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By: Alfredo Di Cesare Published 12 Sep 2023, 19:16 pm EDT
The expectations of a fight between Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz and Shakur Stevenson They quickly faded when the Mexican boxer unceremoniously rejected the American. However, the reasons behind his refusal are now public.
For ‘Pitbull’ Cruz, stevenson He has not done enough merits within the lightweight category. This was indicated in a conversation with PrensaBoxeo through a live on Instagram. “I don’t really know in depth what happened there,” he began. “I believe, I don’t know what Bob Arum’s plan, Shakur’s manager, was, but I believe he wanted to arrive without breaking a sweat here within the division,” Cruz accused.
“He wanted to ignore everyone, including my name, my job (…) and I did not agree with giving him that great opportunity that he wanted within the division,” added the native of Mexico City. It is worth remembering that the American has only had one fight at this weight and it was against Shuichiro Yoshino.
For this reason, the ‘Pitbull’ considers the background of stevenson to dispute the title. The 26-year-old boxer is listed as a mandatory challenger for the WBC to the 135-pound title and is looking for a rival.
Cross recognized that Shakur He has been world champion in two different divisions such as featherweight and super featherweight, but he did not move one iota of his argument, practically ensuring that he was a nobody at 135 pounds. “We know that it is not the same to fight in super featherweight or featherweight as he had been doing, he had two belts in those two divisions,” he analyzed.
“So I think that everything I have achieved has been through sacrifice and in the ring, so I think that is one of the big points (why the fight did not take place)”he added.
However, the Mexican also brought up other commercial reasons that would make negotiating a fight between the two difficult. “We are not from the same company, that has a lot to do with it and so do the television stations,” he concluded.
At the end of August, the president of the World Boxing Council (WBC), Mauricio Sulaimanconfirmed that Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz declined the opportunity to fight for the lightweight title against Shakur Stevenson.
The reasons for the decision were not known until last Monday night. Now, this leaves the American without a rival after the withdrawal of Frank Martinwho had already accepted the lawsuit, but stepped aside for reasons still unknown.
Keep reading:
· Shakur Stevenson belittles Ryan García and believes Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz would be knocked out by Gervonta Davis
· Shakur Stevenson seeks a new opponent for the WBC title fight after Frank Martin’s retirement
· Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz confessed to having been the victim of a bribery attempt at the beginning of his career
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