Isaac Cruz and Lamont Roach Jr fought to a majority draw in San Antonio, Texas, this weekend. Ryan Garcia has weighed in with how he scored the bout.
Roach made his second move up in weight this year to challenge Cruz, who has been at 140lbs since early 2024. The relentless ‘Pitbull’ welcomed ‘The Reaper’ to the division with a bang, scoring a knockdown in the third round. He would, however, go on to lose steam as Roach came on strong. Cruz was also deducted a point in the seventh.
At the final bell, one judge at ringside produced a scorecard of 115-113 in favour of Cruz, with the other two unable to split them on 113-113. It is the second stalemate for Roach this year following a more controversial decision against Gervonta Davis, missing out on winning the WBA belt at 135lbs.
As with any draw, the debate began immediately. Former unified welterweight world champion Errol Spence Jr had it in Cruz’s favour, while current WBC lightweight titlist Shakur Stevenson saw a Roach victory.
Speaking on X post-fight, Garcia agreed with Stevenson, scoring it by ‘a round or two’ to Roach.
“I felt Roach won that in a close, close fight, maybe by one round or two … Not mad at the draw at all though.”
At the press conference following the decision, both fighters expressed interest in an immediate rematch. For now, Cruz retains his WBC Super Lightweight Interim title and Roach reels from a second controversial draw on the spin.
