ANDY CRUZ made it four wins from four starts against Antonio Moran.
The 10-round lightweight bout kicked off the televised portion of the undercard, which will set the scene for the Israil Madrimov-Terence Crawford main event.
Cruz vowed to beat Moran, (30-7-1, 21 KOs), quicker than former undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney did back in 2019. That was a seventh-round knockout for Haney at 2-32 of round seven. The victory for Cruz came at 2-59 in the same session when Moran was in no position to continue after staggering across the ring, having been caught with an overhand right.
The 28-year-old was never in any danger of losing but shipped a couple of shots, one particularly in round five, that caused some concern for Cruz supporters. The amateur starlet turned it up though and his accurate shots pushed home his numerous advantages
“It’s mission accomplished,” said Cruz afterwards.
“The first aim was to win the fight and the fact we’ve done it within the distance is even better.”
“I said before the fight it was never going to be an easy occasion for me,” he added. “We know Mexican fighters are really tough and this guy was really experienced. I managed to show I’m at this level and this is not a ceiling for me, I can go on after this.”
As for what is next for Cruz, the winner said: “I just want to keep testing myself against the best. I keep saying fight the best and test myself.” The winner then appeared to gesture towards WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson, who was sitting ringside.
