Hall of Fame trainer and analyst Teddy Atlas would favour one man in a “big way” if Ryan Garcia ends up facing Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz.
The American successfully defended his WBC title earlier this month, flooring Conor Benn with a right hand and ultimately stopping his man in round two.
In doing so, Garcia retained his status as a world welterweight champion after dethroning Mario Barrios with a unanimous decision victory in February.
Prior to that, he looked far less impressive while getting outpointed by Rolando Romero, with his second professional defeat arriving at the completion of a year-long doping ban.
Based on his latest performance, however, Garcia appears to be fighting with supreme confidence as he targets another outing in 2026.
Standing in the opposite corner, he hopes, will be super-lightweight contender Cruz, who scored a sixth-round knockout over Nestor Bravo last weekend.
For all the Mexican’s strength and tenacity, though, Atlas has said on his YouTube channel that Garcia – who is around 6in taller – would surely punish Pitbull with his long-range attacks.
“With [Garcia’s] style on the outside and the sharpness of [his] punches – the right hand and the left hook – he’s going to have a lot of chances to catch [Cruz] just like he caught Benn.
“Cruz has a good chin – he’s a gutsy guy. And he’s a little more clever than he might have looked [against Bravo]. He’ll move his head, he’ll do certain things … he can even use his jab, at times.
“But, at the end of the day, you gotta favour Garcia in a big way. Is it a step too far [for Cruz] as far as size [is concerned]?”
While having campaigned at 140lbs for his last six fights, Cruz is, indeed, a much naturally smaller man than Garcia, who appears to have found an appropriate home at 147lbs.
