Pitbull, Roach Battle To A Thrilling Draw Atop An Electric PBC PPV

Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email

Pitbull and Roach cap off a night of action with a Fight of the Year candidate Saturday night on PBC Pay-Per-View on Prime Video.

Mexican star Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz and former world champion Lamont Roach went toe-to-toe for 12 unforgettable rounds, battling to a majority draw in the main event of a PBC Pay-Per-View event available on Prime Video Saturday night from Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. Cruz retained the Interim WBC Super Lightweight Title with one score of 115-111 for Cruz being overruled by two scores of 113-113.

In a battle of 140-pound stars, the always aggressive Cruz (28-3-2, 18 KOs) jumped on the gas first with a boisterous Mexican crowd behind him, testing Roach (25-1-3, 10 KOs) early and often. In round three, Cruz connected on a brilliant left hook that connected cleanly, forced Roach’s glove to touch the canvas and earned him an early knockdown.

"I knew he would stand his ground and go toe-to-toe, but I know how to box too,” said Cruz. “People don’t realize I can box.”

"Hats off to ‘Pitbull,’” said Roach. “He's a great champion himself. I gave the fans a great fight. Back to the drawing board."

Despite the setback, and faced with his hard charging opponent, Roach was able to stay in the pocket and land enough counters to keep himself in the fight, and by the middle rounds appeared to have an edge on a tiring Cruz.

In round seven, Cruz’s attention to the body backfired as referee James Green deducted a crucial point for low blows. With the tide turning in his favor, Roach used his boxing acumen to land clean shots and force Cruz to smother much of his offense.

The action turned back up at the end of round 11 when Cruz connected on a big shot in the middle of the ring that led to both men winging power shots until the bell. Both fighters carried this momentum into a raucous 12th round that had fans on their feet for all three minutes. The CompuBox stats reflected the close nature of the fight, with Roach earning a narrow 142 to 132 edge in power punches. After the fight, both fighters reiterated that they believed they should have been victorious.

"All I want is a fair shake,” said Roach. “I think I should have won a close victory. All I want is a fair shake. That’s it…I don’t know what I got to do. I don’t accept this at all. I clearly thought I won a close fight. I’m tired of this.”

"I did my job,” said Cruz. “I did my work. The ref was on his side. The judges too. The crowd in San Antonio saw I won this fight…Absolutely I'd do a rematch. With a different referee who is not on his side. The referee took this fight from me."

In the co-main event, WBC Super Featherweight World Champion O’Shaquie Foster (24-3, 12 KOs) dominated on his way to a unanimous decision over two-division world champion Stephen Fulton Jr. (23-2, 8 KOs) to earn the Interim WBC Lightweight Title.

"The game plan was to stay smart, stay sharp and get him out of there in the later rounds,” said Foster. “But he's a damn good fighter and a veteran and he knew how to survive.”

A native of Orange, Texas fighting in his home state, Foster looked sharp from the early rounds, using his length and reach advantage to keep Fulton from finding his distance. Foster’s jab was key throughout, but especially in the first six rounds as he landed 41 jabs to Fulton’s 14.

Switching stances throughout the fight, Foster began to increase the pressure in the fight’s second half, landing numerous straight shots that pushed Fulton back. Overall Foster enjoyed a 191 to 56 edge in punches landed.

Fulton tried to move inside during the final rounds in an attempt to land a shot that could change the tide, but more often than not he left himself open to Foster’s counters and was unable to mount a charge of his own. After 12 rounds the judges scored the fight 119-109, 118-110 and 117-111, all for Foster.

"I want Shakur Stevenson,” said Foster. “I've been saying it for the longest. But it looks like he's gonna fight at 140. So I have to choose either 130 or 135. I'll see what happens and make a decision.”

Pay-per-view action also saw WBA Middleweight World Champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara (32-3-3, 19 KOs) score knockdowns in the first and last rounds to cruise to a unanimous decision over challenger Johan Gonzalez (36-5, 34 KOs) after 12 rounds. Lara took home the decision by scores of 120-106, 119-107 and 118-108.

"Gonzalez came to fight and he came to win,” said Lara. “We knew him a little bit, so we were ready for that and we made the adjustments we needed to make. He was a tough opponent who had a great opportunity in front of him, but we executed the game plan.”

"I spend all my time at the gym, so I had no problem being ready for this fight,” said Gonzalez. There are no excuses, but I did feel that Lara didn't come to fight me the way he said he would.”

Cuba’s Lara set the tone early, delivering a blistering straight left that put Gonzalez on the mat late in round one. While he wasn’t able to close the show in the opening frame, Gonzalez was hesitant offensively for a few rounds as a result.

"I felt a little uncomfortable in the first few rounds,” said Gonzalez. “The first knockdown was a punch and a slip. The second was a clean shot from Lara."

Stepping in to challenge Lara on short notice this week, Gonzalez tried his best to trap the elusive Lara on the ropes and hammer him with chopping shots, but was regularly met with sharp counters. In round five, Lara staggered Gonzalez with a pair of crisp left hands that again helped to keep Gonzalez at bay.

Lara continued to show his ring mastery throughout the remaining frames, landing hard lefts ensuring that none of Gonzalez’s shots amounted to much besides glancing blows. In the final seconds of the bout, Lara punctuated his victory with a hard series of shots that dropped Gonzalez for the second time.

"I showed the world that I'm 42-years-old and I'm still at the top of my game,” said Lara. “I can compete with the best. I don't care at all about Janibek and I don't wanna talk about him anymore." 

Opening the pay-per-view, rising Mexican star Jesus “Mono” Ramos Jr. (24-1, 19 KOs) grinded out a hard-fought unanimous decision over top contender Shane Mosley Jr. (22-5, 12 KOs) to capture the Interim WBC Middleweight Title. Ramos won by scores of 117-111 twice and 116-112.

"I was just being myself,” said Ramos. “I'm not gonna lie, it was tough. I actually had a right hand injury the last three weeks of camp. We didn't spar for the last four weeks. So it was tough to get my timing. I would catch a rhythm and lose it. I faced a lot of obstacles but I told my family there was no way I was leaving San Antonio without a belt.”

“It was a hell of a fight,” said Mosley. “Thanks to Ramos and everyone who made this fight happen. He was the man tonight. I’ll be back and be better.”

After controlling the action with occasional power shots across the first few rounds, Ramos began to look to shrink the distance between him and Mosley and bring the fight to the inside. Mosley was ready for the adjustment however and appeared to stagger Ramos with right hands in both the fourth and fifth rounds.

"He never hurt me but he did surprise me,” said Ramos. “I never felt rocked, but I was surprised. He hit me with shots I wasn't expecting. But I never felt like my legs weren't there.”

As they moved into the second half of the fight, the action largely took place from the middle distance, with the two combatants trading big blows that snapped the other’s head back. Ramos had one of his best frames in the 10th, mixing in more lateral movement that set up a series of piercing power punches to give him momentum heading into the championship rounds.

With that momentum in hand, Ramos landed a thudding left that staggered Mosley and left him open additional power shots, which Ramos continued to pour on until the end of the 11th. In the championship rounds, Ramos landed 40 power shots to clinch the decision, and set his sights on WBC Middleweight World Champion Carlos Adames.

"In those last few rounds I just kept remembering the Erickson Lubin fight,” said Ramos. “I kept getting flashbacks and I didn't want the same thing to happen again. I kept pushing and pushing. I was in a dark place in that 10th round. I was tired, but I knew it would be worth it when the final bell rang. 

"I want Carlos Adames. He's the full champion. I don't want the interim belt, I want the champion."

Subscribe to RSS
Related News