ANDY CRUZ couldn’t beat the clock but did defeat Omar Salcido Gamez over 10 rounds in Las Vegas last night.
The gifted Cuban connected with a straight right hand which stunned Salcido but there was only 20 seconds left in the final session for Cruz to finish him. A barrage of shots had his opponent in a world of trouble, but the bell saved him from being stopped.
In between rounds, Cruz’s trainer ‘Bozy’ Ennis called for his fighter to back up the outclassed and outsmarted Mexican and would have wanted the ending to come sooner. Instead, he can be content with his student proving he was levels above a guy who came into this fight full of confidence after stopping Chris Colbert last time out.
Cruz, 5-0 (2 KOs), was competitive in most of the rounds against Salcido, 20-2 (14 KOs), during their chief support bout to Pacheco vs Nelson, but he was always one step behind a man who used his blinding offensive skills to tag Cruz in every frame.
During round two Cruz dipped into his bag of tricks and showcased his repertoire of punches that many believe will take him to world title success in the lightweight division. The occasional lapse in concentration allowed Gamez to have his own success but Cruz always restored the balance and landed far more than he was receiving.
Salcido got Cruz’s attention with some powerful left hands and during exchanges the Mexican was happy to tee off, clearly confident his power would have the final say but the last word always belonged to Cruz.
Cruz began switch-hitting and beating Gamez to the punch more and more. Taking a half step back would allow him the correct distance to clip Salcido, taking the fight out of him gradually.
In the penultimate round, Salcido tagged Cruz with an overhand right, demonstrating he was not quite done, but the 2020 Olympic Gold Medallist fired back with precise eye-catching single punches. And as the 10th and final round wound down, Cruz was electric.
If this had been 12 rounds, he would have most certainly secured his third win inside the distance. But another 10 rounds are in the bag for a man who will challenge for a world title this year or next.
