was added to the DAZN main card as a result of Ramos’ withdrawal.
Eumir Marcial, 7-0 (4 KOs), of the Philippines weighed 160.6lbs while opponent Omar Ulises Huerta, 15-1-1 (13 KOs), weighed 159lbs.
