A Family Of Fighters

A third-generation fighter out of Mexico City, Mexico, Isaac Jonathan Cruz Gonzalez embraced the family legacy at an early age.

"My childhood was in Magdalena Contreras in Mexico City. I grew up with my parents separated, so I was living with my mother and I played in the street freely and safely with my brother and the neighbors," said Cruz.  

"But my grandfather was a fighter and my father was a fighter. I started training at the age of seven. The reason is because I did not want to be just another number or a statistic. From the start, I wanted to be someone who shined brightly above the rest."

Cruz won 73 of 85 amateur bouts with 50 knockouts. He was the Mexico City champion from 2010-2014, a regional champion from 2011-20014 and participated in three Olympic trials.  

A 16-year-old Cruz debuted in March 2015 with a 90-second stoppage of Luis Yan Revilla, who represented his first of five victories, three of which were by knockout. 

Cruz went 4-1 (4 KOs) in 2016, rebounding from a unanimous decision loss to Luis Miguel Montano in February with four straight knockout wins. 

"I was very happy to win my professional debut and to know what I wanted in professional boxing,” said Cruz. “I felt very excited to defeat four strong, undefeated opponents at the beginning of my career. The lesson that my defeat left me was that you have to be disciplined, committed and improve during each training session,”

Nicknamed "The Pitbull" for his all-action approach, Cruz stopped Ivan Basurto in April 2017, then finished Dunis Linan in three rounds that July, before battling to a six-round draw with Jose Calyecac in September. That November, he stopped Ricardo Juan Saenz.

"I'm 'The Pitbull.' I got the name thanks to my imposing physique and aggressive, forceful fighting style,” said Cruz, who improved to 12-1-1 (10 KOs). “My [boxing idols] are Mike Tyson, Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, and I've learned to be more constant like they were in my workouts and to correct my technical errors."

On The Rise

"The Pitbull" stopped three of four opponents in 2018, including a third-round TKO over former world title challenger Jose Felix Jr., who entered at 36-3-1 (28 KOs).

 Cruz followed with two more victories in 2019, a first-round knockout of Eleazar Valenzuela in February, and an eight-round unanimous decision over Miguel Angel Perez Aispuro in December. 

Cruz had fought exclusively in Mexico before facing Aispuro in his American debut at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Aispuro was followed in February 2020 by Cruz’s 10-round majority decision win over the respected Thomas Mattice in Philadelphia. 

“Fighting in Brooklyn was very different from fighting in Mexico. Everything from the hand wrapping, to the commission to the medicals. That experience of fighting in the U.S. will help me both physically and emotionally," said Cruz, who improved to 19-1-1 (14 KOs.)

"The Felix fight was a great, satisfactory and emotional victory. I was confident in my physical and mental capacities and my ability to defeat any elite fighter. Against Mattice, I showed all the connoisseurs of boxing that I don't get tired, know how to go the distance if I don't get an early knockout, and can continue to throw effective punches throughout the entire fight."

Cruz made his intentions known in advance of his most difficult challenge in two-time world title challenger Diego Magdaleno at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Halloween 2020.

“I'm 'The Pitbull.’ I really like to attack, always coming forward and fighting the same no matter who I’m facing,” said Cruz. “I am preparing physically and mentally and above all technically to face Diego Magdaleno. If it is a victory by knockout, that's even better.”

Cruz won by two-knockdown, 53-second stoppage of Magdaleno (32-3, 13 KOs), whom he floored 20 seconds in with a right uppercut before decking him for good with consecutive uppercuts.